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Since March 30, Winnipeg has been alive with the sounds of Baroque music, thanks to the Winnipeg Baroque Festival. Among its many offerings, a particularly special concert this Sunday, April 6, will explore how early music remains deeply relevant today. Polyphony Meets the Prairies, presented by Dead of Winter, will take place at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the College Chapel of St. John the Evangelist at the University of Manitoba. The performance will weave together 16th- and 17th-century works by Portuguese and Mexican Indigenous composers with the contemporary choral compositions of Andrew Balfour, Artistic Director of Dead of Winter.
Balfour, a Cree composer and a ’60s Scoop survivor, has spent nearly two decades developing the ideas behind Polyphony Meets the Prairies. The concert tells the story of a young Cree girl, Chepi, who is guided by a trickster through time and place, encountering prophetic music from figures such as Hildegard von Bingen, Portuguese composer Alonso Lobo, and Mexican Indigenous composer Manuel de Zumaya. The music, both old and new, serves as a bridge between past and present, Indigenous and European traditions, and storytelling and song.
A Musical Journey Through Time
Balfour’s inspiration for the project began in 2006, when he was commissioned by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra to write a piece reflecting on the struggles faced in downtown Winnipeg. That commission became Waa Waa Steewak, and through it, Balfour began to explore the connections between early music and Indigenous storytelling.
“In a lot of ways, it’s a journey, as we say in my language,” Balfour explains. “I always loved early music—Baroque, Renaissance—and I was lucky as a ’60s Scooper to have learned those codes.” That deep connection to early music allowed him to craft a work that juxtaposes sacred European compositions with the lived experiences of Indigenous people on the prairies.
Chepi’s journey, guided by the trickster Wawateywak, takes her from medieval Germany to Renaissance Portugal, then to Oaxaca, Mexico, before bringing her back to contemporary downtown Winnipeg. “The trickster is not bad or good,” Balfour says. “It’s just a journey for her.” The concert opens “portals” through music, allowing the audience to travel through time and space alongside Chepi.
Interweaving Traditions
Joining Balfour’s compositions are pieces by Alonso Lobo, Manuel Cardoso, and the rarely performed Geronimo Gonzalez, whose double-choir composition echoes the grand choral traditions of Gabrieli. “I’m sure it’s not been performed here in Winnipeg ever—maybe very seldom in North America,” Balfour says of the Gonzalez piece, which was rediscovered in the archives of the Guatemala Cathedral.
Adding another layer to the performance, storyteller Joseph Naytowhow will provide narrative context, while Baroque violist Emily Eng will represent Chepi’s “wordless voice” through her playing. Balfour’s collaboration with Eng dates back to 2007, when he first workshopped the viola parts of his piece in Banff.
“Everything is living and organic and happening in real time,” Balfour says. “We’re opening up portals on Sunday, going back to medieval times, to Portugal, to Mexico, and ending up in Winnipeg.”
A Call to Reflection
Beyond the music itself, Balfour sees the concert as an opportunity for deeper reflection. “Even though we are in a celebration of music and sound, there are some pretty important issues we’re dealing with—particularly Indigenous relationships with the colonial past,” he says. “It’s the artists that will actually help solve these problems, not politicians or lawyers.”
Through Polyphony Meets the Prairies, Balfour invites audiences to engage with history, music, and reconciliation in a profoundly moving way. “I think audiences will take away that we are sending messages,” he says. “And we are talking about things that need to be looked at and solved.”
For Winnipeg audiences, this is more than just a concert—it’s an invitation to witness history, sound, and storytelling come to life in an unforgettable way.
For tickets and more information, visit www.winnipegbaroquefestival.com.