Anyway, I was able to make it this year, and it was another afternoon of lovely music by one of the greatest composers who ever lived.
It took place in the Bloor St. West neighbourhood of The Kingsway, starting at the lovely All Saints Kingsway Church.
I've been in this place a couple of times, with the Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir and the Burlington Male Voice Choir, both times as part of celebrations of St. David's Day (patron saint of Wales), around March 1.
I also like the style of the building. It's a real "English" church, with the square tower at the transept, and the large Gothic windows. There is some beautiful stained glass in the windows - modern (the church was built in 1957), but in the Gothic style. The place makes me think of the many churches the TWMVC sang at during our tour of Wales a few years ago.
Here are a couple of views of the interior of the church, first from the balcony at the west end, looking at the choir area. Performing here doesn't give you this view!
And, from the same area, a view of the ceiling trusses, once again reminding me of some of the churches - and larger houses - in England and Wales.
This is the organ that was played in the first of the concerts. It's a Casavant Freres organ, installed in 2009, and as you can see, it can be moved around in the choir loft!
And, the view a performer gets of the church, taken from the east end, in front of the organ.
As you see, the finishes here are wood, stone and plaster, giving the place great acoustics. So, it's nice to sing here, and it must be good for an organist also!
We were quite fortunate with regard to acoustics in all the three churches we visited this day.
Here's the first musician of the day, a young lady named Stefani Bedin. She played a Prelude and Fugue, and part of a Trio Sonata, all very challenging pieces. Her feet were certainly kept busy on the pedals.
About 12 minutes' walk from there was the Kingsway Baptist church, also fairly modern, dating from the 1940s.
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| My camera kind of overcompensated for the cloudy weather... |
Here are some views of the inside of this place. It's fairly similar to All Saints, with plaster and wood finishing, and only a modicum of carpeting - the enemy of good acoustics.
Again, similar ceiling trusses to All Saints...
But a nice feature was this small, colourful rose window over the choir loft.
Here's the organ, another Casavant gem, this one installed in 1964...
...and finally, a view of some of the organ pipes. Behind the slatted wood are what are called "divisions," the one here being the choir division, presumably a simulation of human voices. There is a matching one on the right, which I think is the brass division, but I'm not sure.
You may notice the Gothic arch around the rose window. There was a stained glass window there at one point, but when they installed the organ, there was no room for it and all the organ pipes - hence the rose window. I think it works.
Here are some of the performers for the mostly vocal pieces that were performed here.
Soprano Jennifer Krabbe and tenor Matthew Dalen perform the "Domine Deus" from the B Minor Mass...
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| Flautist Nancy Foster is at right, but obscured by the lectern. |
...and baritone Daniel Thielmann performs a recitative and aria from the St. Matthew Passion.
They were accompanied by Mel Hurst, the organist at Humbercrest United (not visible, unfortunately, behind the organ at left).
Then, the audience (numbering at least 200 by this time) was invited to sing along with the chorale, "What God Resolves, He Will Achieve." We were even given the sheet music for it (in English)! That was kind of fun.
The final place we went to was the beautiful Romanesque Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, a short distance from Kingsway Baptist.
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| Once again, a little overcompensation by my camera... |
First, the nave is quite breathtaking, with rows of Roman arches leading to the altar...
... and looking back, the only view I could get of the organ (also a Casavant, from 1965, with organist Manuel Piazza preparing for his performance). There is also a lovely rose window at this end, which you saw in the outside view of the church.
What's most striking about this church is the mosaic work all around the upper walls. At the lower part of the pic, you can see the text, which goes all around the nave above the arches. It's the "Stabat Mater," which describes the weeping Virgin Mary standing at the cross where Jesus is being crucified, and gives the church its name.
Above that you see a mosaic of the scourging of Jesus. There are different scenes from his life depicted in these mosaics, like the birth, raising the dead, etc.
Also remarkable in this church is the use of marble in the pillars, as well as more mosaics on both sides of each of the arches.
And I was also struck by the mosaics on the underside of the arches. As you see, some are made of a reflective material that catches the light, to great effect.
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| Again, the camera made it a little lighter than I would have liked, but you get the idea. |
Mr. Piazza also did a terrific job, playing a chorale, and a Passacaglia and Fugue, the latter very challenging, but of course, sounding gorgeous in yet another acoustically perfect setting.
Afterwards, the audience was invited to a space across the street owned by the church, for birthday cake and punch, with a toast to the great composer on the occasion of his 332nd birthday.
I asked one of the organizers where next year's celebrations would be, and he said they were trying to decide between the north part of the city and another setting downtown, as they had two years ago. He could only advise me to keep my eyes open, and I certainly will.
I really treasure these Bach Walks. I am a long-time admirer of his music, and these occasions give me a chance to hear, as well as learn more about, his amazing (and copious) body of work. And, what a great way to spend an afternoon!
