Ensemble vocal Chantal-Masson

Ensemble vocal Chantal-Masson

Ensemble vocal Chantal-Masson. Thirty-voice choir founded in 1965 at Laval University by Chantal Masson. It performed for seven years in public and on radio and TV in Canada and abroad. Singing mostly unaccompanied, it gave performances at the Institut canadien of Quebec, the Concerts Couperin, the Société de musique de chambre de Québec, the Société des concerts de l'Île d'Orléans, the JMC Orford Art Centre, and the St-Jean-des-Piles summer festivals (Villa Musica camp, near Trois-Rivières). It premiered several works by Canadian composers including Maurice Dela, Alain Gagnon, Jacques Hétu, Roger Matton, and André Prévost, while maintaining a wide repertoire of madrigals, motets, and cantatas by Bach, Monteverdi, and Purcell, romantic part songs, contemporary music, and folk music of many countries. During the Canadian centenary the choir toured Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan and was hailed as 'one of the best Canadian choirs' (Winnipeg Free Press, 10 Nov 1967). Also in 1967 it was invited to participate in Europe Cantat III (in Namur, Belgium) and the Choralies internationales canadiennes in Trois-Rivières, and to perform at the Canadian Pavilion at Expo 67. In 1968 the ensemble placed fifth (folklore category) at the Concorso Polifonico Internazionale Guido d'Arezzo in Italy. In 1970 it participated in Europe Cantat IV (in Graz, Austria) and toured eastern USA and various cultural centres in Quebec. In 1972, when Chantal Masson was unable to continue as leader, the choir disbanded.