Program Notes
Media Room
March 22, 2023
Bach Mass in B Minor Program Notes
2022-23 Season
The program notes are written by Rena Roussin, Musicologist-in-Residence. Hailed by Bach expert Christoph Wolff as Bach’s “musical and artistic creed,” the Mass in b minor is deservedly considered one…
March 7, 2023
Little Match Girl Passion Program Notes
2022-23 Season
The program notes are written by Rena Roussin, Musicologist-in-Residence. Described by TMChoir leadership as a “musical vigil drawing awareness to the problems of hunger and homelessness in our city,” the…
December 1, 2022
Festival of Carols 2022 Program Notes
2022-23 Season
The program notes are written by Rena Roussin, Musicologist-in-Residence. Welcome – for many of you, welcome back – to the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s Festival of Carols! A beloved holiday tradition…
October 20, 2022
Elijah Program Notes
2022-23 Season
The program notes are written by Rena Roussin, Musicologist-in-Residence. A resounding success at both its 1846 premiere in Birmingham, England, and at its revised London premiere in 1847, Felix Mendelssohn’s oratorio…
September 22, 2022
Pilgrim’s Way Program Notes
2022-23 Season
The program notes are written by Rena Roussin, Musicologist-in-Residence. [Content warning: The fourth paragraph of these program notes discusses homophobic violence and death by suicide] Welcome to the Toronto Mendelssohn…
May 12, 2022
Endangered Program Notes
2021-22 Season
The program notes are written by Rena Roussin, musicologist and PhD candidate. Today’s concert, “Endangered,” brings together three works from North American choral repertoire to ask and reflect on some of…
March 25, 2022
Sacred Music for a Sacred Space 2022 Program Notes
2021-22 Season
The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir was joined by the Nathaniel Dett Chorale for this concert on April 15, 2022. The program notes are written by Rena Roussin, musicologist and PhD candidate….
November 19, 2021
Festival of Carols 2021 Program Notes
2021-22 Season
The program notes are written by musicologist and PhD student Rena Roussin. Welcome to the 2021 Festival of Carols! This concert, a time-honoured tradition of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, is…
October 18, 2021
Coming to Carry Me Home Program Notes
2021-22 Season
Program notes written by musicologist and PhD student Rena Roussin. Nathaniel Dett’s The Chariot Jubilee (1919) and Johannes Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem (1868) were written just over fifty years apart…