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TORONTO - The idea to capture the voice of 鈥渢he weeping prophet鈥� Jeremiah came to composer Peter Togni back when he was 19 and listening to Jeremiah鱿鱼视频app lamentations as composed by Orlando di Lasso.

鈥淚t just blew me away, and I had this idea tucked way in the back of my brain that maybe one day I would end up writing that,鈥� said Togni.

鈥淣o matter what religion you are or aren鈥檛, the message of Jeremiah, to me, is a universal one. It鱿鱼视频app really about somebody who tells the truth, and is disregarded. That鱿鱼视频app the whole piece, in a way.鈥�

In his work Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae, Togni, who was recently the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth medal, has charted the journey of the prophet in a four-movement concerto for bass clarinet and choir, the third of which will be showcased during Toronto鱿鱼视频app Nuit Blanche art festival on Sept. 29-30.

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app the personal journey of Jeremiah through various stages of his experience of being a prophet. Imagine waking up one day and discovering that you鈥檙e called by God to be a prophet; it鱿鱼视频app a rather difficult thing to have to assume,鈥� said Jeff Reilly, renowned bass clarinetist, who is on both the original recording with the Elmer Iseler Singers and will be performing with the Nathaniel Dett Chorale during Nuit Blanche.

The composition has a profound effect on Reilly, as Togni (a long-time personal friend and musical collaborator) wrote the piece for Reilly specifically.

鈥淔or him to write something for me was probably a very natural extension for him of our working relationship, and, for me, probably the greatest gift I鈥檝e ever received from any human being in my entire life was that piece,鈥� said Reilly.

鈥淚 still look at it as an act of grace 鈥� that that piece exists.鈥�

The four movements of the concerto act as a vehicle for Jeremiah鱿鱼视频app suffering, contemplation and eventual acceptance of the task set before him. Togni deftly weaves the Latin text of the choir with the bass clarinet as the voice of Jeremiah 鈥� both areas work as a counterpart to the other to advance the plot and emphasize the prophet鱿鱼视频app journey.

鈥淚n one way, it鱿鱼视频app a virtuosic concerto鈥� it stems from the early meanings of the word concerto which means to play together,鈥� said Togni. 鈥淪ometimes the choir is kind of like a Greek chorus, like an architect of the space. The bass clarinet is Jeremiah, speaking in that space.鈥�

Togni also notes that the concerto is reflective of a 21st-century paradigm, wherein he is able to allow Reilly a great element of creative control in his own right.

鈥淭he piece is 75 per cent composed, and 25 per cent improvised. Jeff is 25 per cent improvised, so he feels things in the moment. It鱿鱼视频app kind of as if I would write a concerto for Miles Davis,鈥� said Togni. 鈥淭here鱿鱼视频app an awful lot of trust.鈥�

鈥淭hat鱿鱼视频app a hard thing to do,鈥� said Reilly of the juxtaposition of sung phrase, to the instrumental evocation of Jeremiah. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e singing words鈥� and they have a certain way of working and thinking as an ensemble. There is a real challenge there.

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app an extraordinary piece of music, and it鱿鱼视频app an amazing performance piece.鈥�

The original recording of Lamentatio was on the renowned ECM label, and was the first work by a Canadian composer to appear there. At Nuit Blanche, the Nathaniel Dett Chorale (which was founded by Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, artistic director) is working the movement into their set titled Oblivion, which is an exploration of silence.

鈥淭he third movement is Silentio, the one that I鈥檓 playing this weekend, and that鱿鱼视频app his acceptance of grace,鈥� said Reilly. 鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app a very powerful and a very beautiful movement. He takes refuge in the silence of the Lord.鈥�

Lamentatio will also be featured at the opening gala of the Winnipeg New Music Festival in January, where it will be performed again by the Elmer Iseler Singers.

鈥淭he truth of the matter is that we鈥檙e all called upon to certain roles in our life that we don鈥檛 necessarily want to take on. But, by the grace of things beyond yourself, you have found yourself in a position to take on responsibilities, and assume a part of yourself that is bigger than the way you looked at yourself before,鈥� said Reilly.

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app a beautiful story and it鱿鱼视频app something that I think we can all relate to in a personal way. We all have to take on roles that we don鈥檛 particularly want to.鈥�

For more information on the Nuit Blanche performance, see www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca.

Sept. 25, 2011 marked the launch of the newly minted musical settings that followed the complete liturgical overhaul of the Roman missal.

In parishes around the archdiocese of Toronto, congregants were greeted with the small, floppy Celebrate in Song hymnal 鈥� a book that contains three freshly commissioned musical settings of the Mass. Much like the often overlapping of the spoken 鈥渁nd with your spirit鈥� with the erstwhile 鈥渁nd also with you,鈥� the musical settings presented congregants with a fresh challenge 鈥� adapting responses that had been previously learned en rote to a completely different, and sometimes complex, vocal line.

