A moving musical work by an essential Indigenous composer
Montreal/New Musics international festival presents one of the great Indigenous voices! The music of Andrew Balfour, a composer of Cree origin and artistic director of the Dead of Winter ensemble (formerly Camerata Nova Winnipeg), is at the heart of this concert, which takes us on a moving spiritual journey.
His choral works invite us to commune, as in Vision Chant, inspired by an Indigenous singing style that reaches the heights of tranquility and intensity. The powerful lament of Notinikew, an anti-war mini-opera, forcefully echoes the words and woes of a community too rarely heard about.
Notinikew tells the story of indigenous soldiers who fought for liberty in Europe during the First World War and were denied their rights and freedoms upon their return home.
The concert will be performed by the Dead of Winter ensemble with six singers from the Winnipeg Boys'Choir, Cory Campbell (Ojibway songkeeper), Leanne Zacharias (cello), Nolan Kehler (tenor) and John Anderson (bass) under the direction of Mel Braun.
Program:
Honour Song (traditional song) (2 min)
Andrew Balfour, Omaabiindig (5 min)
Andrew Balfour, Vision chant from Bahjgaywin (4 min)
Andrew Balfour, Domine Deus from Missa Brevis (3 min)
Travelling Song (traditional honour song) (2 min)
Andrew Balfour, Trapped in Stone (5 min)
Andrew Balfour, Notinikew (30 min)
