By Wolfgang Adam “Then at noon in the Thomas Church a musical surprise. Three superb Bach cantatas (BWV 124, 3, 111) performed by a powerful Canadian choir. This ‘Ottawa Bach Choir’ conducted by Lisette Canton showed us that the choral basses can be dominant in the polyphonic network of voices. Not the choir sopranos, but this time the men offered the powerful voiced basis. In the soloist quartet, the baritone […]
TAKE US BACH by Rachel Williams On March 12, the rehearsal room at Knox Presbyterian Church was filled with a flurry of excitement before showtime. With COVID-19 restrictions lifted, the Ottawa Bach choir was finally able to host in-person concerts again. Before, the Juno Award winning Ottawa Bach choir had to settle for virtual shows and pre-recorded events. “We are overjoyed to be back,” said Lisette Canton, the founder, artistic […]
Who: Ottawa Bach Choir, Lisette Canton, conductor, Mélisande Sinsoulier, Frédéric Lacroix, piano Soloists: Ellen McAteer, soprano; Geoffrey Sirett, baritone Where: International des musiques sacrées de Québec, Église Saint-Dominique, Quebec City Reviewed on: Sunday, September 7 – 4:00 PM On the road again … A typical Ottawa music season finds the Ottawa Bach Choir and its founder/conductor Lisette Canton giving three major concerts and occasionally participating in sundry events. Some summers they perform in Chamberfest and/or Music and Beyond. […]
OTTAWA — Coming to Leipzig to hear Bach is a pilgrimage, especially during the annual Bachfest in June. And singing in the Thomaskirche, the church from which Bach performed his functions as the city’s music director, is clearly an experience like no other especially for the Ottawa Bach Choir and its founder, Lisette Canon. The intensity of their rehearsing over the last couple of days has been exhausting for this observer, […]
Who: Ottawa Bach Choir, Lisette Canton, conductor, Jennifer Loveless, organ Where: St. Matthew’s Church Reviewed on: Saturday, May 10, 2014 – 8 PM OTTAWA — Lisette Canton and her Ottawa Bach Choir concluded their 12th season Saturday evening with an eclectic program that will form the backbone of their five-city European tour in June. There was only one work by Bach, but a feast of music from every century from the 16th through the 20th […]
Who: Ottawa Bach Choir, Lisette Canton, conductor Where: Knox Presbyterian Church Reviewed on: Saturday, March 8, 2014 – 8 PM OTTAWA — The music of the cultural movement of the English Renaissance, more or less contemporary with the Tudor era, reached some of the greatest heights of its time. At its best, it bears comparison with the work of De Lassus, Victoria and the other major continental polyphonists. English music would not be so distinguished […]
Who: Ottawa Bach Choir, Lisette Canton, conductor, with Ensemble Caprice Where: St. Matthew’s Church Reviewed on: Saturday, November 30, 2013 – 8 PM OTTAWA — For its season opener, the Ottawa Bach Choir presented an evening of music by four major Baroque composers and one minor one. The minor one, though, bore the name of Bach. That’s no small distinction and there’s no denying that he had a share if the family talent. The first […]
