麻豆传媒AV

Dianne Gryba and JoAnne Kasper brought their joint gift of music to the Dekker Centre Sunday Feb. 9 at the concert, Keys and Chorales - Les Quatre Mains, featuring the Kamala Youth Choir and the Battlefords Children's Preparatory Choir.

Sunday's performance featured Gryba's long time friend, Bonnie Nicholson, (they have known one another for more than 30 years, with their association beginning as music students on campus at the University of Saskatchewan), playing the piano with Gryba, showcasing what four hands can do on one piano keyboard. They played a varied repertoire with four pieces from the French composer Gabriel Faure and one by his countryman, Claude Debussy; a work by Spanish musician Manuel de Falla and another by the Cuban, Ernesto Lecuona.

The most difficult piece the duo played was Litanei by Austrian Franz Schubert and arranged by Cortot/Harrison. It was composed in 1816 and translated means Litany for the Feast of All Souls. Playing this involved Gryba and Nicholson crossing and uncrossing their hands over top of one another, several different times, which they pulled off admirably. Another famous piece by Schubert, Der Erikonig, was also played.

Rounding out the program were hymns and folk songs sung by the various combinations of the choirs.

The program began with Hark! I Hear the Harps Eternal, which is a traditional American hymn that was originally transcribed using shape note notation, allowing those who didn't read music to decipher the tune by looking at the shape of the note heads.

The Preparatory Choir sang Kyrie Canon- a piece they had also presented at Wintersong in December. The word Kyrie loosely translates to "Lord have mercy," which is a phrase worshippers used during vespers lamp-lighting ceremonies in Jerusalem. Oseh Shalom (A Prayer for Peace) was a song based on Jewish liturgy that was sung with choir members standing on the risers at the end of each row, near the audience.

The Kamala Youth Choir also presented a rousing choral square dance number with Aaron Copland's Stomp Your Foot Upon the Floor. This piece suggested the audience throw the windows open and breathe in the fresh June air and dance around the room. (If only it had been June and not bone-chilling February!) This song speaks of men who must labour to be happy, plowing fields and planting rows. and ladies who love a life that's easy: churning butter, milking cows, gathering eggs, feeding sows, mending, cooking, cleaning, ironing, raising families and putting patches on quilts.

Following in the same, though a more serious vein, was the song, Wake the Grain. This selection was commissioned by the Kamala Choir for their performances this season, in celebration of Saskatchewan and its artists. The composition was written by Paul Suchan, who was born in Saskatoon, but now resides in Montreal. He employed a poem by Douglas Elves, centred around the arrival of the Russian Mennonites in the Rosthern area. Seeds and songs are scattered, as are the peaceful ideals of the Mennonite people. Kasper commented that the choir had sung this when they attended a festival in Vancouver evoking considerable interest.

The Nightingale was another selection. It is an early colonial folk song with roots that can be traced back to 17th century England and the song, The Bold Grenadier.

Some of the selections featured the cello of Zaide Masich. Jeanny Jung was also scheduled to play her violin, but was unable to perform.

Near the end of the performance, the set list shifted to contemporary pop songs. The Preparatory Choir presented the humorous Swim, Little Fishy warning the fish of the approaching fishermen and exhorting them to swim through the ocean, river, sea, lake and other water bodies, to safety.

The Kamala sang a moving arrangement of Michael Jackson's Heal the World and a touching rendition of Fix You by Coldplay. Both songs encouraged listeners to reach out in love to be a light, and to heal one another, and make the world a better place.

The grand finale was an extra special offering with city Councillor Cathy Richardson as the guest soloist for He's Got the Whole World in His Hands.

Feb. 8 to 14 has officially been designated Choral Week in Saskatchewan and many activities have been arranged to celebrate choral singing. One of these is a contest where choirs can win cash prizes for their group. The local choir plans to enter a photograph of Richardson singing with them, in the hope of receiving some of the prize money that is up for grabs." I asked the Mayor Ian Hamilton to sing with us, but he just laughed," Gryba quipped. Richardson is significantly involved with the Battlefords Kiwanis Music Festival, making her an obvious choice to fill in for the top civic official.

If you missed Sunday's concert, but want to hear top quality classical music, at a reasonable price, you don't have to go far - just get a ticket for the next performance hosted by the dynamic local duo, Gryba and Kasper. Watch for advertising as, in early June, they plan to stage The Wizard of Oz to wind up choir season.