The Small Rain

Featuring Isaiah Bell, Tenor & Alexander Weimann, keyboard

A digital production available online only, presented by Early Music Vancouver

Join Isaiah Bell, one of Canada’s most promising young tenors, on a musical exploration of the self. This program transcends eras with music that includes traditional folk songs, works by Handel and Schubert, as well as Isaiah’s own philosophically minded poetry. This thoughtfully crafted concert examines our relationship with nature, our own personhood, and the existential questions in between. Alexander Weimann accompanies on EMV’s 1875 Broadwood piano and double-manual harpsichord.

“The star of the evening was surely tenor Bell. Moments of stillness, smooth-as-silk coloratura, careful attention to every note, even a fun treading of the line between Baroque-style straight-tone and full-throated operatic vibrato – Bell had the chance to offer it all, and he did so with poise.” – The Globe and Mail

Access to the concert is free, but donations are greatly appreciated. Concert will remain online one year from premiere date.

Presented in partnership with the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts through the support of the Chan Endowment Fund at the University of British Columbia. 

PROGRAM:

Isaiah Bell
O Western Wind

Henry Purcell
The Fairy Queen
“When a cruel long winter”

Franz Schubert
Winterreise
“Wasserflut”

Vincenzo Bellini
Vaga luna

Trad.
“Ah toi, belle hirondelle” (a capella)

Georg Frideric Handel
Almira
“Liebliche Wälder”

Constant Lambert
A Summer Day

Alec Roth
Songs in Times of War
“Thoughts while travelling at night”

Handel
La resurrezione
“Ecco il sol”

Francesco Cavalli
La Calisto
“Piante ombrose”

Benjamin Britten/Trad.
The Last Rose of Summer

Trad.
La belle rose (a capella)

Joseph Haydn
Das Leben ist ein Traum

Healy Willan/Trad.
La plainte du coureur-des-bois