September 15th, 2019
HANDEL Dixit Dominus BACH & SCHÜTZ Motets Showing that Toronto is not the only Canadian city capable of producing superb period ensembles, the Ottawa Bach Choir, conducted by founding director Lisette Canton, have combined with Matthias Maute’s Ensemble Caprice from Montreal in eloquent, persuasive performances of Handel, Schütz and Bach. The two have teamed up before, most notably in 2016, when they played in Beijing and Shanghai, and this is […]
September 1st, 2019
HANDEL: Dixit Dominus BACH & SCHÜTZ: Motets It seems to have become fairly common nowadays for choruses, some new, some long-established, to issue discs that either show off a particular program or ensemble. Never mind that downloads and sites such as YouTube may be more accessible to the public at large, but the compact disc is not yet on the same path as the dinosaurs in terms of relevancy. These […]
August 1st, 2019
HANDEL: Dixit Dominus BACH & SCHÜTZ: Motets ATMA The recent flow of recordings of Handel’s Dixit Dominus has brought the recognition that this Psalm setting of 1707 was the composer’s first great choral masterpiece. I have lost track of how many recordings it has been given, but I can say that this new one is among the very best. The Ottawa Bach Choir, a 21-member mixed-voice group, digs into the […]
August 1st, 2019
THE WHOLE NOTE VOCAL AND CHORAL Handel: Dixit Dominus; Bach & Schütz: Motets – Ottawa Bach Choir; Lisette Canton Written by Dianne Wells Category: Vocal and Choral Published: 27 March 2019 Handel – Dixit Dominus; Bach & Schütz – MotetsOttawa Bach Choir; Lisette CantonATMA ACD2 2790 (atmaclassique.com/En) The Ottawa Bach Choir and Ensemble Caprice join forces in this recording for thrilling performances of Baroque masters Handel, Bach and Schütz. From the outset […]
November 29th, 2017
THE WHOLE NOTE VOCAL AND CHORAL ’Twas But Pure Love – Ottawa Bach Choir; Lisette Canton Written by Dianne Wells Category: Vocal and Choral Published: 28 November 2017 ’Twas But Pure Love Ottawa Bach Choir; Lisette Canton Canto 2016 (ottawabachchoir.ca) The splendid choral offerings on this recording range from Renaissance to contemporary works and it was recorded just in time for the holiday season last year in celebration of the Ottawa Bach […]
August 29th, 2012
Ottawa Bach Choir & Baroque Orchestra / Lisette Canton Canto 2011—55 minutes This program is in honor of the Ottawa Bach Choir’s 10th anniversary. It’s a well constructed program that begins and ends with JS Bach, with the pieces arranged chronologically in between and encompassing modern times, the most recent composer being Eric Whitacre, who was born in 1970. The first Bach piece is a wedding cantata from the young […]
January 14th, 2012
Ottawa Bach Choir, Lisette Canton, conductor (Canto) This season marks the 10th anniversary of the Ottawa Bach Choir and the release of this CD is part of the celebrations. It begins and ends with the music of J.S. Bach, Cantata no. 196 and the motet Der Geist hilft unsrer Schwachheit auf respectively, and includes music by Monteverdi, Buxtehude and Messiaen among others. In addition to authoritative and beautiful accounts of […]
January 24th, 2009
Soloists, Ottawa Bach Choir, Lisette Canton, conductor (OBC) January 24, 2009 Two of J.S. Bach’s best known choral cantatas make up this collection, together with the eponymous motet Jesu, meine Freude. Four excellent soloists — soprano Agnes Zsigovics, counter-tenor Daniel Taylor, tenor Benjamin Butterfield and bass Daniel Lichti — make substantial and individual contributions to the enterprise, with Butterfield’s ever-beautiful singing a particular pleasure. A fine little baroque orchestra was […]
November 27th, 2005
Caroline Léonardelli, harp: Ottawa Bach Choir, Lisette Canton, conductor (Centaur Classics) This is one of the most refreshing and delightful Christmas CDs to come along in years. Ottawa harpist Caroline Léonardelli joins forces with the female voices of Lisette Canton’s Ottawa Bach Choir and vocal soloists Kathleen Radke, Julie Nesrallah and Dayna Lamothe, as well as percussionist J.S. Lacombe, in a program drawn from traditional and modern sources. The centrepiece […]