Canzona

Canzona is Manitoba’s own baroque choir ensemble. A love of baroque music prompted this 16-24 voice ensemble into being in 1989, under the direction of Henry Engbrecht. Since then, Canzona has rendered several concerts each season, performing almost exclusively with MusikBarock, Manitoba’s premiere baroque orchestra. The oratorios of Bach and Handel are at the centre of the repertoire. In addition, lesser-known works of the baroque have been rendered, among them Jan Dismas Zelenka’s Missa Dei Filii, Andre Campra’s Requiem, Johan Helmich Roman’s The Swedish Mass, and Nicola Porpora’s Vespers of 1744. Canzona recently joined forces with Camerata Nova, another prominent Winnipeg early music ensemble, for a performance of Michael Praetorius’ Mass for Christmas Morning.