A Legacy
of Song
As a vocalist, I am never prouder than when I bring a Canadian song to one of the world’s recital stages. It is so inspiring to serve as an ambassador for Canadian culture and creativity.
The Canadian Art Song Series was conceived more than a decade ago in partnership with Collaborative Pianist Lorin Shalanko. We were motivated to celebrate our country’s musical heritage and Canada’s vast repertoire of moving and memorable songs, some of which date back a century or more.
The project’s songs are as varied as Canadians themselves. Some are quirky, some heartfelt. Some are familiar while others were on the verge of being lost to time. All are deserving of another moment in the spotlight.
After Lorin’s passing, I resolved to continue the project. There are moments when I feel like a kind of archeologist of song – doing my part to ensure that these beautiful artifacts are saved, preserved, and showcased for our generation and the next.
To date, the project consists of two CDs featuring a total of 50 songs, all of which are also available on the major streaming platforms. The third recording “ On Whose Shoulders” is now in process. Part of the thrill of the project has been the process of physically searching through the archives of the Canadian Music Centre – a painstaking but rewarding experience that highlights the rich and occasionally eccentric history of song across the varied regions of Canada.
This is more than a passion project. These songs are a reminder of who we are as Canadians – our history and our heritage. They are an echo of the past, carrying on into the future.
– Leslie
Canadian Art Song Recordings
Track Listing
Creek Bistro Specials – David L. McIntyre
Appetizers
1. Gorgonzola Custard (00:32)
2. Spinach and Bacon Salad (00:56)
3. Calamari (00:31)
Entrées
4. Halibut Cheeks (00:35)
5. Grilled Trout (01:00)
6. Jim Beam Ribeye (00:38)
Desserts
7. Clafoutis (01:23)
8. Gingerbread (00:49)
9. Madeleines (01:11)
Cinq Poèmes de Éloi de Grandmont – Lionel Daunais
10. Les Mots d’Amour (02.33)
11. Le Chasseur (01:33)
12. Relation de Voyage (01:02)
13. Chanson d’Amour (03:38)
14. Doux Temps (03:19)
Seven Tableaux from the Song of Songs – Srul Irving Glick
15. I O, Let Him Kiss Me (03:22)
16. II I am Dark but Lovely (03:49)
17. III King Solomon’s Wedding (02:54)
18. IV How Beautiful you are my Love (02:08)
19. V The Little Foxes (01:23)
20. VI He Took Me to the Wine Garden (04:08)
21. VII Set me as a Seal upon your Heart (04:35)
22. Sweet, Bide with Me Matthew Emery (02:31)
23. Juliet’s Song Michael Coghlan (04:18)
24. Go Heart Hurt with Adversity Michael Coghlan (03:30)
25. For Broken and Tired Am I Matthew Emery (02:59)
26. Cool and Silent is the Lake Gladys Davenport (02:18)
27. Requiescat Matthew Emery (04:33)
Halibut Cheeks & Other Love Songs (2018)
This series of recordings rejoices in food and the pleasure of love with compositions by David L. McIntyre, Lionel Daunais, Srul Irving Glick, Matthew Emery, Michael Coghlan, and Gladys Davenport.
“This second recording in the series, which takes on the theme of love and romance, is bursting with heartfelt and melodious pieces performed with great warmth and passion. The performers mine exquisite depths of emotion…”
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“Soprano Leslie Fagan and pianist Lorin Shalanko, both international performers and professors of music at Wilfrid Laurier University, are devoted to showcasing Canadian composers through their Canadian Art Song Series, which premiered with the release of Thread of Winter in 2016. This second recording in the series, which takes on the theme of love and romance, is bursting with heartfelt and melodious pieces performed with great warmth and passion. Since the prelude to romance is often a meal, the recording begins with the witty David L. McIntyre’s Creek Bistro Specials in which a sumptuous (and very Canadian) menu, from appetizers to desserts, is extravagantly presented in song. Nestled within the mains is the title track Halibut Cheeks and one can’t help but note a clever nod to Schubert’s Die Forelle in the piano part at the end of the Grilled Trout course.
