Reflections: Pro Coro at 40, With Richard Sparks - Part 1
Introducing 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.
Part One: A Canadian Journey
Richard Sparks with Pro Coro Canada
My time with Pro Coro Canada was such a wonderful and valuable time for me, working with some great singers and instrumentalists, getting to know so many talented Canadian composers and conductors, and . . . well, just so many things!
My introduction to Pro Coro came through Eric Ericson, as did so many other things. In my post about Choral Arts, I mentioned that at the time of the first concert in 1993, conducted by Eric, he was also guest conductor for Pro Coro Canada. Both sets of rehearsals were divided in two chunks, so Eric first worked with Pro Coro, then with us, and back to Edmonton again. During his second time with Pro Coro, he talked to them about me, which led to a couple invitations from Pro Coro to come be a guest conductor. I wasn’t able to do any of their first proposed dates (most were for Christmas programs and I was still very busy with my PLU Christmas concerts). But in 1996 they asked if I could come substitute for Gustav Sjökvist, since he was ill and canceled. I said yes, took the theme of the concert, but kept little of his program. Below is the program I conducted.
May 17, 1996—Pro Coro Canada (Edmonton) Summer Music
Sumer is icumin in
Les Chansons des Roses........... Morten Lauridsen
Five Flower Songs........... Britten
La Passeggiata........... Rossini
I Gondolieri
The Bluebird........... C.V. Stanford
Among the Leaves So Green........... arr. John Byrt
As Torrents in Summer........... Elgar
Bobby Shaftoe........... arr. David Willcocks
Due Composizione Corali........... Ildebrando Pizzetti
Och jungfrun hon går i ringen........... Hugo Alfvén
Walkin’ on the Green Grass........... Michael Hennagin
Domardansen........... Bengt Hallberg
Agnes Grossmann, Former Principal Conductor - Pro Coro Canada
When I did this program, Agnes Grossmann had just been appointed Principal Conductor. Her father, Ferdinand Grossmann, was her first piano teacher and particularly known for conducting the Vienna Boy’s Choir from 1940 until his death in 1970. Agnes started as a pianist, but an injury started her on a different path and she studied conducting. She was Artistic Director of the Wiener Singakademie Choir from 1983-86, among other things, but came to Canada and founded and was artistic director of the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal and Choir from 1987-1995. She’d guest-conducted Pro Coro the year before and they immediately asked that she become their Artistic Director, which she did for two years, until offered the position as Artistic Director of the Vienna Boy’s Choir, which she did from 1996-98.
I was then asked if I would like to be considered as a candidate as Artistic Director of Pro Coro, so conducted this “audition” program. As with the previous program I conducted, the title of the program had been chosen by Grossmann before she resigned . . . and as before, I kept the title (PC had arranged for a Canadian Tour de France rider to be at the concert and talk about being on the tour), but changed the program:
October, 3 & 4, 1998—Pro Coro Canada (Edmonton) Tour de France
Six Chansons........... Hindemith
(Renaissance chansons—Passereau, Lassus & Clemens—sung by quartets from the choir)
Les Fleurs et Les Arbres........... Camille Saint-Saëns
Les Chansons des Roses........... Morten Lauridsen
Five Apollinaire Settings........... Lionel Daunais
(3 more renaissance chansons by Petit, Mouton & des Prez sung by quartets from the choir)
Pro Coro Canada Founder Michel-Marc Gervais
At some point during the season I was asked to be their new Artistic Director and accepted. This was the first fully professional ensemble I worked with on a regular basis and also the first time I was taking over a group such as this that I hadn’t founded, and which had a long history. Founded by Michel-Marc Gervais, who did his undergraduate study at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, then did a series of master-classes with Eric Ericson in Vienna, after which he studied and worked with Eric in Stockholm from 1978-80. In 1980 he came back to Edmonton and founded both a training school for young singers and Pro Coro Canada, with the idea to create an ensemble based on Swedish chamber choirs. He led the choir from 1980-88, succeeded by Anders Eby of Sweden (1988-90), and Søren Hansen of Denmark (1991-96) before Grossmann took over. Fairly recent guest conductors had included not only Eric, but Erik Westberg. Quite the history!
Above: A letter from Pro Coro’s first Honorary Patron, Eric Ericson, in the handbill of the choir’s first performance in 1981. Ericson’s support of Pro Coro is one of the choir’s many deep connections to the Swedish Professional choral tradition.
1999-2000
My first season consisted of three concerts—I inherited an organization in transition, several board members had left and there were only two non-singers remaining, so there was organizational work to be done and a limited budget. During Agnes Grossmann’s time the new Winspear Centre was built to be the home of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and she started a tradition of Good Friday concerts, which we continued. The first program was a challenging one with many connections to Eric’s repertoire, with the addition of Canadian R. Murray Shafter’s Medieval Bestiary. The second program was a partial repeat of a Choral Arts program with the addition of the premiere of Canadian composer John Estacio’s Four Eulogies. This is a terrific set of pieces and one I wish we had recorded. John’s gone on to write a number of very successful operas, among other works. Finally, for Good Friday at the Winspear, I chose Handel's Messiah.
