Choral - my/maSCENA

La Chapelle de Québec

By Justin Bernard on 7 November 2019 Chamber Music, Choral

La Chapelle de Québec isn’t performing its first Messiah by Handel – far from it. On this side of the Atlantic, tradition has it that this oratorio is sung during the Christmas season. Each performance seems to bring its share of new experiences. This year, the ensemble will be joined on stage by soloists of international renown, including British countertenor Tim Mead. “Collaborating with such talented artists opens up new interpretive possibilities, such as the choice of arias I can do,” said Bernard Labadie. For the founder and music director of La Chapelle de Québec, it’s essential to keep the…

The Ottawa Bach Choir: In Canada and beyond

By Marie-Claire Fafard-Blais on 7 November 2019 Choral

Led by conductor and founder Lisette Canton, the Ottawa Bach Choir presents A Bach Christmas in Toronto on Nov. 30 and in Ottawa on Dec. 1. Now in its 18th year, the ensemble will perform three Bach cantatas for Epiphany: Meinem Jesus lass ich nicht BWV 124, Ach Gott, vie manches Herzeleid BWV 3, and Was mein Gott will, das g’scheh allzeit BWV 111. “In 1725, these cantatas would have been sung during Epiphany Sundays,” said Canton. “Bachfest Leipzig requested these cantatas. We wanted our Canadian public to discover them.” The choir will perform them as part of the prestigious…

Photo : John Hryniuk

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir celebrates its 125th Anniversary with Singing Through Centuries

By Denise Lai on 22 October 2019 Choral, Concert Reviews

Oct 21, 2019, Toronto — Canada’s oldest choir celebrated its 125th birthday with a gala concert at Koerner Hall yesterday afternoon. Interim artistic director David Fallis put together a diverse program that featured works from each of the three centuries in which the choir has performed. Among the many alumni and friends in attendance was Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. What you missed The concert opened with two acappella works of the choir’s namesake composer, which aptly showcased the choir’s agility in producing balanced, pure sounds and lush harmonies. It was one of the most memorable moments of the…

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir performing at St. Andrew's Church in February 2019. Photo by Brian Summers. — at St. Andrew's Church, Toronto.

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir: Canada’s Oldest Choir Celebrates 125 Years

By Denise Lai on 18 October 2019 Arts Industry, Choral

Founded in 1894, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir (TMC) is Canada’s oldest choir. It performed its first concert at the inaugural season of Massey Hall in January 1895. John McCrae, who famously penned the war memorial poem “In Flanders Fields,” was in attendance. Throughout its long history, the TMC has been served by eight artistic directors. Since 2018, David Fallis has been its interim conductor, and the choir undertakes an international search for an artistic director to take the helm in 2020-21. The choir consists of a professional core of about 20 and has its own concert series featuring a broad…

Photo : courtoisie

Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal: Uncertain Times

By Charlotte Monastesse on 5 September 2019 Choral

Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal are one of Quebec’s most treasured cultural institutions. Having represented Quebec worldwide for over six decades, this boys’ choir was dealt a hard blow last March, when the Commission scolaire de Montréal announced the termination of a long-standing agreement enabling 200 youths aged 8 to 17 to pursue their education at Collège Notre-Dame. In Europe, boy choirs are an established tradition. In Quebec, Father Léandre Brault created Les Petits Chanteurs in 1956 on the belief that the teaching of music to the young would be for their greater benefit. The choir’s makeup now is more…

Choral Canada Announces Finalists in 2019 National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs

By Newswire on 22 June 2019 Choral, Music Competition, Newswire

Toronto, ON June 15, 2019 – A treasured Canadian choral tradition, the celebrated National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs inspires choirs to strive for excellence, provides visibility for amateur choirs of all types and traditions, and encourages the creation and performance of Canadian works. The Competition, presented by Choral Canada in collaboration with the Canada Council for the Arts, and with support from CBC Music, Centre d’excellence artistique de l’Ontario and UNISONG is open to all Canadian amateur choirs and attracts diverse participants from coast to coast. Please note that finalists are listed in alphabetical order. The 2019 Finalists are:…

Photo: Voies culturelles des faubourgs

Le Grand Chœur du Centre-Sud- Free concert by and for the community

By Newswire on 16 May 2019 Choral

Montreal, May 16, 2019 – On June 7, Voies culturelles des faubourgs will present the very first edition of a great citizen concert, Le Grand Choeur du Centre-Sud. This unifying event will begin outside at Espace Pierre-Bourgault (corner of Plessis and Ontario) and will end with a grand concert at Sacré-Coeur Church. This great collective work, directed by André Pappathomas, composer, musician and winner of the 2017 artist award in the community, will bring together a hundred choristers from the Centre-Sud community. The choir will be accompanied by soloists, musicians and the great organ of the Sacré-Coeur Church. An inclusive…

Photo: Marco Monteferrante

Review: Rossini’s Little Gem

By Marco Monteferrante on 5 May 2019 Choral, Classical Music, Opera, Vocal

The Société philharmonique du nouveau monde performed Gioacchino Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle on April 27. While the Société chose the original version scored for two pianos and harmonium, the vocal parts in this production were sung entirely by the 150 choristers (instead of four soloists and eight choristers). The pianos were played by Danielle Maisonneuve and Jenna Richards, and the harmonium by Mélanie Barney. Michel Brousseau conducted from memory, which is not surprising given his leadership of the choristers’ rigorous rehearsal series. The chorus was evidently very well-prepared and well-responsive to Brousseau’s direction. In the heart of the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough…

Photo: Andrew Dobrowolskyj

Impressive Mahler from the OUM — and some friends

By Arthur Kaptainis on 14 April 2019 Choral, Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Romantic, Vocal

Hard to fault the Mahler Third Symphony heard Saturday night (April 13, 2019) in Salle Claude-Champagne. Very hard, if the criteria are performing standards and the grasp of the score shown by Jean-François Rivest, founding artistic director and principal conductor of the Orchestre de l’Université de Montréal. It should be noted, however, that the 100-plus players on stage included a high proportion of professors and alumni, including veterans we see often enough in professional situations. Only three of the eight double bassists, to judge by the printed program, were students. The first timpani part was undertaken by none other than…

Gilbert Patenaude, Man of Music – Opus Tribute Award

By Dominic Trudel on 3 April 2019 Arts Industry, Choral, Music Competition

Last February, the Opus Tribute Award from the Conseil québécois de la musique (CQM) went to Gilbert Patenaude in recognition of a long career. He is known for his commitment to choral singing, particularly as the director, for 38 years, of Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal. It is with dedication and rigour that he has taken on a demanding pedagogical and musical load that includes, in addition to teaching, more than 80 annual performances, religious services and other events. His achievements with young singers include no fewer than 23 international tours and a dozen recordings. He has trained more than…

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