Les Violons du Roy: 40 Years of Musical History

This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en: Francais (French)

The 2024-25 season marks the 40th anniversary of Les Violons du Roy. Founded by Bernard Labadie in 1984, the Quebec City chamber orchestra first made a name for itself with concerts and recordings of Baroque repertoire, before tackling a whole range of works from different eras—from classical to contemporary to Romantic—over the past few decades. The programming of this new season is a tribute to the diversity of the ensemble’s repertoire.

Les Violons du Roy opened its current season with Mozart quartets and quintets. Next came Bach cantatas with countertenor Hugh Cutting, followed by a touring Handel program with the inimitable Karina Gauvin and Marie-Nicole Lemieux under the baton of Principal Conductor Jonathan Cohen. In December, the orchestra will finish the year with Handel’s Messiah.

In 2019, Bernard Labadie spoke to La Scena Musicale about this masterpiece of sacred music. “Throughout my career, I’ve conducted Messiah hundreds of times,” he said. “Now, I return to it about once every four years. And I never tire of it. I rediscover the exceptional quality of the musical narrative and the admirable way in which Handel constructed this work, which sometimes resembles a choral opera. Collaborating with such talented artists also opens up new interpretative possibilities for me.”

Labadie has seen several generations of performers come and go. By placing his trust in soprano Liv Redpath, tenor Andrew Haji and bass William Thomas, who will be joined by experienced countertenor Iestyn Davies, the renowned conductor is once again betting on youth. Although he handed over the reins of the orchestra in 2016, he continues to direct La Chapelle de Québec, a choir with a rich 40-year history.

A bit of history

“In 1985, we formalized a choir that had already existed for several years which emerged from what was then the École de musique de l’Université Laval. In fact, it was there before the orchestra. Les Violons du Roy was first founded to accompany this choir. The two groups then evolved alongside each other,” recalls Labadie.“My first attempt at conducting was with a church choir consisting of several good singers, including some of my (student colleagues)—I was briefly in the voice program at Université Laval. That was my debut as a choral conductor.”

It was also at university, at the age of 19, that Labadie conducted Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas—his very first project with a small string orchestra and choir. “That’s when I caught the conducting bug and never looked back. Choir and orchestra repertoire were at the origin of my vocation. It’s what I had to do—what I wanted to do in life.”

Today, La Chapelle de Québec recruits its choristers not only from Quebec City, but from all over Quebec and Canada. For their part, Les Violons du Roy differentiate themselves from other chamber ensembles by combining modern instruments with antique bows. “An important part of the sound and articulation of Baroque music emanates from the type of bow as much as from the instrument itself. Our process allows the orchestra to play several different repertoires throughout the year […] You have to know how to adapt. My musical thinking is to apply various stylistic concepts to a variety of repertoires, without locking ourselves into a stylistic ghetto,” Labadie explained in an interview in the September 1997 issue.

By 2000, the uncertainties associated with any new organization had disappeared, and Les Violons du Roy was an established success. From autumn 2004 to spring 2014, they went on no fewer than 18 international tours and recorded 16 albums. Their collaboration with Atma Classique was marked by the release of seven successive albums, including an acclaimed Juno Award-winning Piazzolla album conducted by Jean-Marie Zeitouni. This was followed by Bartók and Britten recordings under the same conductor.

“We’re living in a time when the walls raised in the name of orthodoxy are collapsing under the weight of a very natural thing: the meeting of musical tastes and interests. As one thing leads to another, we move naturally from Bach to Mozart, then to opera and so on. The musical repertoire is a continuum, and this decompartmentalization is a very healthy phenomenon, which will nourish all musicians, Baroque or not,” Labadie said in a 1990s interview, clearly already ahead of his time.

In May 2014, Labadie was diagnosed with a rare form of cancerous lymphoma; his survival was uncertain. A lengthy recovery forced the founding conductor to suspend his career for almost 18 months, but he eventually regained the strength to return to the stage.

Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec are now in residence at Quebec City’s Palais Montcalm, following its complete renovation in 2007. Two new venues have also been added, ideal for their Montreal series: La Maison symphonique de Montréal, and Bourgie Hall at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Handel’s Messiah. Dec. 12 & 13 in Quebec City, and Dec. 14 in Montreal. For tickets and a glimpse into the history of Les Violons du Roy, visit www.violonsduroy.com

Translation: Heather Weinreb