Concert 4 - The Pirates of Penzance

The Cellar Singers performed Pirates of Penzance,

Gilbert & Sullivan

May 2, St. Paul's United Church, 7:30pm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Concert 3 - Light Perpetual

The Cellar Singers sang Light Perpetual, a choral performance of requiem mass settings of Eleanor Daley and Gabriel Fauré on March 28 at St. James Anglican Church. Soloists: Amy Dodington, Soprano and Graham Robinson, Baritone. Jonathan Clarke, Piano; Blair Bailey, Organ.

 

This concert presented a choral pairing of the Requiem Mass in D Minor by Gabriel Fauré with Requiem by Eleanor Daley. Featured artists: Amy Dodington, Soprano; Graham Robinson, Baritone; Blair Bailey, Organ; Jonathan Clarke, Piano. Conductor: MItchell Pady.

 

et / lux / perpetua / luceat / eis.
and / light / perpetual / let shine / on them

 

Possibly the most uplifting requia you will ever experience, save the date to feel the power, beauty and comfort of Fauré and Daley as performed by The Cellar Singers. The name of our concert comes from the most uplifting portion of the Fauré text:

 et / lux / perpetua / luceat / eis.
and / light / perpetual / let shine / on them

 

About the Fauré

 

Fauré on his famous requiem:""It has been said that my Requiem does not express the fear of death and someone has called it a lullaby of death. But it is thus that I see death: as a happy deliverance, an aspiration towards happiness above, rather than as a painful experience. The music of Gounod has been criticized for its overinclination towards human tenderness. But his nature predisposed him to feel this way: religious emotion took this form inside him. Is it not necessary to accept the artist's nature? As to my Requiem, perhaps I have also instinctively sought to escape from what is thought right and proper, after all the years of accompanying burial services on the organ! I know it all by heart. I wanted to write something different."

 

About the Daley

 

Daley's Requiem was named outstanding new choral composition by the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors in 1994.

 

The following description of Daley's Requiem was sourced from Requiemsurvey.org:

 

Daley works an inventive mix of texts into her Requiem. Along with Carolyn Smart's poetry, sources include the Latin Missa pro Defunctis, a Russian benediction, the Book of Common Prayer and Psalm 130. The fourth movement is a graceful setting of Mary Elizabeth Frye's In Remembrance, touching consolation on the loss of a loved one. Daley has a flexible, deceptively simple writing style that flatters the chorus, helping all sections sound wonderfully nimble and light in her infectious melodies. The eight-movement Requiem generates considerable momentum, reaching a gentle finale that will leave the listener feeling absolutely at peace.

Eleanor Joanne Daley, born in Parry Sound, Ontario, is a Canadian composer, organist, and accompanist. Her best known works are The Rose Trilogy, Requiem and In Remembrance. Daley holds a Bachelor Degree in Organ Performance from Queens University, and holds multiple diplomas in piano and organ. She lives in Toronto where she composes music and directs the choir at Fairlawn Avenue United Church. 

 

 

The Cellar Singers Got Talent Cabaret Night, Feb 7, 2015

Saturday, February 7: CELLAR SINGERS GOT TALENT CABARET, "Let the Sunshine In",  St. James' Anglican Church auditorium, 7:30pm.

 

Concert 2 - Handel's Messiah

 

The Cellar Singers performed Handel's Messiah with soloists and orchestra to packed crowds in Bracebridge and Orillia.

December 12, St. Joseph's Church, Bracebridge 7:30pm

December 14, St. Paul's United Church, Orillia, 3pm

 

"Still tingling after hearing your Messiah"

Audience member (a composer) on hearing December 12, 2014 Messiah.

 

 

Concert 1 - The Road Home

The Cellar Singers performed at St. Paul's United Church October 19, 2014 with jazz a cappella ensemble, The Hampton Avenue 4 featuring Orillia's own Dylan Bell along with Debbie Fleming, Tom Lillington and Suba Sankaran. These multi-award winning Jazz stars will sing together with The Cellar Singers and on their own.

 

Our concert included an eclectic mix of classical pieces arranged from a jazz perspective: Agnus Dei, Sanctus, Dona Nobis Pacem, for example. Sankaran's stunning beautiful Dedication leaves audiences spellbound and her popular Solkattu Choir originates from the spoken rhythms of south India (vocal percussion).

 

The well known favourites of Shoo Fly Pie, Just A Gigolo are joined by Make Lemonade (an original Fleming says she was inspired to write after hearing the world famous Soweto Choir), Dylan's Tell No Lies, and River of Dreams (lyrics by Dan Hill; arrangement by Fleming).

 

The timing couldn't be better as Orillia celebrated Jazzfest. Don't miss our concert October 19, 4pm, at St. Paul's United Church, Orillia.

 

The concert title, The Road Home, refers to Dylan Bell's return to his hometown of Orillia, where he once studied under our own Blair Bailey. Just how good is he? Here's what the producer for James Brown, Paul McCartney and Ray Charles has to say about that!

 

"Dylan Bell is one of the most talented artists I have ever worked with."
- Dr. Richard Niles, Producer (James Brown, Paul McCartney, Ray Charles).