The homecoming performance by Timmins soprano Maghan McPhee and Carl Philipe Gionet touched all the right chords, last night,
An appreciative and enthusiastic audience at St. Matthews Anglican Church included friends, family, supporters and Roseanne Simunovic, McPhee's music teacher.
By way of introducing McPhee and Gionet, Simunovic recalled the enthusiastic music student who whose passion and joy of music motivated all around her to be better.
“Maghan, as a young girl, had this passion for music that drove her to become an outstanding singer that never ceased to amaze me,” said Timmins music teacher Roseanne Simunovic. “Her drive to excel also made me a better teacher.”
“Tonight she is accompanied by pianist Carl Philipe Gionet, who I can assure you, has the same passion and enthusiasm for music as Maghan,” added Simunovic.
The repertoire selected by McPhee and Gionet consisted of selections in Spanish, French, German and English.
“I am so happy to be back and performing in Timmins, my hometown," said McPhee prior to her performance. “It’s been almost 19 years since I last performed here."
“I am very pleased to have my talented colleague here tonight, Carl Philipe Gionet, accompanying me,” McPhee added.
Speaking in French, Gionet, who hails from New Brunswick, said he was glad to finally visit Timmins. He heard a lot about Timmins from his grandfather who visited Timmins in the past.
The opening three songs performed by McPhee and Gionet (Si os parieredes al alba; Camiante, sontus huellas; and Meciendo) were written by Inmant Raminish a Canadian of Latvian heritage who wrote the songs in Spanish.
Raminish songs were followed by the dramatic operatic work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. When Love Shines Through Your Open Eyes, Als Luise and Sans un bois solitaire. When Love Shines, was especially captivating, as it captured the love between a couple, from its joyous beginnings, to the heartbreak of betrayal, and finally, retribution and realization of loss.
The final three songs of the first half of the program were the melancholic offerings of French composer, Henri Duparc - Chanson Triste, La Vie Anterieure and L’Invitation au Voyage. The latter song had a particularly outstanding dream-like piano segment which was an excellent way to enter the intermission.
After the intermission, McPhee and Gionet returned to perform songs by Gabriel Faure, Benjamin Britten and Richard Strauss.
Faure’s Cinque Melodies de Venise were playful and exotic and captured the flavour of the city of canals.
Benjamin Britten’s two songs in English, The Trees They Grow so High, and How Sweet the Answer, were playful and emblematic of the musician’s love of English folklore.
The finale consisted of four excellent songs by Richard Strauss that highlighted the strength of McPhee’s soprano voice. The songs, Zueignung, Allerseelen, Morgen! And Cäcille brought McPhee and Gionet’s performance to a rousing conclusion and a well deserved and sustained round of applause.
Maghan McPhee originally from Timmins where she attended Ecole Secondaire Theriault and took music lessons with Rosanne Simunovic. She sang with the Timmins Youth Singers. She also took piano with Helene Maisonneuve and theory with Mary Badursky and coached with pianist Sue Steel.
Later McPhee graduated from the University of Toronto music program and obtained two masters degrees in voice performance, one from the University of Ottawa and the other from Bard College in New York. McPhee still continues to train in Philadelphia with legendary soprano, Benita Valente.
Carl Philippe Gionet is from New Brunswick. In 2013 he founded Musique sur le mer en Acadie. He is a highly sought soloist and accompanist. Gionet graduated from the University of Montreal and received further education in collaborative piano in England and Austria.
McPhee and Gionet are launching a three city Canadian tour of Timmins, Toronto, Ottawa and the Maritimes before heading over for performances in Europe.
The two met in Italy three years ago where they both taught at a voice and piano master class in the Italian Alps for aspiring young opera singers and pianists.
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