Composer Frank Horvat writes from the heart in epic, bold Memories of Self-Isolation
Set to original poems, the cantata has its world premiere at Vancouver Bach Choir’s season-opening concert
Frank Horvat. Photo by Anita Zvonar
Vancouver Bach Choir presents Reflections for our Times on November 12 at 7:30 pm at St Andrew's-Wesley United Church
CALM, JOYFUL, TIMID, anxious, and optimistic: these are some of the words that internationally celebrated Toronto-based composer Frank Horvat uses to describe Memories of Self-Isolation. Commissioned by Vancouver Bach Choir, the 45-minute cantata in eight movements is about to have its world premiere. It’s set to lyrics by seven poets from around the globe and explores the impact of the pandemic on people’s hearts, minds, and souls.
“I feel very grateful to the Vancouver Bach Choir for performing this and for commissioning me to compose this work for such a large scale; I think the beauty of it is we can tell a lot of different stories and share a lot of varied emotions,” Horvat says in a phone interview with Stir. “It’s subject matter that we have all lived through, and it deserves so many different perspectives.
“Everybody’s experience in life is unique,” adds Horvat, associate composer at the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers. “It’s fascinating to see all the different emotions that people were feeling throughout the pandemic, and poems set to music express that in such a lovely way, such a poignant way. We’re reflecting what that tumultuous time we lived in was like through various viewpoints.”
Memories of Self-Isolation is one of two bold contemporary pieces that make up Reflections for our Times, VBC’s 2022-23 season-opening concert. The other is Mass for the Endangered by American composer Sarah Kirkland Snider. Having its Western Canadian premiere, Snider’s piece applies the traditional mass’s musical modes to concern for non-human life—animals, plants, and the environment.
Leslie Dala. Photo by Diamond’s Edge Photography
“I’m super excited about this program: it’s one of the most novel things we’ve ever done,” VBC music director Leslie Dala tells Stir by phone. “These are two very powerful pieces with relevance in terms of subject matter. Even if people are not generally concert-goers, the program represents a reflection of some of the difficulties and challenges we’ve all been facing. In our very hurried lives where we’re running around from one thing to another and there’s constant Internet, we so often fail to take the time to reflect, or it becomes increasingly difficult to just find stillness. I think this is an evening that’s a chance for people to reflect in a way that goes beyond the ordinary.”
Horvat, whose compositions have been featured on more than a dozen albums and whose premieres have taken place on four continents, turns to music not only to process and express his own feelings but also to reach out to others, including those who can relate to his experiences with depression and anxiety. His Piano Therapy Concert is a 75-minute solo performance that includes personal stories of his own mental-health journey. Memories of Self-Isolation grew out of another one of his many mental-health projects; in the spring of 2020, Horvat wrote 31 new short pieces of music for solo instrument or voice or for a duo of musicians self-isolating together in an effort to lift people’s spirits. The works were recorded at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall for Horvat's 2021 album, Music for Self-Isolation. Horvat’s website has an entire section dedicated to mental health.
“I’ve always been sensitive and empathetic to that issue because of my own battles over the years,” says Horvat. “I’m at a good place in my life, but 15 to 20 years ago I did go through some hard times, and it took a lot of years of working at it through a variety of means and a lot of love and support from family and loved ones to manage that and have the productive, happy, and healthy life that I have today. Once I was able to overcome that threshold, so to speak, I started thinking about ‘How can I feel confident or brave enough to share that through my music?’ In the past five to six years I’ve felt comfortable exploring that through a variety of my compositions and albums.
“I think it’s been a good thing for my journey to explore these kinds of things,” he adds. “It helps keep me grounded in my own personal challenges with mental-health issues and at the same time, it’s a bonus to hear that it impacts others, that they get strength from it….A lot of people are still struggling coming out of pandemic, trying to find their way and get back on their feet. I’m hoping that this piece, which has a very communal, joyous ending, will help people come together as a community.”
Through “artivism”, Horvat has made a commitment to using his creative platform to raise awareness of mental health as well as human rights and the environment. His environmental projects include his sustainably minded 60+ stop North American Green Keys Tour as well as his social-media campaign #music4HRDs and album For Those Who Died Trying, which share stories of murdered environmental activists. Because of his eco-interests, he was delighted to learn that VBC would pair his work with Snider’s Mass for the Endangered. Featuring a libretto by poet Nathaniel Bellows, the mass is a celebration of the natural world and also a plea for greater awareness of the threats facing the environment and a call for urgent action. Dala, who had heard the professional recording of the piece by Gallicantus, a UK chamber choir, was immediately onboard.
“It’s the kind of music that sounds both ancient and very modern,” Dala says. “At the same time, it’s minimalistic, very tonal, and very friendly to the ear. I found the piece so haunting I couldn’t get it out of my head.
“I fell in love with both of these pieces,” the conductor adds. “They felt like what we all needed right now.”
Related Articles
