BIO
Appreciated for his "command of the seemingly impossible high tessitura" (South Florida Classical Review), countertenor William Duffy has established himself as equally comfortable exploring ancient tunes and the compositions of our era. Currently residing in Montréal, William enjoys regular performances as both a soloist with orchestra and a member of professional vocal ensembles across North America.
Notably, William is sought after for his interpretations of the music of J.S. Bach, and has performed over fifty of Bach's cantatas as a soloist and ripienist with historically informed ensembles such as Les Idées heureuses, the Montréal Bach Festival, Ensemble Caprice, Clavecin en concert, I Musici de Montréal, the Montréal Symphony Orchestra, and on numerous occasions during the complete Bach cantatas concert series at Bourgie Hall of the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts.
Additionally, William has featured as alto soloist in J.S. Bach's B-minor mass and Easter and Ascension Oratorios with Ensemble Caprice, and in the complete Bach motets presented one voice per part (OVPP) by the Montréal Bach Festival. Other key elements of William's solo Baroque repertoire include Pergolesi's "Stabat Mater," Buxtehude's "Membra Jesu nostri," Schütz's "Musikalische Exequien," the sacred polyphony of Lusitano, Gesualdo, Josquin, Gabrieli and Monteverdi, and the haute-contre roles of Charpentier's sacred works.
In modern realm, William has participated in premieres of several new works, including: "Nanumissuat - Île-Tonnerre" (2021) by Innu poet Natasha Kanapé Fontaine and Montréal composer Alexandre David with Les plaisirs du clavecin, and "Formes subtiles de la fuite" (2022) by Kim Farris-Manning with One Equall Musick. William has also sung nearly twenty representations of "Path of Miracles" by Joby Talbot with Voces Boreales as part of the group's "Urban Pilgrimage" concert installation.
The key events in William's 2023-24 season include performing Johann Schein’s “Israelisbrünnlein” under the baton of Ruben Valenzuela with Florida's GRAMMY® nominated vocal ensemble, Seraphic Fire; appearing as alto soloist and guest conductor of One Equall Musick for “Divine Liturgy” with compositions by Lusitano, Poulenc, Price and Komitas Vardapet; and participating once more in a series of Christoph Graupner’s complete cycle of 19 Good Friday cantatas presented by Geneviève Soly and Les Idées heureuses.
Recent ensemble collaborations include presenting György Ligeti’s “Lux Aeterna” with Festival Lanaudière; Morton Feldman’s “Rothko Chapel” with Voces Boreales; Benjamin Britten's "Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac" with Compagnie Baroque de Montréal; and a 12-voice Brahms's "Ein deutsches Requiem" with Les grands ballets canadiens choreographed by Andrew Skeels. Previously, William has appeared on stage at the Montréal Baroque, Montréal Bach, Illinois Bach, American Bach Soloists and Lanaudière Summer Festivals.
On the record, William can be heard as a soloist on the 2020 disc "Distance" by The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul in Montréal on the ATMA Classique label, and soon on an upcoming digital release of "Path of Miracles" by Voces Boreales, and he has also contributed to choral recordings of 17th-century Italian and German repertoire and works of Québec composers with Ensemble ArtChoral.
William holds degrees in voice (California State University, Chico) and choral conducting (McGill University).
REPERTOIRE
REPERTOIRE
J.S. BACH
Soloist for:
B-minor mass
Motets (BWVs 225-230)
Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden (BWV 1083)
Soloist and Ripienist for:
Easter Oratorio
Ascension Oratorio
Soloist for cantatas 6, 11, 20, 26, 31, 35, 54, 80, 131, 146, 170, 181
Ripienist for cantatas 11, 31, 34, 41, 81, 91, 130, 131, 143, 146, 172
Chorister for cantatas 6, 7, 9, 19, 26, 33, 39, 42, 43, 44, 50, 63, 74, 79, 80, 80a, 95, 101, 109, 110, 145, 147, 156, 167, 171, 174, 177, 178, 198, BWV Anh. 160
Chorister (and/or select solos) for:
Magnificat
St. Matthew Passion
St. John Passion
St. Mark Passion (Koolstra ed.)
