TEMC and the Toronto Concert Orchestra present ORGAN SYMPHONY
Sunday November 16 2014, 2:00pm

Unlike in the case of the organ it is not easy to point to the moment the orchestra was ‘invented’, but it is certain that the organ has been featured as solo and ensemble instrument within the orchestra more-or-less from the start. The organ’s now-rare role as solo instrument with orchestra was first established in the works of Mozart and Handel the mid-18th century, and grew into and throughout the 19th century along with the growth of orchestras and the interest in richer and greater sound possibilities.

In answer to Mozart’s famous title for the organ “King of Instruments” it has been suggested that the orchestra is “the Queen” – and TEMC’s November 16th Organ Century-celebrating performance of the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony is certainly an occasion fit for royalty.  This iconic work is among the most celebrated in the literature – yet performances of it are limited by the large forces called for (triple winds and brass, piano, organ, percussion and strings). Commissioned by the English Royal Philharmonic Society, the first performance was given in London on May 19th 1886 conducted by the composer, who shortly thereafter dedicated the work to the memory of his friend Franz Liszt. The work’s most outstanding features are the use of keyboard instruments (the organ, of course, but also piano for two- and four-hands), and a romantic composition device known as Cyclical Form, in which melodies introduced early in the symphony return and are developed throughout the movements of the work. As a kind of early Christmas present, the TEMC Sanctuary choir will contribute selections from another beautiful and seldom-heard Saint-Saëns work, the “Oratoire de Noël”, as well as other beautiful selections from the French choral literature.

Tickets for this special concert are $30 adult and $20 student and senior, available on the Internet at http://www.ticketweb.ca (search for the performance venue, Timothy Eaton Memorial Church), from the TEMC Volunteer Office at (416) 925-5977, 230 St. Clair Avenue West, and around Sunday services at the church.

Make sure to be at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church on Sunday November 16th at 2:00pm for the Toronto Concert Orchestra and TEMC Sanctuary Choir and their conductors Kerry Stratton and Elaine Choi – a fitting start to our celebrations of our church’s musical birthday.