About 50 guests happily responded to an invitation to join
soprano Suzie LeBlanc and co-hosts Monique Léger and Patrick Smith for the
Ottawa launch of I am in need of music,
the new CD/DVD which is a testament to the 2011
centenary celebration of poet Elizabeth Bishop’s Nova Scotia roots.
During the early evening of November
12, participants chatted over wine and cheese at Mary Albota’s
striking loft condo, with its brick walls hinting at the historic
building’s 19th century hospital origins.
I asked some other guests what brought them to this
gathering, and their answers varied: one was a close friend of Suzie’s
from childhood; another was an English teacher who loves Bishop’s poetry;
still another was a local classical music fan encountering Bishop’s work
for the first time.
Monique and Patrick welcomed everyone, and we then
gathered around to hear from Suzie. She began by introducing the
project, which was clearly a labour of love: after discovering
Elizabeth Bishop's work, she had invited certain Canadian composers to
set some of the poems to music, using crowd-sourcing as one
funding method. The format of this event was similar to that in Toronto: Suzie began by paying tribute to the composers,
musicians, and other collaborators, though they were unable to attend
in Ottawa. Particular
mention went to Sandra Barry for her expertise and dedication
to Bishop's legacy, as well as to Linda Rae Dornan, who
filmed Suzie and herself (Walking with EB) as they
retraced the 21-year-old Bishop's three-week trek with a friend
across Newfoundland’s Avalon
Peninsula in 1932. Suzie described this adventure as frantic
at first, but ultimately a very positive “exercise in slowing down.”
Next, Suzie asked writer Daniel Poliquin to read two of the very different Bishop
poems which were chosen to receive settings (by Alasdair MacLean and John
Plant, respectively): the tender love poem “Breakfast Song,” and “Sandpiper,”
where Bishop's typically close observations of nature are on show.
Finally, the ‘piece de resistance’: we were treated to an
intimate performance by Suzie, ably aided by Frederic Lacroix on piano.
While the CD background settings are for instrumental groupings, Suzie
explained that Christos Hatzis had also created arrangements for piano
accompaniment for two of his compositions. First came the witty and
jagged “Insomnia,” which requires a playful touch and much vocal
agility. And to conclude, Suzie sang “Anaphora,” which
while rather opaque, chronicles the sensuous side of “every day in
endless/ endless assent” – and could that also be ‘ascent’?
Hatzis in his illuminating notes thinks so, as he finds a religious
undercurrent which must have prompted his swelling “Broadway” (his word)
phrases that call on Suzie to soar up to peaks of high A’s. Of course,
she effortlessly does. This piece closes the CD, and it was a fitting
ending for the launch program, too.
Up close and personal at the Ottawa launch
of "I am in need of music"
of "I am in need of music"
Like Suzie, I am a latecomer to Bishop's
writings. In January 2010, I travelled to the annual Key West
Literary Seminar, which featured the last 60 years of American
poetry. The Toronto organization Classical
Pursuits sponsored a seminar there immediately afterward, and Bishop – with her
Key West
connection – was one of the writers of focus. As someone
who also attended the CD launch in Toronto,
I was delighted to have the chance to hear Suzie singing ‘up
close and personal’ again, and to tell her directly that hers is among my
favourite classical voices. (Since we are now in the pre-Christmas
season, I would heartily recommend her a cappella duet with Daniel Taylor, “There
is no Rose of such Virtue” on the 1999 Atma CD Star of the Magi.)
What is next for Suzie LeBlanc, now that she has ventured
on this personal initiative that takes her outside the usual bounds
of classical performing? Will she seek out other writers to champion
musically? Will she use crowd-sourcing again? Who knows?
Maybe she could be persuaded to explore other worthy poets such as
the recently departed Canadians P. K. Page, Jay Macpherson, and Margaret
Avison.
_____________
Note: Full disclosure: Wendy Lawrence has
an academic background in literary studies and teaching (yes, she was
taught by Jay Macpherson), and a life-long interest in music. After
retiring from a career involving international development and women's
rights, she now studies classical voice with soprano Wanda Procyshyn and
enjoys choir singing in Ottawa.
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