Christmas Oratorio (cantatas 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6)
OTHER SOLO AND OVPP BAROQUE
Dietrich Buxtehude
Membra Jesu nostri
Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin
War Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit
Was frag’ ich nach der Welt
Walts Gott mein Werk ich lasse
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Messe pour Mr. Mauroy (H.6)
Messe de minuit pour Noël (H.9)
In nativitatem Domini canticum (H.416)
Te Deum (H.146)
Giovanni Gabrieli
Magnificat à 12
Jubilate Deo à 8
Hodie Christus natus est
Missa Brevis
Maria stabat ad monumentum foris à 6
José Maurício Nunes Garcia
Miserere Responsories
Carlo Gesualdo
Tenebrae Responsories for Holy Saturday
G.F. Handel
Caro autor di mia doglia (HWV 182b)
Messiah
Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne (HWV 74)
Claudio Monteverdi
Magnificat
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Stabat mater
Henry Purcell
Come Ye Sons of Art (Z.323)
Josquin des Prez
Ave verum corpus à 5
Gaude Virgo Mater Christi
Miserere mei, Deus
Déploration sur la mort d’Ockeghem
Ave Maria à 4
In te, Domine, speravi
Missa Hercules Dux Ferrarie (Sanctus)
Ave Verum Corpus à 3
Heinrich Schütz
Musikalische Exequien (SWV 279–281)
Thomas Tallis
Spem in alium
Gaude Gloriosa Dei Mater
Georg Philipp Telemann
Ihr Völker hört, TWV 1:921
Caroline Shaw (b. 1982)
To the hands (2016)
Dolce cantavi (2016)
Joby Talbot (b. 1971)
Path of Miracles (2005)
Alexandre David (b. 1964)
l’Île-Tonnerre (premiere; 2021)
Gabriel Jackson (b. 1962)
Sanctum est verum lumen (2005)
Uģis Prauliņš (b.1957)
Laudibus in sanctis (2008)
David Lang (b. 1957)
Little Match Girl Passion (2007)
Alec Roth (b. 1948)
Orbis Oriens (2010)
Donald Patriquin (b. 1938)
Songs of Unrequited Love, for countertenor, horn and harp (1995)
Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016)
Suite de Lorca (1973)
Morton Feldman (1926-1987)
Rothko Chapel (1971)
György Ligeti (1923-2006)
Lux Aeterna (1966)
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac (1952)
Canticle IV: The Journey of the Magi (1971)
Rejoice in the Lamb
Arthur Honegger (1892-1955)
Le Roi David (1921)
Florence Beatrice Price (1887-1953)
Fantasy in Purple
Sympathy
CHORAL/CHAMBER
Johannes Brahms
Ein deutsches Requiem
Vicente Lusitano
Hic est Michael archangelus
Regina Coeli
Salve Regina
W.A. Mozart
Requiem (completed by Gregory Spears)
Arvo Pärt
Passio
Fratres
Seven Magnificat-Antiphons
Magnificat
Nunc Dimittis
I am the true vine
Francis Poulenc
Huit chansons françaises
Litanie à la Vierge Noire
Quatre Motets pour le temps de Noël
Sergei Rachmaninoff
All-Night Vigil
Jan Dismas Zelenka
O vos omnes
Velum templi scissum est (ZW 55)
BAROQUE OPERA
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Actéon
Les plaisirs de Versailles
Henry Purcell
The Fairy-Queen (Z.629)
PAST CONCERTS
2023-2024
07 July
Ligeti & Beethoven, Chœur de l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal / Festival Lanaudière
01 August
Concert au Claire de lune, VB8 (Repentigny)
18 September
Dedication, Passion Consort (Montréal)
27-28 September & 01 October
Holst's Planets, Chœur de l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
24 & 29 October
Komitas Vardapet’s Divine Liturgy, One Equall Musick (Montréal & Ottawa)
*guest conductor
28 October
Chorales, Préludes et Fugues? Les Plaisirs du Clavecin (Gatineau, QC)
26 November
A Very Early Xmas, Passion Consort (Montréal)
28 November-17 December
ON TOUR Seraphic Fire Christmas (Grafton, VT and South Florida)
28 January
Bestiarium, Passion Consort (Montréal)
03 February
Gloria de Poulenc, Orchestre métropolitain (Montréal)
17-24 March
Johann Schein’s Israelisbrünnlein, Seraphic Fire (South Florida)
29 March
Cantates de Graupner, Les Idées heureuses (Montréal)
29 March
Buxtehude Membra Jesu nostri, Passion Consort (Montréal)
04-14 April
Les noces de Stravinsky, Chœur de l'orchestre symphonique de Montréal