I should also say that I was really welcomed by so many people, many of whom were very helpful to me. I’d known Jon Washburn (who founded the Vancouver Chamber Choir in 1971 and led it until 2019) since the first year of the Pacific Northwest Bach Festival (more about it later), when he came to play violone. I called him to ask about Canadian composers and choral music and Jon immediately invited me to come spend a day in Vancouver looking through his library. Given Jon’s long experience, knowledge, and phenomenal repertoire, this was a great gift me. Many in Edmonton, particularly Leonard Retzlaff of the University of Alberta and Trent Worthingon, my associate conductor at Pro Coro. Patricia Abbott, ED of the ACCC at the time, was particularly helpful with French Canadian repertoire. But there were an incredible number of new friends and Canadian colleagues who welcomed and helped me in so many ways.
October 2, 1999 Virtuoso Choral Music
Ejszaka & Reggel György Ligeti
Hymn to St. Cecilia Britten
Fünf Gesänge, Op. 104 Brahms
Kung Liljekonvalje David Wikander
Gloria Lars Edlund
Salve Regina/Exsultate Deo Poulenc
A Medieval Bestiary R. Murray Schafer
Aftonen /O Jungfrun hon går I ringen Hugo Alfvén
January 22, 2000 Baroque & Beyond
Beatus Vir Monteverdi
Die mit Tränen säen Schütz
Madrigali Morten Lauridsen
Der Zwölfjährige Jesus im Tempel Schütz
Gloria a 7 voci concertata Monteverdi
Selig sind die Toten Schütz
Four Eulogies (premiere) John Estacio
Dixit Secondo Monteverdi
April 21, 2000
Messiah Handel (members of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Henrietta Schellenberg, Catherine Robbin, Michiel Schrey, Paul Grindlay, soloists)
2000-2001
Sparks with Pro Coro Executive Director Miki Andrejevic
For the next season, we were healthy enough to do four programs and my contract was re-written to call for me to conduct at least four programs a year. We also hired a new Executive Director, Miki Andrejevic, who became a great and creative collaborator and friend.
I began with the first program below, which included some lovely Healy Willan works (some I’d done, some new to me), along with Bach, Brahms, and Elgar, plus George Shearing’s lovely Music to Hear.
The second program was really a guest choir experience, since the Vancouver Chamber Choir was on tour. They performed the bulk of the program, but we also combined for two pieces, Jon conducting one and me the other.
The third program was a mixed one, with more of the music of Lionel Daunais and a commission for the Edmontonian composer, Laurie Radford.
Finally, we gave the Edmonton premiere of Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers.
September 30, 2000 Gems and Masterworks
Singet dem Herrn Bach
I Will Lay Me Down in Peace Healy Willan
Behold, the Tabernacle of God
Rise Up, My Love, My Fair One
A Clear Midnight
Eulogies John Estacio
Zigeunerlieder Brahms
The Shower Edward Elgar
The Fountain
My Love Dwelt in a Northern Land
Music to Hear George Shearing
November 18, 2000
Guest appearance by the Vancouver Chamber Choir
Choirs combined for Brahms’ Fest- und Gedänksprüche, Op. 109, which I conducted, and Rise, Shine conducted by Jon Washburn
January 20, 2001 Ceremony & Celebration
Vinamintra elitavi Thomas Jennefelt
Lux aeterna Ligeti
Past Life Melodies Sarah Hopkins
Raua Needmine (Curse of Iron) Veljo Tormis
in pursuit of ephemera (Premiere) Laurie Radford
Pas de Danse Lionel Daunais
April 18, 2001
Vespers of 1610 Monteverdi
(period-instrument band: strings and continuo from Vancouver, B.C., cornetti and sackbuts: The Whole Noyse Consort from the Bay area Soloists include: Linda Perillo & Eva Bostrand, sopranos; Paul Elliott & Colin Balzer, tenors; Paul Grindlay, bass)
Jon Washburn and the Vancouver Chamber Choir at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music (click to enlarge)
2001-2002
Pro Coro Associate Conductor Trent Worthington
My third season again had four programs, the first another mixed program (repeating Tormis’ Raua needmine—I’d started doing what many European choirs do, repeating great works so the ensemble can benefit from doing a composition where the initial hard work has been done, leading to better performances), along with the first arrangements or compositions we commissioned from the talented Trent Worthington.
After the Christmas program, we did a commissioned work by Allan Gilliland and Malcolm Forsyth’s wonderful Hesperides, for choir and two harps. Nora Beamanis, principal harpist for the ESO is part of a harp duo and had commissioned the work—we brought the duo together for this concert. We paird that with Carmina in the 2 piano percussion verson. The Winspear Good Friday concert was a group of Requiems.
October 7, 2001 From Bach and Brahms to Jazz
Komm, Jesu, Komm J.S. Bach
Warum ist das Licht gegeben Johannes Brahms
Faire is the Heaven William H. Harris
Four Alberta Folksongs arr. Trent Worthington (premiere—cond. by arranger)
Raua needmine (The Curse of Iron) Veljo Tormis
Songs and Sonnets George Shearing
December 9, 2001 A Pro Coro Family Christmas
A variety of carols and other music
January 27, 2002 Carmina Burana
Blessed Allan Gilliland (commissioned work—premiere)
Hesperides Malcolm Forsyth
Carmina Burana (version for 2 pianos & percussion) Carl Orff
March 29, 2002 Music of Consolation
Requiem Herbert Howells
Requiem John Rutter
Requiem Gabriel Fauré
(with members of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra)
