2021-22 Season

 

After a very successful virtual season, Erato is excited to bring our concerts to a live audience once again. To celebrate the return to live music, we have created the most ambitious season in our 16-year history. 
 
Songs & Stories explores the relationship between words and music. From classic texts wed to contemporary sounds (Neo-Classic Tales), to Philip Glass setting Leonard Cohen’s poetry to music (Book of Longing), to hometown composers exploring the dramatic possibilities of song (Vancouver Stories). We hope you will embrace the return of live music with us!
 

Single Tickets:
$30 / $19.99 / $15  for Single Tickets
(General / Erato Members / Concession)

Single tickets available now at:

http://eratoensemble.eventbrite.com

Neo-Classic Tales

September 25, 2021

Neo-Classic Tales is a virtuosic program of rarely heard contemporary works inspired by art & literature of the past. 

Luciano Berio’s “Cries of London”

Luciano Berio’s “Cries of London” is a tour-de-force work for eight voices created for the Swingle Singers. The words, compiled from phrases used by street vendors in old London, resounds like the echoes of the street vendors’ voices, as the composer absorbed them as they rebounded from the walls of the old houses. This performance likely marks the Vancouver premiere.

Riccardo Perugini’s “Il Caso MacBeth” (2019)

Riccardo Perugini’s “Il Caso MacBeth” (2019) re-imagines the sleepwalking scene from MacBeth as a psychiatry session, scored for Mezzo-Soprano, Clarinet and Piano. Erato is proud to present the North American premiere of this bold work by this rising Italian composer.

Priaulx Rainier’s “The Bee Oracles” (1969)

Priaulx Rainier’s “The Bee Oracles” (1969) is a colourful, mystical setting of Edith Sitwell’s poem “The Bee Keeper.” Composed for renowned tenor Peter Pears, this rarely heard masterpiece is scored for Tenor, Flute, Oboe, Violin, Cello, and Harpsichord. (North American premiere).

Philip Glass: Book of Longing (Canadian Premiere)

March 26, 2022

Composed by Philip Glass and based on the poetry of Leonard Cohen, Book of Longing is a song cycle composed for ensemble, singers, spoken word and imagery. The culmination of years of mutual admiration between two of the most celebrated musical artists of their generation, the piece features new music by Philip Glass that is inspired by Cohen’s collection of poems and his artwork of the same name. 

Erato’s performance is the first to be granted outside of the Philip Glass Ensemble. This concert will mark the Canadian Premiere of this important work. Enjoy it in the beauty of the newly refurbished St. Andrew’s-Wesley Sanctuary.

Vancouver Stories

June 11, 2022

We revive our annual B.C. composers’ concert with works that explore the connection between drama, storytelling and chamber-song. The programme includes a new commission from Katerina Gimon and Barbara Black.