13-21 April
Carmina Burana, Grands Ballets Canadiens (Montréal)
2021-2022
18 July
Chants d’amour, Chœur de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal / Festival Lanaudière
6 August
L’Île-Tonnerre d’Alexandre David, Les Plaisirs du Clavecin (Gatineau, QC)
10 September
Path of Miracles, Voces Boreales 18 (La Prairie, QC)
11 September
Path of Miracles, Voces Boreales 18 ( Trois-Rivières, QC)
25 September
Path of Miracles, Voces Boreales 18 (Joliette, QC)
22 October
Path of Miracles, Voces Boreales 18 (Valleyfield, QC)
23 October
Path of Miracles, Voces Boreales 18 (Montréal (Hochelaga-Maisonneuve), QC)
31 October
Série intégrale des cantates de J. S. Bach, Salle Bourgie / Les idées heureuses (Montréal)
12 November
Maison du Parc benefit concert, The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Montréal
7-19 December
ON TOUR Seraphic Fire Christmas (South Florida)
23-27 February
Ein Deutsches Requiem, Grands Ballets Canadiens (Montréal)
31 March-10 April
ON TOUR Oratorios de Pâques et de l’Ascension de J.S. Bach, Ensemble Caprice (Montréal, Lunenburg, Sault Ste-Marie, Victoria)
13-14 April
J.S. Bach Passion selon Saint-Matthieu, Chœur de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
15 April Buxtehude Membra Jesu nostri, Lutherans Downtown (St. John’s), Montréal
30 April
Pergolesi Stabat Mater, Benefit concert for Montréal women’s center
31 May-2 June
Beethoven Symphonie no 9, Chœur de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
9-10 June
Série intégrale des cantates de J. S. Bach, Salle Bourgie / I Musici de Montréal
16-20 June
Tallis Through the Looking Glass, The Thirteen (Washington D.C. and Richmond, VA)
2019-2020
19 July-11 August
American Bach Soloists Academy (San Francisco)
5 October
Buxtehude Abendmusik, One Equall Musick & Earth World Collective (Montréal)
15 October
Lumière éternelle, I Musici de Montréal
26 October
Rachmaninoff All-Night Vigil, The Church of St. Andrew & St. Paul (Montréal)
22 November
Maison du Parc Benefit Concert, The Church of St. Andrew & St. Paul (Montréal)
29 November
Bach Messe en si, Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal
3-4 December
Bach Oratorio de Noël, Chœur de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
8 December
40th Annual CBC Christmas Sing-In, The Church of St. Andrew & St. Paul (Montréal)
December 10-18 On tour: Bach Oratorio de Noël, Ensemble Caprice (Montréal)/Ensemble vocal Arts-Québec
21-22 December
Christmas Cantatas by J.S. Bach, Ensemble Caprice (Montréal)
26 January
Série Intégrale des cantates de J. S. Bach, Salle Bourgie (Montréal)
22 February 22 Britten Rejoice in the Lamb, Saint-Lambert Choral Society
Events canceled or postponed due to the ongoing Covid-19 global pandemic:
Miserere en quatre temps, Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal
Festival de la Voix - Global Visions, Ensemble Noir (Montréal / Beaconsfield)
Bach St. John Passion, The Church of St. Andrew & St. Paul (Montréal)
Opera: Charpentier La descente d'Orphée aux enfers, Clavecin en Concert (Montréal)
2022-2023
10-17 August
Aspen Music Festival, Seraphic Fire (Colorado)
25-28 August
Path of Miracles CD recording, Voces Boreales (Montréal)
14-17 September
La symphonie « Résurrection » de Mahler, Chœur de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
21-22 September
Le songe d’une nuit d’été, Chœur de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
24-25 September
Série intégrale des cantates de J. S. Bach, Chœur de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
19-21 November
ON TOUR Messe de minuit de Charpentier, Ensemble Caprice (Winnipeg & Brandon, MB)
28 November 19 December
ON TOUR Seraphic Fire Christmas (Grafton, VT & South Florida)
29 January
Série intégrale des can tates de J. S. Bach, ArtChoral (Montréal)
1 March
Rothko Chapel de Morton Feldman, Voces Boreales (Montréal)
18 March
