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Choral Calendar (Nov 2024)

By Kristen Whittle on 9 November 2024 Choral, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, Vancouver

West Early Music Vancouver Dec. 22, Vancouver Under the direction of Alexander Weimann, Early Music Vancouver will present a pairing of “Festive Cantatas” featuring Gloria in excelsis Deo cantata by J.S. Bach and Missa Nativitatis Domini by Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka. www.earlymusic.bc.ca Vancouver Chamber Choir Dec. 12, 13, Vancouver Peace and tranquility is the theme of the Vancouver Chamber Choir’s holiday concert entitled “Christmas by Candlelight.” Under the direction of Kari Turunen, the choir will present a large selection of holiday classics and new works, including Laura Hawley’s Mary called it an angel and the world première of Chris…

Pro Coro Canada : Two Edmonton Holiday Favourites

By Kristen Whittle on 9 November 2024 Choral

Pro Coro Canada is a professional chamber choir based in Edmonton, Alta. The 24-voice ensemble was founded in 1981 by Michel Marc Gervais. Today, the choir is directed by Michael Zaugg, and has a strong commitment to community engagement exemplified in part through their internationally-renowned composer-in-residence and emerging artist programs. Indeed, presenting new music and promoting artistic exploration is a core piece of the choir’s mission, and they have commissioned dozens of new works in the past years, the majority by Canadian composers. Although they mainly perform for local Edmonton audiences, their work is now available across Canada through increased…

Tafelmusik: A rare presentation of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio

By Denise Lai on 8 November 2024 Choral

With the Christmas season fast approaching, that holiday staple, Handel’s Messiah, is being performed everywhere. Tafelmusik is no exception, and its singalong version is a perennial holiday tradition in Toronto. This year, however, Tafelmusik will also present a much less ubiquitous seasonal work: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. Composed in 1734, the Oratorio tells the story of the nativity, from the birth of Jesus through to the arrival of the Three Wise Men. It comprises a series of jubilant choruses, tender chorales and introspective solo arias, with recitatives sung by a tenor Evangelist to provide the narrative. Bach uses chorales…

Michel Brousseau, conductor.

Société Phil du Nouveau Monde | Mozart’s Requiem: the tradition continues

By Justin Bernard on 7 October 2024 Choral, Classical Music

Presenting Mozart’s Requiem is a tradition of the Société philharmonique du Nouveau Monde. Conductor Michel Brousseau, who will be at the helm of three choirs and the orchestra at Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica, tells us the story behind his programming of this repertoire staple. “It’s a recurring event that began some 20 years ago with Jean-Pierre Guindon. Not only was he conductor of the Notre-Dame Basilica choir and artistic director of the sacred music festival with the Quebec Choral Alliance, he was also my predecessor at the helm of the Chanteurs de Sainte-Thérèse. He asked me if I wanted to take…

Simon Fournier: An award that gives wings

By Marie-Claire Fafard-Blais on 7 October 2024 Choral, Classical Music

In June 2024, choral conductor Simon Fournier was awarded the Prix Jean-Pierre-Guindon by the Quebec Choral Alliance. This award, presented annually by an independent committee, recognizes a choral conductor’s exceptional dedication to the cause of choral singing for at least 25 years. Simon Fournier, who has been involved in the world of choral singing since his days as a chorister with the Petits chanteurs du Mont-Royal, accepted the award with gratitude and humility. “The recognition of my peers, of several colleagues who took the time to congratulate me, touched me deeply and motivates me to continue to surpass myself. It’s…

CD Review | Ensemble ArtChoral — Art Choral, Vol. 1: Renaissance

By Kristen Whittle on 5 September 2024 CD and Book Reviews, Choral, Classical Music, Vocal

Art Choral, Vol. 1: Renaissance Ensemble ArtChoral; Matthias Maute, artistic director ATMA Classique, 2024 Ensemble ArtChoral’s newest installation to its collection spanning the history of choral singing returns to the origins of polyphony in Art Choral, Vol. 1: Renaissance. Under the direction of Matthias Maute, the ensemble performs early choral repertoire by composers from across Europe, including Cristóbal de Morales, Josquin des Prés, and William Byrd, to name a few. The album opens with No. 5, Adoramus te, Christe from Palestrina’s Recueil des morceaux de musique ancienne. Given Palestrina’s role in creating polyphonic technique, ArtChoral’s expert use of the push…

CD Review | François Dompierre — Requiem

By Kristen Whittle on 2 September 2024 CD and Book Reviews, Choral, Vocal

François Dompierre — Requiem Myriam Leblanc, soprano; Andrew Haji, tenor; Geoffroy Salvas, baritone Orchestre FILMharmonique and Ensemble ArtChoral; Francis Choinière, conductor Let Artists Be, 2024 François Dompierre’s Requiem is nothing short of cinematic in nature. Its 12 liturgical texts are set in a manner that takes the listener on a journey through a plethora of sonic environments that are unexpected but seamlessly blend with the character of the Requiem genre. The French horn carries the opening Kyrie with its moving response gestures to the choir. This, of course, comes after the magnificent string opening—two broken dissonant chords are closed by…

Luminous Voices with Artistic Director Timothy Shantz. Photo: Claire Bourgeois

Luminous Voices: Thriving with new creations & great masterworks

By Gianmarco Segato on 30 August 2024 Choral, Interviews, Vocal

When Artistic Director Timothy Shantz founded Calgary’s professional choir, Luminous Voices, in 2012, it was to fulfill a “longstanding dream.” After completing his master’s in choral conducting in Edmonton, Shantz became chorus master at the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) and founded a community choir, Spiritus Chamber Choir, in the same city. There was a gap, however: it was “one of those moments where you just say, we do it now, or you just don’t do it.” And so, Luminous Voices became Calgary’s first professional choir. Thanks to Shantz’s CPO connection, he was able to program the new choir’s first concert…

François Dompierre: A Québec Requiem

By Justin Bernard on 30 August 2024 Choral, Film, Interviews

Given the heavy legacy of Mozart, Verdi and Fauré, it’s understandable that some people would get writer’s block when they tackle a requiem. François Dompierre is not one of them. “I was already singing in choirs two or three times a week by the time I was 22 or 23,” he says. “I was already thinking about writing a requiem at that time, but especially later when I visited cathedrals like the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona recently. While admiring this project of architectural excess, of opening up to heaven, I remembered this foundational liturgical text. I thought it would be…

Ensembles Babεl

PODIUM 2024: Choral Singing in the Spotlight

By Marie-Claire Fafard-Blais on 31 May 2024 Choral, Vocal, World Music

Co-hosted by Canada Choral and l’Alliance chorale du Québec, the Podium 2024 Choral Conference and Festival took place in Montreal from May 16 to 19. This year’s theme was “Open voices, open minds.” Bringing together dozens of choirs from across Canada and beyond, the festival featured seven major indoor concerts and a series of free concerts, which took place across downtown Montreal. The festival opened with the Cultural Landscapes concert, featuring Toronto-based ensembles Babεl and Concreamus, as well as Coroncoro Vocal Ensamble from Bogotá, Colombia. The high-calibre performances delighted the audience. Coroncoro should be singled out, having delivered a flawless…

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