In the selections that follow, the performers mine exquisite depths of emotion, first with Lionel Daunais’ Cinq Poèmes d’Éloi de Grandmont, then with Srul Irving Glick’s sensuous Seven Tableaux from the Song of Songs. Gorgeous selections by Matthew Emery and Michael Coghlan by turn frame Gladys Davenport’s Cool and silent is the lake, in which Fagan and Shalanko delicately evoke a sense of wonder at nature’s tranquility.”
Whole Note Magazine December 2018
Reviewed by Dianne Wells
Thread of Winter (2016)
In this collection, the politely unruly dances with the proudly undiscovered, while the untamed holds hands with the serene. These are our songs, classically composed and as diversely beautiful as Canada itself.
Selections include compositions by Gary Kulesha, Jeff Smallman, Anita Noel, Walter MacNutt, Imant Raminsh, Kenneth Bray, and Pieter Tiefenbach.
“In this first of hopefully many recordings, Fagan is in great form: clear, lyrical, playful, and pensive. She is showcasing not only her beautiful soprano… but also an interpretive range to be envied. Lorin Shalanko’s accompaniment is superb – fully supportive and intelligent… It is perhaps our ongoing doubt about the nature of Canadian identity that prevents us from recognizing and celebrating this treasure trove in the way the American Songbook is usually feted. I have a feeling that Prof. Fagan will soon change that.”
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“When reviewing (in early 2004) the first solo album by Leslie Fagan, I stated that “she is in a class of her own.” What a pleasure to conclude, some 12 years later, that she remains just as original. Her career has taken her to the world’s most important concert stages, providing Fagan with opportunities to present both traditional (Handel, Mahler) and contemporary (Poulenc, Kulesha) repertoire. She is also active as a voice teacher, in schools ranging from Wilfrid Laurier to Juilliard. It is that latter school’s reverence for the American Songbook that prompted Fagan to record this first album of the Canadian Art Song Series.
Much to no one’s surprise, Canadian composers such as Gary Kulesha, James Gordon, Walter MacNutt, Imant Raminsh, Jeff Smallman and others, have been steadily amassing a repertoire of songs, set to the words of both Canadian and international poets. It is perhaps our ongoing doubt about the nature of Canadian identity that prevents us from recognizing and celebrating this treasure trove in the way the American Songbook is usually feted. I have a feeling that Prof. Fagan will soon change that, at least among her students.”
– Robert Tomas, WholeNote magazine
Track Listing
3 Love Songs – Gary Kulesha
1. My Love for You (2.37)
2. In the Quiet Winter (1.46)
3. There is a Quiet Time (2.04)
Tableaux Éternels – Jeff Smallman
4. Nuits d’Étoiles (3.01)
5. Il Pleure Dans Mon Coeur (3.39)
6. Les Rôdeurs de Nuits (2:12)
7. Élégie (4.05)
8. Au Bord de l’Eau (2.51)
9. Les Cloches (3.07)
10. L’hiver a Cessé (1.52)
James Gordon arr. Anita Noel
11. Frobisher Bay (5.48)
From Women and Children – Imant Raminsh
12. Lullaby of the Lady of the Mountain (3.13)
13. Little Boy in the Morning (2.32)
14. Take Me to a Green Isle (2.11)
15. O Love, Be Deep (1.44)
16. Falls the Snow (2.16)
17 White Butterflies (1.38)
Seven Nursery Rhymes – Peter Tiefenbach
18. Love Song (1.44)
19 There was a Little Girl (1.42)
20 Theophilus Thistledown (1.14)
21. Giant Bonaparte (1.16)
22. Lullaby (1.54)
23. The Lady in Love (2.59)
Lorin Shalanko, Pianist
Lorin Shalanko was a much sought out pianist in the community, praised for his sensitive and evocative playing. Dancers, instrumentalist and singers alike collaborated with Lorin because of his musical sensibilities and his naturally ability to breath life and movement into music.
A member of the Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University since 2000, he provided instruction, accompaniment and coaching to many musicians on the way to making their mark in the next stage of their careers.
Internationally, Lorin’s career took him to France, where he lived and worked for several years. While overseas, he taught privately and accompanied for various soloists and choirs. Lorin was invited to perform as a solo artist in France, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Lorin held an honours degree in Piano Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo Canada. After graduation he studied with Martin Katz at the University of Michigan.
In a position he found equally rewarding, Lorin was a committed teacher to his students at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada.
