Revisiting the Elora Festival

I wrote last time in this space about the 44th annual Elora Festival, which was set to get underway last weekend in the picturesque town of Elora, Ontario, and the fact I would be returning for that first weekend for a performance.  It would be my first time back after the pandemic and after the loss of Sophie in 2020.

Last Saturday I made my way up for an afternoon performance that proved to be everything I hoped it would be:  informative, entertaining and for me personally, soul-soothing.

I got away from the house not as early as I had planned, but I stopped in Guelph for a picnic in the park along the way, even though storm clouds were looming in the distance.  No matter, the concert was inside the cozy confines of St. John's Church in the heart of Elora, so I wasn't worried.  Sure enough, the rain came just as I was parking for the concert, but I packed my trusty umbrella and all went well for a short stroll on the main drag before the concert was set to begin.

I purposely chose an afternoon concert for my return visit as I only wanted a day trip for this very first visit on my own; an overnight stay at our favourite B&B might be easier to handle next year.  So I decided on a delightful recital of the music of Clara Schumann, in a program curated by Confluence Concerts' Larry Beckwith.

Entitled Clara Schumann Letters, words and music are interwoven to tell the life story of a remarkable 19th-century woman who, although well-known during her lifetime, has rather faded from the pages of history since her passing, and that is such a pity.  Clara was of course, the wife of troubled fellow composer Robert Schumann, who was somewhat older than she was.  But she was also a gifted composer in her own right and a virtuoso pianist as well.  In fact, her talents at the keyboard really helped to keep food on the table for the Schumann family, which was quite a large one by today's standards.

Clara gave birth to children that numbered dangerously close to double digits and lost one in infancy.

But it is her own compositions that were celebrated in this recital, performed alongside letters she wrote that were read from the stage by Alison Beckwith, and narration for the concert was provided by the always-informative and genial CBC Radio host Tom Allen.  Taken as a whole, the words and music provided an illuminating afternoon of music and information about her life.

The musical performers were all first rate, starting with pianist Angela Park.  She did Clara's keyboard works justice, including her "Variations on a Theme of Robert Schumann, Op. 20" that closed out the first half of the concert.  Accompanying Clara's songs was pianist Christopher Bagan, and both he and Angela teamed up on a bravura performance of her "Wedding March in E-flat Major".

All the lieder was performed by talented Canadian singer Patricia O'Callaghan, who often moves from classical to contemporary music during her regular concert appearances, and here she felt perfectly at home yet again.

All in all it was a delightful afternoon of music beautifully performed in a church I look forward to returning to each and every year I attend the Festival.

This is the final weekend, and up today is a performance of choral and vocal music written by Larry Beckwith's famous father John Beckwith, performed by The Elora Singers.  That's at 1:30 this afternoon at St. John's Church in Elora.  Tonight the cavernous Gambrel Barn on the outskirts of town is the venue for The Elora Singers teaming up with singer Sarah Slean and the Art of Time Ensemble at 7:30 pm.  Everything from Brahms to Leonard Cohen is on the bill for tonight's performance.

Tomorrow for the final day of the Festival there are three performances scheduled, beginning with the New Zealand String Quartet performing music by Farr, Mozart and Shostakovich at 1:30 at St. John's in Elora; The Gryphon Trio celebrates 30 years of music-making with a performance at the Gambrel Barn at 4 pm; and the day wraps up with another concert at the Gambrel Barn entitled Music of the North, featuring music from Iceland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and of course Canada.  Performers include The Elora Singers conducted by Mark Vuorinen accompanied by Richard Burrows on vibraphone and percussion.  That final performance takes place at 7:30 pm.

If all this inventive music-making is tempting you to go, then great!  Call the box office for tickets at 1-519-846-0331 or go online at www.elorafestival.ca.  

Thanks again for the opportunity to return to the Elora Festival again this year; it was time and I was thrilled to be in the town again.

Have a great weekend!

July 15th, 2023.