This final concert of Chorale Saint-Jean’s regular season will feature a variety of their favourite works, as well as a few new pieces composed especially for the ensemble this year and which they will be sharing with choirs and audiences this summer.
The concert will feature Elles s’appelaient Marie (they were called Marie), a choral suite of 16 pieces interspersed with narration and historical photos. The multimedia work is the creation of local composer-songwriter France-Levasseur Ouimet, with choral arrangements by Allan Bevan, and will be conducted by Laurier Fagnan. The suite tells the story of the migration of francophones from Eastern to Western Canada in the early 20th century, with the joys and sorrows of these new settlers and the francophone society and culture they helped establish, all told from the perspective and experiences of the pioneer women who all bore the middle name ‘Marie’ at the time. It’s an extremely powerful and moving work, as well as educational in terms of history and the legacy of our heritage.
Partial English translation will be provided. All in all, a concert not to be missed!
