The Toronto Music Garden (음악공원)

[canada]

 

The Toronto Music Garden

	Inspired by Bach The design The donors General Information Event Calendar
	Photo Gallery

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Inspired by Bach

Inspired by the pictorial element in Johann Sebastian Bach's Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, internationally renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma collaborated with a number of artists to produce Inspired by Bach – a six-part film series. The series was produced by Rhombus Media Incorporated and broadcast in 1997 and 1998. It has also been made available for home video.

For the first film in the series, The Music Garden, Mr. Ma worked with landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy to interpret in nature the music of Bach's first suite. As a result of the film project, Yo-Yo Ma, Julie Messervy and Rhombus Media Incorporated approached the city of Boston, Massachusetts to create an actual garden based on The Music Garden. When the Boston site fell through, Toronto Parks and Recreation enthusiastically embraced the project.

Download and listen to a short clip (515 Kb) from "Inspired by Bach" provided courtesy of Sony Classical Music. For more information about Yo-Yo Ma, or to listen to clips from his other recordings, visit Sony's Web site.

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The design

Julie Messervy designed the waterfront Music Garden in collaboration with landscape architects from the city's Parks and Recreation department. The garden design interprets in nature Bach's First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello, with each dance movement within the suite corresponding to a different section in the garden. Two Canadian artists created special features for the Music Garden. Tom Tollefson, architectural blacksmith, fabricated the Music Pavilion, and Anne Roberts, Feir Mill Design Inc., designed the Maypole.

Click around the image for the different sections of the garden
Large view of the Music Garden

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Bach's Suite No. 1 for Unaccompanied Cello

Prelude	An undulating river scape with curves and bends - The first moment of the suite imparts the feeling of a flowing river through which the visitor can stroll. Granite boulders from the southern edge of the Canadian Shield are placed to represent a stream bed with low-growing plants softening its banks. The whole is overtopped by an alley of native Hackberry trees (Celtis occidentalis), whose straight trunks and regular spacing suggest measures of music.
Allemande	A forest grove of wandering trails The Allemande is an ancient German dance. Interpreted here as a Birch forest, the movement invites the visitor to swirl inward to various contemplative sitting areas, that move higher and higher up the hillside, culminating in a rocky vantage point that looks over the harbour through a circle of Dawn Redwood trees.
Courante	A swirling path through a wildflower meadow Originally an Italian and French dance form, the Courante is an exuberant movement that is interpreted here as a huge, upward-spiralling swirl through a lush field of grasses and brightly-coloured perennials that attract birds and butterflies. At the top, a Maypole spins in the wind.
Sarabande	A conifer grove in the shape of an arc This movement is based on an ancient Spanish dance form. Its contemplative quality is interpreted here as an inward-arcing circle that is enclosed by tall needle-leaf evergreen trees. Envisioned as a poet's corner, the garden's centerpiece is a huge stone that acts as a stage for readings, and holds a small pool with water that reflects the sky.
Menuett	A formal flower parterre This French dance was contemporary to Bach's time. Its formality and grace are reflected in the symmetry and geometry of this movement's design. Hand-crafted with ornamental steel, a circular pavilion is designed to shelter small musical ensembles or dance groups.
Gigue	Giant grass steps that dance you down to the outside world The Gigue, or "jog" is an English dance, whose jaunty, rollicking music is interpreted here as a series of giant grass steps that offer views onto the harbour. The steps form a curved amphitheatre that focus on a stone stage set under a weeping willow tree; a place for informal performances. Shrubs and perennials act as large, enclosing arms, framing views out onto the harbour.

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The donors

James Douglas Fleck is leading the private side of a public/private collaboration with the City of Toronto to create and build the Toronto Music Garden. Under the leadership of Mr. Fleck, over one million dollars has been raised from private donors. The donors are David and Vivian Campbell, George and Kathy Dembroski, James and Margaret Fleck, David and Catheriné Graham, Michael and Sonja Koerner, Wilmot and Judy Matthews, Jim and Sandra Pitblado and Sandra Simpson. The Weston Foundation has also contributed to the project.

General Info

The Toronto Music Garden is located on the waterfront at 475 Queen's Quay West between Bathurst Street & Spadina Avenue. (see Toronto maps)

The Toronto Music Garden is easy to reach by public transit. Take the Spadina 510 streetcar south from the Spadina subway station or the LRT Harbourfront Line going west from Union Station. Call the Toronto Transit Commission at 416-393-4636 for service information.

For information on the Toronto Music Garden and its programs, or to receive information on upcoming events, call the Harbourfront Centre Info Line at 416-973-4000.

The Toronto Music Garden is open year-round and there is no admission fee. The Toronto Music Garden is wheelchair-accessible.

         

No.1 IN G Major, BWV 1007