Reflections - Part 2: Moving the Soul
Reflections: Pro Coro at 40, With Richard Sparks
In honour of Pro Coro Canada’s 40th Anniversary, former Pro Coro Artistic Director Richard Sparks reflects on his tenure as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor from 1999-2011. Open up the Pro Coro archives in this three-part series as Sparks reveals his musical journey with Edmonton’s Professional Choir.
My fourth season with Pro Coro from 2002-2003 brought 5 programs. Budgets had improved and I was able to bring a guest conductor for the first time. I’ve long thought that professional choral ensembles, much like professional orchestras, should bring in guest conductors. It brings something to the choir (new ideas, repertoire) and audience—I still think it isn’t done enough! For the third program, I brought in the wonderful Maria Guinand from Venezuela.
Venezuelan Conductor and frequent Pro Coro Canada Collaborator Maria Guinand
I think this was the year we became a resident ensemble at the Winspear and held all of our concerts there. A wonderful hall!
Then we did Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, closing the season with Good Friday at the Winspear with wonderful music featuring Pro Coro’s fantastic accompanist, pianist and organist Jeremy Spurgeon.
2002-2003 season card (click to enlarge)
September 29, 2002
Mass for a New Millennium Richard Nance
Two Setting from ”In Memoriam Leonard Bernstein” Srul Irving Glick
Chichester Psalms Leonard Bernstein
December 8, 2002 A Pro Coro Family Christmas
A variety of carols and other music, including Daniel Pinkham’s Christmas Cantata and the premiere of a new work commissioned for Pro Coro by Allan Bevan.
February 2, 2003 Latin Explosion
A program with guest conductor Maria Guinand, from Venezuela.
March 16, 2003
Svyati John Tavener
All-Night Vigil Sergei Rachmaninoff
April 18, 2003 Music of Consolation
Phoenix Peter Hallock
Lenten Motets Francis Poulenc
Organ Concerto (Jeremy Spurgeon, Organist) Francis Poulenc
Requiem Maurice Duruflé
(with members of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra)
2003-2004
I’d had an idea for a while to do all six of the late Haydn masses—such great music. I’d conducted two of them previously and Miki and I had an idea for how we might get sponsorship for this (since they all involved hiring a professional orchestra. I chose to do the Nelson Mass (the least expensive orchestra!) to present the idea to the Executive Director of the Austro-Hungarian Institute at the University of Alberta. I also programmed some beautiful works by Imant Raminsh.
We next brought in Leonard Ratzlaff from the University of Alberta as guest conductor.
The program after Christmas was designed around what we’d do at the Canadian Voices festival in Toronto sponsored by Soundstreams. Six Canadian professional choirs each did their own program, all asked for a work by Murray Schafer—we chose his Magic Songs. We also did a HS workshop with Murray there, which was great—he was very happy about our performance and told the audience of students about the genesis of Magic Songs, which we enjoyed as well. The big premiere of a new piece by Murray, for all six choirs (each with its own percussionist) and the Toronto Children’s Choir, was conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste and took place in the atrium at the CBC, which goes up for quite a few floors (somewhat like many of the old Hyatt hotels with an open atrium and exposed elevators. We were arrayed around the floor and the children’s choir was several floors up. The work had small features for each choir and also times when each conductor conducted the choir with music quite independent (tempo) of the main group. Quite an experience, but I think it’s had only one other performance—written for 6 professional choirs, it’s not easy! Our individual performance was also well received. We also gave a concert in Ottawa.
Our Good Friday program centered around Ivan Moody’s Passion and Resurrection, an austere and very beautiful work.
Edmonton conductor and retired professor of choral conducting Dr. Leonard Ratzlaff
September 28, 2003 Haydn Mass Series I
In the Night We Shall Go In Imant Raminsh
Smile, O Voluptous, Cool-Breathed Earth
Ave Verum Corpus
Nelson Mass Franz Josef Haydn
October 26, 2003 The British Connection – Leonard Ratzlaff, Guest Conductor
December 14, 2003 A Pro Coro Christmas
A variety of carols and other music, including the premiere of a new work by Allan Gilliland
February 1, 2004 Magic Songs
Warum ist das Licht gegeben Johannes Brahms
Magic Songs R. Murray Schafer
Ella Sunlight John Estacio
Soldier’s Cry Trent Worthington
Sept Chansons Francis Poulenc
Then Farewell World Allan Bevan
Cowboy Songs Trent Worthington
February 29, 2004 Gala Concert for Canadian Voices Festival in Toronto
Tonu, conducting PC, Elmer Iseler Singers, Elora Festival Singers, Studio de Musique Ancienna de Montreal, Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, & Vancouver Chamber Choir in: Nystedt Miserere, and the World Premiere of R. Murray Schafer’s The Fall into Light
April 9, 2004 Passion & Resurrection
O sacrum convivium! Olivier Messiaen
Ubi caritas Maurice Duruflé
Passion and Resurrection Ivan Moody
2004-2005
2004-2005 Season Card (click to enlarge)
We now had funding for our Haydn Mass series, with the proviso that we also do other works from the region (essentially the old Hapsburg Empire). This year it was Dvorak, along with Canadian Allan Bevan and Whitacre’s Five Hebrew Love Songs.
You’ll see we have full eight programs that year with three guest conductors: Anders Eby, Maria Guinand again, and Trent Worthington with a “Lighter Side of Pro Coro” program.
