Michael Purves-Smith

If you ever have a chance to work with Michael Purves-Smith, don’t hide, jump at this opportunity. You may live a somewhat shorter life as a result, and your hair might be greyer a bit sooner than if you did not, but you will certainly enjoy an experience that will enrich your musical life. When I first moved to this community in the mid 80s, Michael was the first musical figure I worked with through my association with the Wellington Winds. My experiences range from a candle lit session deep in the bowels of the Wilfred Laurier University’s old Theatre Auditorium facility (we needed the fluorescent lights turned off because of their noise), to full sessions in the beautiful acoustics of Church of Mary Magdalene in Toronto, to a current two-CD production representing much of the vocal solo and chamber works of Michael: it has been a privilege to witness up-close the emergence of a composer better known to us as a conductor and Baroque early music specialist.

Perhaps one of my best recollections comes from a recording session with the early music ensemble Greensleaves, of which Michael’s wife Shannon is a founding and guiding member, and for which Michael arranges and sometimes writes music. We were recording a carol arrangement entitled “Resonet in laudibus” that uses as its foundation this popular medieval carol. Mid-way through the session, we took a break and I heard the sound of recorders from the studio floor. I must have missed the memo informing me about this turn of events, for when I went out to investigate, Shannon and Michael were indeed warming up on soprano and alto recorders, and I was compelled to conceal my surprise… I had not known that Michael was an accomplished recorder player, as well as oboe, harpsichord, and Dixieland piano.

As the session resumed, the carol took an unexpected turn, as Michael had inserted a Polish Christmas carol in the middle followed by a Polish “concerto secondo”, featuring some virtuosic recorder duo playing. The whole effect is seamless, and you would think that this is the way the music had been presented for many centuries.

You can find out more about Michael and his music at his website.

-earl.