Description

2024 marks the 130th anniversary of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, one of Canada’s oldest, largest, and most recognized choral ensembles. Currently under the direction of Jean-Sébastien Vallée, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is proud to celebrate its anniversary with the release of the album Remember.

Many of the works featured on this double CD set are pieces of Canadian choral music history that have a symbolic or special meaning for the choir. They include Richte mich, Gott, a setting of Felix Mendelssohn’s Psalm 43, which was performed at the choir’s inaugural concert on January 15, 1895.

The music selected for this album reflects the country’s musical diversity and includes traditional songs like Blanche comme la neige from Quebec and She’s Like the Swallow from Newfoundland. The album also celebrates Canada’s rich tradition of choral composition spanning more than a century, from Healey Willan’s An Apostrophe to the Heavenly Hosts, to Srul Irving Glick’s 1988 Haleluya. Yesterday’s music rubs shoulders with recent commissions like Andrew Balfour’s 2022 Music Is Vibration, alongside pieces by contemporary composers including Imant Raminsh, Jocelyn Morlock, Christopher Ducasse, Shireen Abu Khader, Stephanie Martin, and Stuart Beatch.