Café Mariposa‘s Open Mic night ends with a story about the Devil. Jeff Deeprose on fiddle.
Cafe Mariposa’s Open Mic night is every Thursday evening at 6pm.
5434 Côte Saint Luc Rd,
Montreal, QC H3X 2C5
Villa Maria metro
Northern Exposure: the Live Recording
A few years back, I had the unbelievable honor of sharing a stage at McGill’s Pollack Hall with Concerto Della Donna for a charity event (Northern Exposure). The last piece was called “Ost for vinden”, which was a Norwegian folktale put the music. I was the storyteller and Concerto Della Donna sang the songs. It was by far the most ambitious project I have ever undertaken (back then and ever since). Thanks be to Erika Wood for believing in me.
I had a personal copy of the recording, but due to rights and other legal stuff, I wasn’t allowed to share it with anyone. All I could do was play it for people in the car. Well now the author of that piece (Marie-Claire Saindon) has put the entire recording up on her SoundCloud page. If you’re going to listen to it, I highly recommend that you put headphones on and immerse yourself in it. It’s beautiful and has brought tears to many who have listened to it.
Tales from the Winds
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| Riding with the Winds |
So… I don’t know if you remember, but back in early June of 2012, I had the immense honour of appearing with Concerto Della Donna in McGill’s Pollack Hall during the Northern Exposure fundraiser. I was called to take part as the storyteller to tell the classic Norwegian tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon (image taken from çizgili masallar zaman blog, artist Mercer Mayer). The hall was almost filled to capacity with over 500 people in attendance.
This was the most ambitious thing I have ever attempted and even up to hours before the show itself, I wasn’t sure I was up to the task. Fortunately, everything went smoothly and we got through it. My heartfelt thanks to maestro Iwan Edwards for his infinite patience and passionate guidance.
Then this past weekend, I was sent the recording of the entire show, including the piece I worked on with the choir. Due to restrictions with rights and such, I can’t post the whole thing, but I can post a clip (which is 2 minutes of the 30-minute piece). In this piece, the heroine is traveling with the East Wind in the hopes of finding her prince who is trapped in the castle that is East of the Sun and West of the Moon.
In this clip, you can hear me telling the tale along with the 17-member Concerto Della Donna. On Stradivarius violin is Caroline Chéhadé and on cello is Michael Nicolas. The piece was composed by Marie-Claire Saindon and the maestro was Iwan Edwards.
Ost for vinden – Ostavind — Concerto Della Donna (2:01)
Wychwood Tales and Wails in Toronto
During the Canadian National Pagan Conference, Gaia Gathering in Toronto in May 2012, there will be a concert that features the melding of the minds and voices.
JD “Hobbes” Hickey of Montreal and the talented musicians of Wychwood Children and Greg Currie will be joining forces to create a mythical, musical epic that has rarely been attempted! You do not want to miss this unique performance!
The event is free for the Gaia Gathering conference attendees and $10 for everyone else.
May 20th, 8pm, $10
New College – Wilson Hall
40 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3
Facebook event page: