December 4–8 and December 10, 2019
Toronto, November 4, 2019… Tafelmusik infuses the holiday season with the warmth of Italy’s pastoral music traditions in O Come, Shepherds. This program features Toronto’s Vesuvius Ensemble, one of North America’s only music ensembles dedicated to the traditional music of Southern Italy, and special guest Tommaso Sollazzo, a master of the zampogna (Italian bagpipes) from Campania. O Come, Shepherds balances two aspects of Italian Christmas music traditions: sparkling and elegant baroque concertos are contrasted with the unpretentious festive music of Southern Italy performed on traditional instruments such as the chitarra battente, ciaramella, and colascione. The concerts take place December 4 to 8 at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, and December 10 at George Weston Recital Hall, Meridian Arts Centre.
At the heart of O Come Shepherds is the centuries-old Italian tradition of zampognari, bagpipe- playing shepherds who descend from mountains each year just before Christmas. Considered to be the custodians of the music heard at Christ’s birth, zampognari are strongly associated with la novena, a period of processions and public prayer in the nine days leading up to Christmas. The word novena also refers to the music that accompanies the processions.
O Come Shepherds opens fittingly with an instrumental novena performed by Marco Cera and Lucas Harris, members of both Vesuvius Ensemble and Tafelmusik, followed by Quanno nascette ninno, a traditional Christmas novena by S. Alfonso Maria de' Liguori Francesco. Other traditional music on the program includesSicilian carols, a lullaby from Puglia sung a cappella by tenor Francesco Pellegrino, and an improvised tarantella performed by Tommaso Sollazzo.
Taking their cue from the zampogna, many 17th century composers began to write instrumental works —lilting pastorali — that imitated the bagpipes’ unique sound. Examples range from Handel’s famous “Pifa” in Messiah to some of the baroque pieces Tafelmusik will perform in
O Come, Shepherds, including the Concerto grosso in C Major, “Pastorale per il santissimo natale” by Francesco Manfredini; Sinfonia pastorale per il santissimo natale by Gaetano Maria Schiassi; the Pastorale from Sonata for violin in A Major by Giuseppe Tartini; the Allegro from Sonata no. 7 "La Zampogna,” by Giuseppe Maria dall'Abaco; and Corelli’s Concerto grosso in G Minor, known famously as “the Christmas concerto.”
“Indeed, the connection between the zampogna and Handel’s Messiah points to an important goal of this concert: to show how the sounds of the zampogna have come to be forever immortalized in pastorale movements by baroque composers. Whether or not they realize it, choirs and orchestras all around the world are sounding echoes of the zampogna when they program holiday favourites such as the Messiah, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, or Corelli’s Christmas Concerto,” says Lucas Harris.
LISTING INFORMATION
O Come, Shepherds
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra with Vesuvius Ensemble
Special guest: Tommaso Sollazzo, zampogna
Dates & Times:
Wed Dec 4, 2019 at 7pm | Thu Dec 5, Fri Dec 6, Sat Dec 7 at 8pm | and Sun Dec 8 at 3:30pm at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre
Tues Dec 10 at 8pm at George Weston Recital Hall, Meridian Arts Centre
Ticket prices:
Regular: starting from $42 at Jeanne Lamon Hall and $39 at George Weston Recital Hall
Discounts available for seniors (65+), 35 and under, and youth (18 and under).
Venues:
Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor Street West, Toronto
George Weston Recital Hall, Meridian Arts Centre (formerly Toronto Centre for the Arts), 5040 Yonge St, North York
Box Office:
Tafelmusik Box Office: (416) 964-6337
George Weston Recital Hall Box Office: 1 (855) 985-2787
ABOUT TOMMASO SOLLAZZO
Multi-instrumentalist Tommaso Sollazzo started his musical studies on the guitar when he was eleven years old. He was immediately interested in the traditional instruments of Campania, a Southern Italian region on the Tyrrhenian Sea. The rich and live tradition of folk music gave Tommaso the opportunity to learn the zampogna a chiave lucana directly from traditional players. Tommaso studied mandolin at the conservatory in Salerno with Mauro Squillante, and has collaborated with Angelo Loia e Progetto Oiza, Accademia Mandolinistica Salernitata, and Tamburi del Vesuvio. He has played in numerous festivals in Spain, France, Germany, Montenegro, Albania, and as far away as China and Japan.
ABOUT VESUVIUS ENSEMBLE
Vesuvius Ensemble is one of North America’s only music ensembles dedicated to the traditional music of Southern Italy. The ensemble’s mission since 2010 has been to contribute to the preservation of this precious cultural heritage by sharing it with Canadian audiences. Vesuvius’s core repertoire consists of songs in various Southern Italian dialects which are accompanied on traditional instruments typical of the region, such as the chitarra battente, ciaramella, colascione, zampogna, and tamburello. Since 2016, Vesuvius Ensemble offers a series of concerts at Heliconian Hall sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute of Toronto. Its thematic programming has included renaissance villanelle all the way to post-war Italian swing. The ensemble has released the CD recording La Meglio Gioventù.
ABOUT TAFELMUSIK
Led by Music Director Elisa Citterio, Tafelmusik is one of the world’s leading period-instrument ensembles, performing on instruments and in styles appropriate for the era of the music. Renowned for dynamic, engaging, and soulful performances, Tafelmusik performs some 80 concerts each year for audiences across Toronto, and is Canada’s most toured orchestra, having performed in more than 350 cities in 32 countries. The orchestra is often joined by the critically acclaimed Tafelmusik Chamber Choir and its director, Ivars Taurins.
Tafelmusik also seeks to transport audiences to the baroque and classical periods through insightful multimedia programs and adventurous cross-cultural collaborations. Our musicians share their knowledge and experience through comprehensive education and artist-training initiatives such as the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer and Winter Institutes. Tafelmusik’s recordings on the Sony, CBC Records, Analekta, and Tafelmusik Media labels have garnered ten JUNOs and numerous international recording prizes.
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2019/20 SEASON PARTNERS
Tafelmusik wishes to thank the following for their generous support: BMO Financial Group, TD Bank Group, RBC Foundation, KPMG, Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, Whitmer Trudel Charitable Foundation, The Pluralism Fund, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Classical 96.3 FM, NOW Magazine, and Wholenote Magazine. Tafelmusik is a proud partner of the Bloor St. Culture Corridor.
Media contact: Luisa Trisi, Big Picture Communications, (416) 456-0499
luisa@luisatrisi.com | 427 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 1X7