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Dear friends and supporters of Pro Coro Canada
I am very excited about announcing the release of ‘Living Flame of Love’, a 40 minutes documentary by Michael B. MacDonald on the creation and performance of a major composition by Canadian Peter-Anthony Togni. This movie portrays one of our nation’s great musical minds, alongside accomplished and renowned instrumentalists Nora Bumanis, harp and Joseph Petric, accordion with Edmonton’s Pro Coro Canada.
It was early 2018 when Petric approached me with the idea of the creation of a large-scale work by Togni. The three of us had worked together occasionally, and it was Joseph’s appreciation of Peter’s sincerity and spirituality in music that was the genesis of the commission. It happened that Michael B. MacDonald approached Pro Coro Canada at the same time with the idea to document the work of a professional choir. The combination of these two creative endeavours was obvious, and a partnership was formed.
Starting in the Fall of 2018, Michael B. MacDonald, a cinemusicologist and associate professor of music at MacEwan University, Edmonton, accompanied several Pro Coro singers, Peter Togni, Joseph Petric, Nora Bumanis and myself in our preparation for the performance in early 2019. The first part led Michael to Halifax where he interviewed Peter in his home church, talking about the inspiration - the first four notes - of the work. The music eventually found its way, in the form of the full score, to me, and Michael B. MacDonald filmed the first stages of my study of the music. It is fascinating to look back to January 2019, when Pro Coro Canada was rehearsing, first individually and then as an ensemble of 24, the work Living Flame of Love, and welcoming guests from across Canada. It is in stark contrast to the possibilities and limits on gatherings for any event at this very time.
Watching the movie now, I’m drawn in by the pace of stillness and then ebb and flow of the music. The opening sequence with its monochrome landscape prepares my mind for subtle changes in light and shifts in the focus by the filmmaker. I am present with the protagonist in the moment. And while sometimes I'm distracted by other noises and communications in the background, I find myself pulled back to the main part of the narration.
I suggest you carve yourself 45 minutes out of your day or weekend, maybe put on your headphones or watch on your home TV with friends or family. The video can be enlarged to fill the entire screen. Please let us know your thoughts on the music and the process by a professional choir of learning a completely new work for the first performance. Michael B. MacDonald will provide his perspective on his work and the time since next week via video.
Stay well, Michael Zaugg
So, exclusively for you: Living Flame of Love by Michael B. MacDonald, with music by Peter-Anthony Togni, performed by Nora Bumanis, Joseph Petric, with Michael Zaugg and Pro Coro Canada.
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