There’s music everywhere!

On Saturday, a friend and I saw the St. Lawrence Choir perform Beethoven’s Mass in C Major and a recent work by Christos Hatzis called Sepulcher of Life. Both were well executed, but the Hatzis piece was kinda silly in parts (we both kept thinking that it sounded like a film score by Andrew Lloyd Weber). Notable moments include semi-improvised solos in the third movement scored for “Middle Eastern alto” and violin (which were amazing), and the second movement, a six verse Greek hymn scored for choir, orchestra, and audience (which I could have done without). They actually handed out sheet music and had us rehearse our lines before starting, which was a first for me, but as a good little chorister I just focused on reading my own part and so have little idea what the rest of the music sounded like at that point.

Afterwards, we headed downtown for a huge all-night festival of concerts, gallery shows, dance performances, and outdoor games. It was pretty cool; the streets were lively until dawn despite the chilly winds. It was well organized too, with lots of free events and frequent shuttle buses travelling between the sites. I saw a packed show at the planetarium at 4:30 in morning, then eventually made my way back home and was in bed by 7:30 or so. What a great city I live in.

Speaking of things happening here, I’m really excited to catch this performance by the Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan and l’Ensemble contemporain de Montréal. If anyone reading this wants to come, let me know so I can buy a block of adjacent tickets ahead of time.