Chanteurs St-Coeur-de-Marie

Chanteurs St-Coeur-de-Marie

Chanteurs St-Coeur-de-Marie. Choir founded in Quebec City in the 1950s. Directed by Claude Gosselin beginning in the early 1960s, the choir adopted its present name in 1973. The 12 male voices perform Gregorian chant and polyphonic music at the St-Coeur-de-Marie Church and are augmented by some 12 female voices for large polyphonic works performed during religious holidays and annual concerts. The organist at the St-Coeur-de-Marie Church is the choir's regular accompanist; in 1978, Denis Bédard succeeded Sylvain Doyon, who had held the post since 1963.

While dedicated primarily to sacred music, the choir also performs secular pieces from several periods, sung either unaccompanied or with organ or instruments. Among the works given in concert have been Mozart's Coronation Mass, Bach's Cantata No. 21, and Handel's Judas Maccabeus. In a review in Le Soleil Marc Samson commended a performance of the Handel work for its 'blend of fervour, musical sense, and fine judgment of pitch and tonal nuance'. On two occasions the choir took part in a performance of Messiah with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra under Otto-Werner Mueller and Mario Bernardi respectively. It also sang at the Institut canadien in Quebec City in 1975, the Concerts Couperin in 1976, the ninth convention of FAMEQ in 1976, and the tricentenary celebrations in St-Jean-Port-Joli, Que, in 1977. On tour during the 1975-6 season it gave concerts in Ottawa, Quebec, and Chicoutimi. More recently it participated in the 1989 International Choral Festival in Toronto and in the Pacific International Festival of Male Choirs in Vancouver (1990). The choir has also performed regularly on CBC radio.

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