The “Old” and the “New” will be making beautiful music together as the Longest Night Society presents two evenings of Early Music featuring the Problematic Orchestra
Early Music, a production by Longest Night Society (LNS), featuring the Problematic Orchestra, is coming to the Yukon Arts Centre (YAC) for two shows, on December 20 and 21, the latter of which is, fittingly, the longest night of the year. In these shows, the Problematic Orchestra will perform music from a variety of eras, showing the influence that the pre-Renaissance, Renaissance and Baroque eras have on modern music.
“I have long observed that certain elements of early music, the stark harmonies, forms of plain song and chant, are often revisited in contemporary music,” said LNS artistic director Daniel Janke. “In some ways, it may be a reaction against the complexities of serialism, and modernism in general. There is a desire for simpler music. This concert is a chance for us to investigate that realm.”
Problematic Orchestra is the Yukon’s own semi-professional chamber orchestra, administered by LNS.
For this special winter solstice concert series, the orchestra will be joined by some new faces and voices.
“We are incorporating a vocal ensemble, which is something new for the orchestra.” The choir is being led by Nick Turnbull, a relative newcomer to Yukon,” said Janke. “Longest Night Society has commissioned new works from Nick, Scott Maynard, Hannah Mazurek and myself.”
While Janke and Turnbull, along with their musicians and singers, have been excited to flesh out these shows, the main challenges have come in having to wait for certain scores to arrive.
“To date, we are still waiting for some of the scores,” said Janke. “That presents a challenge for musicians who want to start working on the music.”
The selection process for the music presented in this concert series was no small task in itself. Presetting music from different eras to show the centuries-lasting impact of early music is the driving idea behind these performances, and it was important for Janke to stick with that vision.
“We have commissioned new works with this theme in mind,” he said. “We are also adapting and performing some works from the period. I also worked with Nick Turnbull, to choose repertoire that would suit the group. Some of our interpretations will be quite within the tradition, and some will be more experimental in nature. Finally, we are stretching the theme a little by putting our percussion section to work on a few feature pieces–maybe a reference to ‘really early’ music.
“I look forward to having people come and enjoy a performance by Yukon’s own semi-professional chamber orchestra,” said Janke. “We have a loyal following that increases every year. It is a privilege for musicians and audiences alike to have this kind of large ensemble performance experience in the North.”
Tickets for Early Music are available at the YAC box office, online at yukonartscentre.com. Adult tickets are priced at $30 each, while senior/elder (65 and over) tickets are $20, student and youth (18 and under) tickets are $15.To keep up with LNS and the Problematic Orchestra, visit www.longestnight.ca
