Arts & Culture

2011 The Best Christmas Song ..... Lou Rawls' "Christmas Is"

 

I would humbly suggest the best Christmas song ever is "Christmas Is" by Lou Rawls although "Merry Christmas, Baby" certainly does have its charms.  The dulcet tones and the strong horn section suggest a certain 1970s retro cool that I find very appealing right now.  It's like hot chocolate with a chaser of caramel.

If you recall, in 2010, I thought the best Christmas song was the Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping" - catchy upbeat lyrics and a very danceable tune.  Imagine my surprise last week when watching Glee to see them do a black and white version - they stole my song !

 

 

 

If Lou Rawls appeals to you then you will be happy to know you can borrow his Christmas CD from the Library.

 

 

What was interesting to me when I was looking at our catalogue was the depth of non traditional Christmas CDs and their demand - many had holds/waiting  lists and I realized while lots of people like Christmas music many want a slightly different Jazz or Blues take on it.

 

  

 

 

 

If you're interested in scores about Christmas or Hanukkah my colleague Jorge at Barbara Frum Library has done a great blog post on these.   You might want to also consider the following:

 

Descanse em paz Cesária Évora - R.I.P

To listen to the music of Cesária Évora is like eating chocolate while crying - both delicious and sad at the same time.  The barefoot diva died December 17th at the too young age of 70.  Singing in Portuguese (born on the island of Cape Verde and of creole background) she was part of the World Music explosion in the mid 1980s and 1990s that exposed Europe and North America to entirely different types of music. 

 

 

When I listen to her sing it gives me goosebumps - like listening to an opera where you don't understand the language but the skill and emotion of the singer nonetheless conveys the meaning.

 

 

 

 

The Toronto Public Library has a wide selection of her CDs available to borrow. The Essential Cesaria Evora might be a good place to start.  Enjoy a legend.

 

 

 

 

Nino Ricci Interview @ Toronto Reference Library - Saturday Dec 10 2011 2pm - Toronto Writers' Co-op

Please join us for a free program today, Dec 11 2011, at 2-4 pm in the Beeton Auditorium, at the Toronto Reference Library. Sponsored by Toronto Writers Co-op , host John Miller interviews Nino Ricci, author of the "Lives of the Saints" trilogy, "Testament" and "The Origin of Species". Following the interview, two authors from the Toronto Writers’ Co-operative will read from their work

I still remember the excitement and buzz of Nino Ricci's ground breaking 1990 novel Lives of the Saints when it first came out.  It may have been that as a son of immigrants myself (Macedonian-Greek) the book spoke to my condition.  Or, it may have been brought up in Richmond Hill, which had a large Italian Canadian population, that it reminded me of the friends I went to school with.   Later, I would visit my German in-laws in Leamington Ontario where Ricci is from and the novel is set,  see the fields of tomatoes, the Heinz factory, the various social clubs and feel connected again to the book.

 

Did you know that Ricci also wrote an accessible biography of Pierre Elliot Trudeau?

 

 

If you're not able to attend the program you may enjoy this Youtube interview of Ricci.

 

 

 

 

Ricci has been honoured with two Governor General Awards, the Books in Canada First Novel Award, the Trillium Award, The Roger's Writers Trust Award for Fiction. The Lives of the Saints trilogy was adapted for a television miniseries starring Sophia Loren and Kris Kristofferson.

 

Audition for Trojan Women @ Alumnae Theatre

Alumnae Theatre is in rehearsals for The Trojan Women - adapted by Canadian poet Gwendolyn MacEwen - and they need two more women for the Chorus.  Auditions are this coming Wednesday December 7 between 1 and 6 pm.  They are seeking two non-union female actors of any age/any ethnicity to be part of the Chorus.  You'll need a short, 2-3 minute, classical monologue and one song to sing a capella.  For more details see their blog - good luck !

 

On Stage with "The Penelopiad" - Performing Arts Theatre Series Fall 2011

"Now that I'm dead I know everything" - so begins The Penelopiad and how mysteriously powerful is that phrase?   Please join us for a free program on Monday December 5, from 7-8 pm, and hear guest speaker  Kelly Thornton, Artistic Director of Nightwood Theatre, talk about the play "The Penelopiad" written by Margaret Atwood.

This retelling by Atwood of the Greek myth is available in both English and French, Greek, as well as a play version, audiobook and downloadable ebook.

 

 

The National Arts Centre did a co-production with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2007-2008 and did a useful study guide that is available online.

 

 

                         

This is the last in our program on current Toronto theatre - On Stage Performing Arts Theatre Series - six lectures / six theatres.  They are free of charge in the Toronto Reference Library - Beeton Auditorium.

• “The Normal Heart” hear guest speaker Joel Greenberg, Director and Artistic Director, Studio 180 Theatre on Monday, October 3, 7 - 8 pm.

• "Ghosts”  hear guest speaker Paula Wing, Associate Artist, Soulpepper Theatre Company  on Monday, October 24, 7 - 8 pm.

•  “The Children's Republic”  hear guest speaker Hannah Moscovitch, Playwright-in-Residence, Tarragon Theatre on Monday November 7, 7 - 8 pm.

• “Red” hear guest speaker Natasha Mytnowych,  Associate Director of Programming, Canadian Stage  on Monday, November 14, 7 - 8 pm.

• “Topdog/Underdog” hear guest speaker Philip Akin, Director and Artistic Director, Obsidian Theatre Company on Monday, November 28, 7 - 8 pm.

• “The Penelopiad”  hear guest speaker: Kelly Thornton, Artistic Director, Nightwood Theatre on Monday, December 5, 7 - 8 pm.

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Did you know the Performing Arts Department at the Toronto Reference Library also had:

• an audition board of current plays and also extensive collection of monologues
• plays from across Canada in English and French and plays from around the world
• theatrical reviews
• clipping files on Canadian performances and organizers
• theatre programs from local theatre companies - both current and historical collections
• index to Canadian theatre productions
• original stage designs by major Canadian artists
• sound recordings of stage dialects, plays and comedies
• music scores - popular, classical, theatre and by instrument
• online literary criticism you can access from home or in a library branch