PROJECTS
2024-2024
Divine Liturgy: The Halo of Humanity
This sacred choral program explores the liturgical music of the Armenian composer Komitas Vardapet (1869-1935) alongside devotional works by Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) and Vincente Lusitano (?-c. 1561). The Patarag ("Divine Liturgy") of Komitas, is rarely performed outside of Armenian churches and until now had never before been presented in concert in Canada.
While Lusitano, Poulenc (1899–1963) and Komitas (1869–1935) faced unique challenges and personal tragedies during their lives, their steadfast dedication to music drove them to create works which capture strong emotion, each in a unique musical language. Was their lifelong devotion to the expression of human emotion through sacred music simply circumstantial; or does their persistence in conveying their experiences and passions through music of spiritual intent reveal their belief in music as the passage to the divine.
Featuring :
William Duffy, guest conductor and Joel Peters, organist
2022-23
Sarah Was Ninety Years Old
This program for chamber choir, organ and percussion, featuring the exquisite sonority and expressive palette of One Equall Musick, includes three works by Arvo Pärt (Sarah was Ninety Years Old; De profundis; I am the True Vine), as well as the famous motet De Profundis, formerly attributed to Josquin des Prez. The program also include works by contemporary composers Adrian Foster (Babylon's Waters, for organ and electronics), Allison Willis (Ask Mercy While Thou May) and a work commissioned by OEM Artistic Director Rona Nadler, featuring three Yiddish poems by Kadya Molodowsky.
2021-22
Le Rossignol d’est en ouest
"Le rossignol d'est en ouest" is a collaboration between One Equall Musick and Lebanese singer Lamia Yared, celebrating the nightingale as a source of musical and literary inspiration in European and Middle Eastern traditions. The program includes selections from the 1597 publication Le Rossignol Musical des Chansons and other Renaissance works celebrating birdsong, alongside examples of Muwashah, an elaborate Arabic form of singing poetry; selections from the Turkish classical repertoire; and Sephardic song. The musical program is punctuated by poetry and prose readings, while the sound of recorded birdsong and lighting effects recreate the nocturnal atmosphere of the nightingale’s famous song.
2019-20
Concert in the Clouds
In collaboration with Earth World collaborative , Concert in the clouds presents music by Philip Glass, Adrian Foster, Joel Peters, Kayla Shears, Morton Feldman, Pēteris Vasks, for organ, choir, cello, violin, and electronics. Clouds are ephemeral and intangible; they transform, dissipate and emerge anew from nothingness. They can be overwhelming and sublime, just like music. The poet said: "Architecture is petrified music". We interpret clouds as living music. Clouds are music that can be seen but not heard, and music is a cloud that can be heard but not seen.
L’Âge d’or de Venise
Ensemble vocale One Equall Musick and ensemble ¡Sacabuche! combine forces to present a monumental program of choral and instrumental music from 16th century Venice. Conducted by Mark McDonald, the ensemble of sackbuts, cornets, organ, and choir will present music from the famous Venetian composers Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli as well as their contemporaries Claudio Monteverdi, Heinrich Schütz, Johann Rosenmüller and others. An event not to be missed!
Abendmusik et Musique pour l’Hydroörganon
Presented as part of the Canadian International Organ Competition's Grand Organ Festival 2019, a double-bill concert featuring One Equall Musick alonside Earth World Collaborative. One Equall Musick transports us to 17th-century Lübeck, while Earth World presents an immersive concert designed for an imaginary underwater organ.
2018
BIAUTÉ PARÉE DE VALOUR
2017
À LA VENUE DE NOËL
An early music Christmas, featuring music of Sweelinck and Charpentier
ABENDSTÄNDCHENL
LAMENTATIO
2016
MID-TUDOR MUSIC FOR MEN
How do musicians react to rapid cultural change? Choristers and organists were confronted with this question in the late 1540s, when English church services shifted from late-medieval Catholicism to full-blown Protestantism in the space of a few months. The new services called for new music - often counterfeiting (by adding new English lyrics) old Latin motets, but also composing new works that suited the mood of the times. Edwardian England (1547-1553) was a time of musical experimentation, as composers and musicians sought to find what would work best with a new language, new offices and new challenges for their art. The most ardent reformers disapproved of choirs and wanted to promote communal worship. What remains are a mixture of late medieval choral polyphony, homophonic psalms and a series of early counterpoint pieces. Our concert will explore a range of works for male choir from Wanley's Partbooks (c.1549-c.1551), including interpolated arrangements for organ and choir, hymns, and a five-part arrangement for male communion. Organist Adrian Foster, presents works from the Mulliner Book, a contemporary manuscript of organ music.
HÉRITAGE ANDALOU
The medieval Iberian peninsula, named “al-Andalus” in Arabic, was a meeting place for Jewish, Islamic, and Christian cultures. This unique environment gave birth to three great musical traditions: Sephardic, Andalusian, and Spanish Renaissance music. The vocal ensemble One Equall Musick; l’Ensemble Séfarade et Méditeranéen (ESEM); vocalist Lamia Yared, qanun player Nizar Tacharani and percussionist Nathaniel Huard weave these threads together in a program that evokes the spirit of al-Andalus.
2015
SCHÜTZ MUSIKALISCHE EXEQUIEN
Transcendent music of the early baroque, including the Musicalische Exequien of Heinrich Schütz, Israelbrünnlein by Johann Hermann Schein, and excerpts from Symphoniae Sacrae of Giovanni Gabrieli. With guest artists Hans-Ola Ericsson and Mark McDonald, organ; Ryan Gallagher, cello; and Lena Weman, violone.
FÊTE DE LA SAINTE-CÉCILE
An evening gala to celebrate Cecilia, Patroness of music and musicians hosted by Ensemble Scholastica. This concert in honour of St. Cecilia, patroness of music and musicians, features a twelve-voice mass by Palestrina and tenth-century plainchant for St. Cecilia’s Day.
2014
COMPLINE
IN VITA MORTALI
What is the mortal life? The music of Sweelinck, Schutz and Monteverdi traces a map of human experience, from the sublime to the mundane, through psalm settings and spiritual madrigals.
LESSONS AND CAROLS FOR ADVENT
MID-TUDOR MUSIC FOR MEN
2013
MUSIC IN THE TIME OF TALLIS
English choral music was transformed in the middle years of the sixteenth century as England disavowed the church of Rome, became Protestant, then Catholic again, and finally Protestant once more. The music of Thomas Tallis embodies the evolution from the stark aesthetic of the Eton Choirbook to the refined polyphony of William Byrd. Alongside Tallis’ compositions, this program includes remarkable gems hidden in rough of manuscript collections like the Wanley and Lumley Partbooks, as well as the last great English choral antiphon, William Mundy's Vox Patris Caelestis.
BACH FESTIVAL 2013
One Equall Musick was honoured to collaborate with organist Hans-Ola Ericsson, singing Bach’s chorale settings as part of the performance of the Clavier-Übung III. The concert took place in St. Joseph’s Oratory as part of the 2013 Montreal Bach Festival.
EVENSONG RECONSTRUCTIONS
LAMENTATION PRAISE THANKSGIVING
2012
COMPLINE
EVENSONG RECONSTRUCTIONS
ONE EQUALL MUSICK PREMIERE
The premiere of One Equall Musick, featuring the Howells Requiem, and music by English composers.