Toronto Sun: Nathaniel Dett Chorale Presents 'An Indigo Christmas: Songs to the Black Virgin' Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013 at St. Timothy’s Anglican Church, Toronto

R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List and a Bibliography by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com.

Dr. Brainerd Blyden-Taylor

The Toronto Sun

Nathaniel Dett Chorale has a new voice

Toronto group entertains listeners while introducing them to Afrocentric history and culture

By Errol Nazareth, QMI Agency

First posted: Thursday, November 28, 2013, 7:53 PM ET

Positioning yourself as “Canada’s first professional choral group dedicated to Afrocentric music of all kinds” brings with it heavy expectations from various communities, both musical and racial.

But since its formation 15 years back, Toronto’s Nathaniel Dett Chorale has lived up to all of them. And then some.

Daring and innovative, the world-renowned choir has earned a reputation for blowing minds and moving hearts with brilliantly executed shows that enlighten us on little-known black historical facts and figures.

In fact, the Chorale takes its name from the celebrated African-Canadian composer R. Nathaniel Dett, who is highly regarded for the vocal works he composed based on African-American spirituals.

The group’s next concert, An Indigo Christmas: Songs to the Black Virgin, is firmly in the classically trained choir’s tradition of introducing ears to worlds and cultures we’re unfamiliar with.

The show, which happens Tuesday at St. Timothy’s Anglican Church, features triumphant and evocative musical offerings exalting the mysteries of the Black Madonna.

“I have been fascinated with The Black Madonna for many years,” the group’s artistic director Dr. Brainerd Blyden-Taylor tells me. “I was born in Trinidad at a time when Roman Catholicism was predominant and I became aware of the veneration of the Virgin Mary and also of depictions of her as black.
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Blyden-Taylor says while there is a lot of music around the world celebrating the Black Madonna, he chose to focus on the Christian aspects “in keeping with the traditional recognition at Christmastime of the Virgin and Child.

“The underlying connections, however, are never far from my mind,” he adds.
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NOTE: An Indigo Christmas: Songs to the Black Virgin happens Tuesday at 8 p.m. in St. Timothy’s Anglican Church. 100 Old Orchard Grove. Tickets are $20 - $35 and available by calling 416.408.0208.