Sarah was Ninety Years Old, One Equall Musick (Montréal)
26 March
Série intégrale des cantates de J. S. Bach, Orchestre métropolitain (Montréal)
7 April
Cantates de Graupner, Les idées heureuses (Montréal)
7 April
J.S. Bach Jesu meine Freude & Buxtehude Membra Jesu nostri, The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Montréal
22 April
Earth Day Concert, Voces Boreales 8 (Montréal)
25 & 27 April
Cantata Criolla, Chœur de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
26 & 28 May
Bach Messe en si mineur, Ensemble Caprice (Montréal & Québec)
7 July
Ligeti & Beethoven, Chœur de l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal / Festival Lanaudière
2020-2021
22 August
Path of Miracles, Voces Boreales 18 (Joliette, QC)
29 August
Path of Miracles, Voces Boreales 18 (Montréal)
12 September
Path of Miracles, Voces Boreales 18 (Valleyfield, QC)
November
CD Recording Project, The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul (Montréal)
December
Recording project, Les Rugissants (Montréal)
1 December
Maison du Parc Benefit Concert, The Church of St. Andrew & St. Paul (Montréal)
10 December
Féérie de Noël, I Musici de Montréal avec Ensemble Meslanges
20 December
Home for the Holidays, Seraphic Fire (recorded concert)
21 February
Perfection polyphonique, Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal en tournée (Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC)
6 March
Path of Miracles, Voces Boreales 18 & Groupe Le Vivier (Montréal)
12 March
Perfection polyphonique, Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal en tournée (Pointe-aux-Trembles, QC)
14 March
Perfection polyphonique, Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal en tournée (Montréal)
2 April
Verdi Requiem, The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul (Montréal)
29 May
The (New) Normal, The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul (Montréal)
18 July
Chants d’amour, Chœur de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal / Festival Lanaudière
Events canceled or postponed due to the ongoing Covid-19 global pandemic:
J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor (BFX Main Stage), Cantata Collective (Berkeley, California)
July International Bach Competition (Leipzig)
Musique pour Philippe II d’Espagne, Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal
Feux d’artifice royaux, Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal
Cantates de Bach, I Musici de Montréal avec l’ensemble Meslanges
Voces de España, Les Rugissants (Pointe-Claire/Montréal)
Mozart Requiem (tour), L'Harmonie des saisons (Québec)
La Passion selon saint Jean de Bach, Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal
2018-2019
29 July
Talbot Path of Miracles, Festival Lanaudière/Voces Boreales 18 (Montréal)
12-19 August
Choral Conducting Fellowship, Norfolk/Yale
5 October
Charpentier opéras Les Plaisirs et Actéon, Clavecin en Concert (Montréal)
8-11 November
Gesualdo Tenebrae Responsories for Holy Saturday, Seraphic Fire (Florida)
18 November
Montréal Bach Festival Motet Service, The Church of St. Andrew & St. Paul (Montréal)
12 December 12
Voces de España, Les Rugissants (Montréal)
22-23 December
J.S. Bach Magnificat, I Musici de Montréal
January 2019
Film soundtrack recording, Clavecin en Concert (Montréal)
2 February
Venice: The Golden Age, One Equall Music (Montréal)
9 February
David Lang Little Match Girl Passion, The Church of St. Andrew & St. Paul (Montréal)
24 March
Brahms Requiem, Chœur de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
19 April
J.S. Bach/Koolstra St. Mark Passion, The Church of St. Andrew & St. Paul (Montréal)
21 May
XL to L: 40 Voices in Space, Voces Boreales (Montréal)
8 June
Solo Recital - Patriquin and Britten, l'Oasis Musicale Concert Series (Montréal)
17-22 June
Illinois Choral Conducting Symposium with Andrew Megill
24-30 June
Illinois Bach Academy with Andrew Megill