Program curated by Andrew Downing, Marco Cera & Elisa Citterio

Family members of all ages are invited for this trip down memory lane, featuring Tafelmusik’s baroque flair alongside folk favourites by Joni Mitchell and Simon and Garfunkel.

It’s 1730s Leipzig, Germany. J.S. Bach and his colleagues gather at Zimmerman’s coffee house for weekly concerts featuring the new music of the day. Fast forward to Toronto in the 1960s. Yorkville (now known as the ‘Mink Mile’) is a hub of subversion and anti-establishment activism. Undiscovered artists are making their breaks and international acts have come to sling it in underground dives and coffee houses. Legends of this counterculture scene pepper music collections across the world. 

First performed live for a sold-out crowd in fall 2019, Café Counterculture returns this spring as a stunning new filmed concert, complete with two brand new arrangements by co-creator Andrew Downing. Family members of all ages will love this trip down memory lane, featuring Tafelmusik’s baroque flair and artistry alongside folk favourites from Yorkville’s colourful past. Sonatas by Bach and friends are interspersed with arrangements of iconic songs by Buffy Sainte-Marie, Joni Mitchell, Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Young, and others.

Single ticket buyers are able to access the concert for 4 days from the original broadcast time.

Elisa Citterio violin Marco Cera oboe Dominic Teresi bassoon Charlotte Nediger harpsichord

with special guests,

Alex Samaras vocalist Andrew Downing double bass/arranger

Marketing Partner: TD Toronto Jazz Festival

PROGRAM

• Georg Philipp Telemann Adagio (from Quartetto for oboe, violin, bassoon & continuo in D Minor)
• Gordon Lightfoot This Is My Song
• Johann Sebastian Bach / Paul Simon  Chorale BWV 727 / American Tune
• J.S. Bach Prelude in C Major for solo harpsichord, BWV 933
• Joni Mitchell Both Sides Now
• Antonio Vivaldi Allegro (from Sonata for violin, bassoon & continuo in C Minor, RV 83)
• Buffy Sainte-Marie Winter Boy
• J.S. Bach Air (from Orchestral Suite no. 3)
• Simon & Garfunkel Scarborough Fair
• G.P. Telemann / Neil Young Largo (from Ouverture in B-flat Major) / Old Man
• Johann David Heinichen Presto (from Sonata for oboe, violin & continuo in C Minor)
• Ian & Sylvia Four Strong Winds