Lake Winnipeg’s plight given voice

When many of us think of Lake Winnipeg, visions of idyllic cottage life come to mind. But Wednesday’s gala opening concert of the Agassiz Chamber Music Festival offered a different viewpoint of the huge lake and its plight. The world premiere performance of Andrew Balfour’s enigmatic Voice of the Lake was the feature work of the evening.

The Aboriginal Balfour was commissioned to compose the work by the Prairie Ocean Centre of the Arts in Gimli. He devoted a year to exploring the lake – particularly its place in aboriginal culture – meeting with First Nations elders, bird watching and going out on the lake with fishers.

The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (MCO) and members of Camerata Nova, joined by some notable friends, performed Voice of the Lake under the baton of Earl Stafford.

The piece began with a barefoot David Hickey playing gongs and crystal bowls for a prolonged period. The singers were lined up along the aisles of the church and sounds of rain and wind descended upon the hall. Eventually, the singers ascended the stage and began singing slow, long tones. Bells tinkled constantly. It all had a primal, eerie effect that was meditative in nature.

Once the orchestra was finally activated, there were some overly thick, murky moments – a kind of big, undefined wall of sound. This perhaps represented the very real concerns about pollution and the threatened quality of the water.

A poem by Laine Hoogstraten provided more form for Balfour’s music and tenor PJ Buchan’s solo was eloquent and lovely. Mamahkaskaw was a departure from the gentler movements preceding it, demanding forceful, driving playing from the MCO and Orffesque singing from the choir. The piccolo and bassoon duet accompanied by the singers (as the wind) was especially effective. The overall mood of this work is not greatly optimistic. Much of it is somber and taciturn. There is, especially towards the end, a great deal of unison singing and playing, which could be a symbol of the hope humankind can have if we come together and work towards a common goal.

The first half of the program stood on its own as almost a completely different concert. The main work was the wonderfully textured Serenade in C by Hungarian composer Ernst von Dohnanyi, played by Yehonatan Berick, violin, Aaron Au, viola, and festival artistic director Paul Marleyn, cello.

These are polished performers and it is astonishing to note that they all live in different cities, therefore being unable to rehearse together regularly. One would never suspect this, as they played with great precision and finesse.