The MRS Holiday Party will take place on Thursday, December 6 at the EMVI with concerts, sightreading, wine and cheese and door prizes! Come hear the ensembles show off their repertoire and join in a sightreading led by Marie-Laurence Primeau. Our musical directors have very kindly donated prizes for the drawing. Finally, there will be wine and cheese.
The Dance/Music Workshop was another great success. About 25 people participated. Most were members of the Montreal Recorder Society, and there were a few dedicated dancers and one viola da gamba player. The dancers showed us what we could aspire to, and the viola da gamba added a richness to the recorder sound. During the evening, we started with simple and double bransles and continued to a gay bransle, which was captured in a beautiful video featuring Vincent Lauzer and two instrumentalist and several dedicated dancers. Then we moved on to the pavane and the gaillarde. Once we were tired of jumping, Anne-Marie Gardette gave us a wonderful demonstration of the gaillarde We ended with a contradance for couples in sets, which the dancers managed to make it to the end of! Some photos and videos are on our Facebook page.
Flutissimo continues its highly successful 20th anniversary concert season with a concert in Chateauguay. Matthias Maute will once again be the soloist and Sophie Larivière will conduct in the final performance of "La Flûte dans tous ses états". The concert includes works spanning the range from the medieval period to the present day. The concert will take place at Our Lady of Perpetual Help at 295 McLeod , Chateauguay, PQ, J6J 2H8, which is accessible by car or by public transportation (https://rtm.quebec/en). Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased in advance from Carole Spenard at 514-973-2661 or obtained at the door. The parish is holding a brunch from 11:30 to 1:30, which costs $12 and must be reserved in advance at the same number. All proceeds go to the needs of the OLPH parish.
Caroline Tremblay directed an interesting and enjoyable sightreading on October 15. As usual, we played through a range of music, mostly by Bach and Pretorius, some of which was linked thematically (In Dulci Jubilo by both composers). What was special about this sightreading was that the music was accessible to members of Recorder for Fun as well as more advanced players. Turnout reflected this - both Recorder for Fun and Harmonia were well represented. While it would be an exaggeration to say that the pieces were easy, there were certainly accessible lines in all pieces played, and as one member of Recorder for Fun said, "I really enjoyed the experience, as I was able to follow along on my line without any problem for the most part. Sometimes when my concentration wavered I listened to my neighbours and found my place again. I was proud of myself for accepting the challenge and felt like a 'grown-up'! I loved participating in this beautiful musical experience." At the same time, the usual attendees of sightreadings were not disappointed. Not only did they get to work through the complexities of the double choir in one of the pieces played, they enjoyed the larger sound made possible by the larger group participating. So, it's time to look forward to the next sightreading, which will be led by Marie-Laurence Primeau and which will again welcome everyone from Recorder for Fun through to Flutissimo.
The dance-music workshop with Anne-Marie Gardette and Vincent Lauzer will take place on November 1 at 7 PM at the École de musique Vincent d'Indy! Recorders players and dancers are welcome. All information, the music (with instructions for preparing for the workshop), the registration page for the workshop, and the signup sheet for the parts are available at the event page on our website.
