spotlight

Cantata Singers are still going strong |

HE VANCOUVER Can-
tata Singers are in an
enviable position

among choral groups: they
are led by a world-renown-
ed conductor, attract con-
sistently high-calibre singers,
are able to commission be-
tween two and three new
works each season and
haven’t slipped into the red
for at least as long as they‘ve
been under the watchful eye
of manager Paddy MacLeod.

“We don’t have a lot of
money,’’ says assistant manager
Barbara Martineau, who joined
the group in September. *‘Paddy
(whose West Vancouver home
doubles as the Cantata Singers’ of-
fice) keeps things to a bone. She's
careful we don’t do things that are
going to cause us trouble.”’

Trouble isn’t a word you’ re like-
ly to hear bandied about the Can-
tata Singers’ office: the choral
ensemble has been going strong
since 1957 and now ranks as one
of the strongest choral groups
in Canada.

Founded by organist Hugh
McLean 33 years ago, the Cantata
Singers began with about 20
members whose repertoire con-
sisted mainly of a cappella and
English cathedral music.

But under the capable baton of
James Fankhauser, who was train-
ed at the University of California at
Berkeley, they have evolved into
an international award-winning
group of gifted singers with an
eclectic repertoire.

Under Fankhauser, who is cur-
rently on sabbatical leave in Ox-
ford researching the life of Handel,
the Cantata Singers have carved
out a niche for themselves as a
strong chamber choir,
best known for their performances
of 17th century baroque music.

Each season they perform three

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spotlight feature

major concerts: one at Christmas,
one in the spring (this year it’s
Mazart’s Requiem), various repeat
concerts throughout the year, and
every three years they take on
Handel's Messiah. (The Cantata
Singers, says acting music director
Steven Morgan, have a gentle-
man’s agreement with the Van-
couver Bach Choir and the Van-
couver Chamber Choir to rotate
their productions each Christmas).

This year’s Christmas concert
was a mixed bag. Under Morgan,
the group presented a program of
Gabrieli, Verdi, Poulenc, and a str-
ing of carols from Europe and the
New World — even Mel Torme’s
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open
Fire.

Unlike Fankhauser, the IHinois-
born Morgan, who is completing
his PhD in musicology at UBC, is
said to take a freer, more ex-
pressive path.

“I’ve approached my position
from the standpoint of wanting to
provide continuity to the group,”’
says Morgan, who resides in West
Vancouver. ‘‘At the same time,
you have to feel free to express
yourself. The (Cantata Singers)
board knows me well and has
given me quite a bit of free reign.
I've been doing the ensemble’s
programming for the last three
years. James picks my brain a lot.”

Although the current 35-
member Cantata Singers (a young
group — most are between 28 and
35) are technically considered
amateur in the sense that none of
the singers are paid, Morgan says
the tag is a misnomer because

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most have extensive musical
backgrounds: Many hold degrees
in music and have received vocal
training.

“A lot is demanded of them.
We sing at a professional standard,
we perform on national broadcasts
and in the Orpheum.”

To keep the standard of profes-
sionalism high, Martineau says the
group always brings in profes-
sional soloists, musicians and
well-known guest conductors,
such as the Taverner Singers’ An-
drew Parrott for its season opener,
Schutz's seminal work,
Musikalische Exequien, and in
March, Wayne Riddell, founder of
the Tudor Singers, for Mozart's
Requiem.

And the choir has a healthy
tradition of commissioning Cana-
dian composers, such as Peter
Berring for A Cantata For Van
couver.

“A lot of people don’t program
new music as such,” says Morgan.
“It's hard for new composers to
get their work produced these
days. | think choral ensembles can
have a great deal of influence in
supporting and exposing those ar-
tists.””

Morgan says future plans include
“doing more of the same at the
same high standard, finding new
venues in which to perform and
continuing to commission new
works.”

He's also looking forward to
next Christmas, when the Cantata
Singers will take centre stage for
Messiah. Morgan can’t help but
heap praise on Fankhauser at the
sheer mention of Handel's
Masterpiece.

“Jim’s version differs from the
other groups in that he is able to
achieve a clean, agile sound, a
sound | believe is closer to what
Handel actually heard.

“His production keeps
everybody else honest.”

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Wednesday, January 2, 1991 - North Shore News — 13

NEWS photo Mike Wakefleld

The Vancouver Cantata Singers have been singing since 1957.
The group, which ranks as one of the strongest choral ensembles
in Canada, is normally conducted by James Fankhauser who is
on sabbatical this year. In his place is acting music director
Steven Morgan.

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