A francophone Christmas

Since 1937 Chorale Saint-Jean has sung as one spirit, one heart. Over the last 20 years Laurier Fagnan has guided the singers through numerous cathedral sings and out-of-province tours that have enriched the choir and blessed them with a national francophone presence.

The 55-member mixed choir, a blend of University of Alberta Faculté Saint-Jean students and community singers, takes time on Sunday, Dec. 6 to present Veni Emmanuel. Although this month is one of the busiest for students, the Christmas concert is major highlight of the season.

The feature work is Pergolesi/Durante’s 12-minute Magnificat performed with a 10-piece string orchestra.

“It’s so singable, so wonderfully written. It’s not as complex as Bach’s but it’s very gratifying to the singers and players. It’s so full of dance-like gestures as much as baroque music can be. The way it is set is masterfully done. There are gorgeous melodies and the audience loves to hear the singers,” said Fagnan.

As for composer Michael John Trotta’s title work, Fagnan noted that it grafts the hymn O Come Emanuel with a more modern companion that uses percussion and drum.

“It has a lot of rhythmic variety. It’s a traditional piece but has clusters that get your attention and create powerful moments. There is plainchant and percussion mixed with contemporary harmonies and the choir really gets to sing out. The walls of the church will be bouncing.”

The choir has also rehearsed Peter Anglea’s Silent Night, and Fagnan predicts, “people will melt” upon hearing it.

One of the concert’s other key pieces is O Magnum Mysterium sung in Latin and French.

“It’s a brand new version for full choir and cello. It’s quite hauntingly beautiful.”

This concert is also an opportunity for Fagnan to look back at his two-decade career with the choir.

He first came to the attention of FacultĂ© Saint-Jean after completing a master’s degree in vocal pedagogy from Laval University in Quebec City.

Albert La France, a retiring professor at Saint Jean, suggested Fagnan revive the school choir.

“At the time the choir had been dormant for 10 years. In 1994, I conducted a small group of students and we met at lunch hour. When people heard about the choir, we had a lot of interest from the greater francophone community. I pitched the idea of a student/community band to the dean and she liked it.”

In 1995, the choir ballooned from 12 to 45 choristers with an age range from 17 to mid-sixties.

One of the choir’s big highlights was travelling to Quebec’s 400th anniversary celebrations. They were invited to participate in a mass choir of 1,400 voices – members of 72 choirs.

“Chorale Saint Jean played a central role in the celebrations. Because of our uniqueness, we also did a solo concert. Only eight choirs were chosen.”

At that concert they performed professor France Levasseur-Ouimet’s 16-section song They Were Called Mary.

“In the past all women’s middle names were Mary. This tells the story of the migration to western Canada recounted through the eyes of pioneering women – all the joys and sacrifices. It’s such a powerful work.”

Throughout the duration of the song, 150 historic photos were projected on a screen behind the choir.

“The Quebec audience loved it. They went crazy for it. Later a woman who was crying came up to me and said, ‘Thank you for telling your story and my story. I can now sing O Canada with pride.’ She was obviously a separatist with not many ties to Canada. But that sort of thing you can’t do in a political speech. Choral music lends itself to powerful stories.”

Musically the choir is more advanced than it was 20 years ago. Fagnan no longer has to convince people the choir is no longer a glee club, but a dynamic choral group.

However, he is most proud of its role in the community.

“Chorale Saint-Jean has become an important bridge between the campus and the francophone community. I’m proud of who they (singers) are and what they’ve done, and I love them.”