Good Friday at the Winspear featured Mozart’s Requiem, but the work that got the immediate standing ovation was Allan Beven’s Nou goth Sonne under Wode. Allan did his MM at the U of A, so I got to know him then, and he also knew Jolaine Kerley very well (who did an MM in conducting at the same time. He showed me his dissertation work from his PhD at the University of Calgary. It was a large work for full choir and orchestra, plus children’s choir. I told him Pro Coro couldn’t possibly do it, but I felt a number of movements could work and be adapted to a smaller choir and orchestra. I told him we were doing the Mozart—he liked that, but felt that oboes and horns (plus harp and organ) would work better than the basset horns and bassoons, so we decided to go with that. He knew Jolaine’s voice very well, so tailored the soprano solo to her. There was also a narration, so I asked Timothy Anderson to do this. Timothy had subbed with Pro Coro a few times, was a writer, actor, and (I later discovered) a preacher’s kid . . . so perfect for this. It was a huge success and I’ve conducted the work (including in a smaller version that Allan made) several times, often with Allan playing organ.
This was followed by a program combining Stravinsky’s Les noces with Orff’s Carmina. I was approached by the Bergmann Piano Duo (Elizabeth Laich Bergmann and Marchal Bergmann), who were living in Calgary, since they were part of the “International Piano Quartet” (the two of them plus Jeroen van Veen and his brother) who had recorded Les Noces with Robert Craft. They’d gotten a recital on a Calgary chamber music series and needed a choir and conductor. I said, yes, as long as we could do Carmina in Edmonton, since I needed to sell it to our audience! So we did that program in Edmonton and just Les Noces in Calgary—the quartet also did a four-hands version (quite spectacular!) of the Rite of Spring!
Grete Pedersen brought her choir to Canada for an appearance at another Soundstreams festival in Toronto, plus a tour. So we sponsored them in a joint concert in Edmonton, then did the festival in Toronto, plus a short tour. Another Schafer commission for multiple choirs with Tõno conducting, plus other works.
Former Pro Coro Artistic Director Anders Eby
October 3, 2004 Haydn Mass Series II
Then Farewell, World Allan Bevan
V prirode (5 Songs) Antonin Dvorak
Psalm 23 Antonin Dvorak
Five Hebrew Love Songs Eric Whitacre
Missa in tempore belli Franz Joseph Haydn
November 14, 2004 The Swedish Connection – Anders Eby, Guest Conductor
December 12, 2004 A Pro Coro Christmas
A variety of carols and other music with guests the Jubiloso Handbell Choir and Ceasar Zmylowski, guitar
January 30, 2005 Latin Fiesta – Maria Guinand, Guest Conductor
February 27, 2005 The Lighter Side of Pro Coro – Trent Worthington, Conductor
March 25, 2005 Good Friday at the Winspear
Exsultate, Jubilate Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Nou Goth Sonne Under Wode (World Premiere) Allan Bevan
Requiem Mozart
April 24, 2005 Carmina Burana
Svadebka (Les Noces) Igor Stravinsky
Carmina Burana Carl Orff
Pro Coro with the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir (click to enlarge)
May 31, 2005 Northern Connections
(with the Norwegian Solists Choir, cond. Grete Pedersen)
Canticum calamitatis maritimae Jaako Mäntyjärvi
Suite de Lorca, op. 72 Einojuhani Rautavaara
Five Hebrew Love Songs Eric Whitacre
O Crux Knut Nystedt
June 2-5 Northern Voices Festival and Tour in Toronto & Montreal
Independent Concerts, plus Gala Concert with Norwegian Soloists, Latvian Radio Choir, and Elora Festival Singers, Tonu Kaljuste conducting: Schafer Death of Shalana (premiere), Tavener Invocation (premiere), Gorecki Totus tuus, Rachmaninoff Vespers portion of All-Night Vigil
2005-2006
Rehearsing with the choir at the Winspear Centre for Music for “Happy Birthday Mozart”
The next season, and Pro Coro’s 25th anniversary, brought the third in the Haydn Mass series (I opened each season with that concert), which included a variety of works, including the Kodaly Missa Brevis. We were also sponsored for an all-Mozart program, which included his Coronation Mass and other works.
Trent, Ivars Taurins (from Tafelmusik Chamber Choir), and good friend Gary Graden were all guest conductors that year.
Good Friday brought the Bach Mass in B Minor.
Pro Coro’s 25th Season (click to enlarge)
October 2, 2005 Haydn Mass Series III
Veni Sancte Spiritus Michael Haydn
Pater Noster Jacob Handl
Pater Noster Franz Liszt
Os Justi Anton Bruckner
Missa Brevis Zoltan Kodaly
Maria Theresa Mass F.J. Haydn
November 6, 2005 Baroque to Contemporary – Ivars Taurins, Guest Conductor
December 4, 2005 A Pro Coro Christmas
A variety of carols and other music with guests Jubiloso Handbell Choir and Cantillon Children’s Choirs
January, 22, 2006 Happy Birthday Mozart
God is Our Refuge (K. 20) Mozart
Canons: O du eselhafter Peierl, / Ihr süsses Lied singt die Nachtigal
Misera, dove son!/Ah! Non son io che parlo (Soprano and orchestra)
Canons: Bona nox! Bist a rechte Ox / Leck mich / V’amo di core teneramente
Per Questa bella mano (Bass, Double bass, and orchestra)
Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra
Coronation Mass
February 26, 2006 The Lighter Side of Pro Coro – Trent Worthington, Conductor
March 19, 2006 A Bouquet from Sweden – Gary Graden, Guest Conductor
April 14, 2006 Good Friday at the Winspear
Mass in B Minor J.S. Bach
