Deck the halls with the Nathaniel Dett Chorale

There’s definitely no place like home for holiday music. Home to Toronto are an array of Christmas concerts — some are new, but others, such as Nathaniel Dett Chorale’s “An Indigo Christmas…,” return every year.

As is tradition with this holiday concert, now in its 11th year, the chorale performs at the Glenn Gould Studio.

The 21-member chorale will perform a blend of contemporary and traditional compositions, featuring carols, spirituals and folk songs.

While the concert retains its main “An Indigo Christmas…” concept every year, its theme, repertoire and guest performers are different. For example, in 2008, the concert’s theme was ‘great joy.’

The founder and artistic director of the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, founded the chorale in 1998, naming it after acclaimed African-Canadian composer R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943).

The chorale’s repertoire focuses on Afrocentric music that includes classical, gospel, jazz, folk, blues and spiritual genres.

For more on the Nathaniel Dett Chorale and its founder, click here.

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The “An Indigo Christmas… In Silent Night,” concerts will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 16 and Saturday, Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $39 and are available by calling Roy Thomson Hall at 416-872-4255, or online at www.roythomson.com

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Q&A
~ With Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, founder and artistic director of the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, talks about “An Indigo Christmas… In Silent Night.” ~

Q: What makes the concert such a popular one for audiences?

A: I think that Christmas is a time when many people want to hear good choral music. It puts them in the mood to celebrate. The Nathaniel Dett Chorale, for 11 years, has offered a varied assortment of seasonal Afrocentric music, including guest artists our audiences might not otherwise hear. An Indigo Christmas has quickly become for many people a seasonal ‘not to be missed’ event.

Q: What are some of the songs included on the repertoire list, and why did you choose them?

A: There are African folksongs including “Tambokenu Mwane” and “Nama Emonate”; a suite of traditional Christmas spirituals including “Rise Up,” “Shepherd,” “What Month Was My Jesus Born In” and “Shout for Joy”; a gospel version of “Mary Had a Baby”; some vocal jazz arrangements of traditional carols including “The Coventry Carol” and “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen”; and some contemporary arrangements of spirituals including “Children, Go Where I Send Thee” and “Rockin’ Jerusalem.”

In addition the jazz duo Joe Sealy and Paul Novotny will offer selections from their brand new CD entitled “Songs” and from their recent [Christmas] CD. “The Man in the Red Suit.” I chose this repertoire for the variety of mood and styles, and the diversity of rhythm and tempo. There is also a storytelling component that overarches the entire programme.

Q: What is the inspiration behind this year’s concert?

A: “In Silent Night,” subtitled “A Christmas Vignette in Pastel” was the inspiration for the programme.

Q: How did “In Silent Night” come about?

A: A few years ago the Brazeal Dennard Chorale, musical colleagues of mine in Detroit, released a Christmas CD entitled “In Silent Night,” which was how I got to hear the piece. The idea was born then to create an intimate, acoustic programme centered around a child of hope born in the still of the night. Daily children are born reminding us that we are all children at heart, reminding us to be hopeful, reminding us to ‘turn away from rancor and come the way of friendship’. My friends in Detroit were willing to share several selections from their CD that are now out of print, and around which I could build a programme similar to but quite different from theirs. And so “An Indigo Christmas… In Silent Night” was born.

Q: What can audiences expect this year?

A: Audiences can expect an intimate yet lusty concert that will take them on an emotional sleighride from introspection to toe-tapping, sending them into the rest of the holiday season with a heart-warming glow.