鈥淚 think that for people, change is death. Change is a metaphor for death. Nobody likes change,鈥� said Peter Togni.

Togni is one of Canada鱿鱼视频app most noted composers, and his choral works are heard in parishes across the world. Having set the Mass to music before, Togni provides an interesting view on the musical tradition that some congregants are still adapting to.

鈥淚 think the language that they鈥檙e using, in many cases, is more elegant and more directly translated from the original Latin, which goes back to what Paul VI really wanted,鈥� said Togni.

鈥淏ut, I understand the paradox, because in some ways there鱿鱼视频app kind of a wooden link to Latin for some people 鈥� the sacrilization of Latin, almost, just for its own sake and I understand that this gets in the way of ecumenism for some people. But, from an artistic standpoint, setting the text to those words is in some ways easier and prettier, you know? 鈥楲ord, God of Hosts鈥� is easier than 鈥楲ord, God of Power and Might.鈥� I like that from a purely artistic standpoint.鈥�

However, the adaptation, despite what may seem a more poetic version, hasn鈥檛 necessarily lent itself in all cases to the accompanying musical line. Thus, there lies an imperfect synthesis of text and music which is crucial to the participation of the congregants.

鈥淥ne of them that I鈥檝e heard, I find very awkward,鈥� said Togni. 鈥淚n the congregation that I go to now, the congregation doesn鈥檛 sing very much with one of the Mass parts because there鱿鱼视频app so much for them to do that I find it鱿鱼视频app overwhelming for them, and frankly, most people don鈥檛 sing.

鈥淚 think it鱿鱼视频app the integration with the music and that text,鈥� Togni said of what may be the inherent problem with the adjustment to the changes.

鈥淚 think different composers might have done different things with that text. Not that the text is perfect鈥� you can get in sort of a dualistic all or nothing thinking 鈥� this is totally right, that鱿鱼视频app totally wrong. I don鈥檛 think you can do that.鈥�

Togni does note that the textual changes certainly serve to unite the Church across the country.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e talking about universality, right? The beautiful thing about the new text, if we鈥檙e asked, is, for the French they always say 鈥榓vec votre esprit.鈥� We now say, 鈥榓nd with your spirit,鈥� but the French have been saying it for years. So, it links us up with them,鈥� said Togni.

Looking forward, Togni suggests that perhaps the music will adopt a more Gregorian tradition and create a solid chant-like structure that would accommodate and highlight the textual changes.

鈥淓ven if you read the Vatican documents, the chant is supposed to have lots of room. We had an opportunity to write an English setting that I think could have been more people friendly and more chant-like,鈥� said Togni.

鈥淣o matter what you do to 鈥榩eople of goodwill,鈥� it鱿鱼视频app hard to set. But, then, English is cumbersome anyway,鈥� he laughs. 鈥淚 get the sense that there鱿鱼视频app something sort of artificial with what they ended up with.鈥�

It鱿鱼视频app not entirely unsuccessful, though. In particular, the Angeles 鈥淎gnus Dei鈥� has been particularly well received by congregations that Togni鱿鱼视频app witnessed, and musically well executed.

Despite that, perhaps the root of any musical problem in the liturgy lies with what could be described as a lagging musical culture in the Catholic tradition.

鈥淐hurch choir attendance is getting smaller and smaller and smaller, in some places,鈥� said Togni.

鈥淚n our culture, we鈥檙e not a singing people. We鈥檙e just not鈥� I think we need to find a Mass setting that鱿鱼视频app more people friendly, melodically; simpler rhythmically. Let鱿鱼视频app face it 鈥� not many people sing any more.鈥�

Another factor of the tradition that could be remedied is a less performance-like aspect to the melodic line, which would allow the cantor to interact more thoroughly with the congregants, some of whom may be averse to singing entirely, he said.

鈥淚n the Gloria, for example, I don鈥檛 know why there isn鈥檛 more refrain for the people and then the cantor or the choir can do the rest of it,鈥� said Togni.

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app just so much easier. If you鈥檙e going to have the entire text, then you better make it singer friendly, and it鱿鱼视频app not,鈥� said Togni, who notes that some of the song selections in Celebrate in Song lend themselves well to congregant participation.

Hopefully, the new settings will entrench themselves in the musical tradition. That, or adapt to what the congregants need.

鈥淲hat is that Latin phrase? 鈥楲ex orandi, Lex credendi鈥�:  the law of prayer is the law of belief 鈥� what we say in prayer expresses what we believe. That鱿鱼视频app really the crux of it,鈥� said Togni.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 sound like an entirely successful experiment, artistically, so far. Not yet.鈥