Just over a month ago I had a phone call while waiting in my doctor's office for an appointment and it was from one of my favourite musicians I've gotten to know over the years. Catherine Wilson, based in Toronto, was at the other end with some good news: her musical group Ensemble Vivant had just released a brand-new CD and she wanted to send me a copy so I could be one of the first to hear it.
To say that news was the highlight of my doctor's appointment that day goes without saying, especially I was shortly afterwards the recipient of the ubiquitous flu shot!
Catherine was effusive with her description of the new disc, the group's 14th release and the new one available now from the Opening Day Entertainment Group. Entitled Latin Romance, the recording is a tasteful and refined ode to the venerable tango. Covering a wide spectrum of Latin-American music ranging from the familiar such as Ernesto Lecuona's Andalucia and Isaac Albeniz' Tango in D to lesser-known works (to North American ears at least) by composers such as Gismonti, Piazzolla, Guarnieri and even Antonio Carlos Jobim.
The proverbial icing on the cake was the inclusion of Leroy Anderson's Serenata, a purely North American confection if ever there was one, yet it feels comfortably at home alongside Latin American composers from the past and present.
The disc has an overall feel of warmth and cohesiveness that makes it instantly as comfortable as putting on your dressing gown and slippers when you come home after a long hard day out in the cold of a Canadian winter. The main reason for this is because the musicians feel as comfortable playing this music as much as we do listening to it.
Catherine's group have performed the gamut of musical styles together for many years now so there is really not much they have not encountered in one form or another. They work well together and feel totally at home alongside some notable guests from Toronto's jazz and world music scenes.
Ensemble Vivant features Catherine Wilson on piano, Jim Vivian on bass, Cory Gemmell on violin, Norman Hathaway on viola and Sybil Shanahan on cello. They're joined on this disc by Juan Carlos Medrano and Luisito Orbegoso on Latin percussion, Kevin Turcotte on trumpet and Don Thompson on vibes.
Together they bring a joy of music making that is truly infectious, inviting the listener to, if not get up and dance the tango, at least feel they are being transported to some warmer clime where they could watch dancers do it for them.
As joyful as this collection is, it also comes tinged in unexpected sadness as a follow-up phone call from Catherine revealed the composer of an original composition on the disc had just passed away. Catherine was beside herself when we spoke that day, as she had only heard the night before of the passing of Canadian composer John Burke, who contributed the Art Tango La Despedida to the disc.
John, who was born in 1951 and was a composer of many orchestral, choral and chamber works over his lengthy career, passed suddenly and peacefully at his home in Marmora, Ontario.
John and Catherine's group had a musical association that went back many years and included the world premiere of Dr. Burke's Heiratikos at the 2010 International World Music Festival at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto.
Just this past December Catherine and Ensemble Vivant launched the new disc at a sold out concert at Hugh's Room in Toronto and included the world premiere of John's contribution to the disc, La Despedida, which translates as The Farewell.
It was a bittersweet event as John was in the audience for the premiere that night and it would prove to be the final time Catherine would play before her old friend. In spite of the fact he planned to write more music for the group, the inclusion of La Despedida on Latin Romance will indeed prove to be his farewell.
We go through this life making friends, some closer than others of course, and a chosen few become friends through their musical gifts shared together. As we hear on Latin Romance, the friendship ran deep for both John Burke and Catherine Wilson's Ensemble Vivant.
Thanks for the music, John. And thanks to Catherine and her group for championing his music both now and no doubt in the future too. Because that's what friends do. They remember and never forget.
Have a great weekend.
February 21st, 2020.
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