Les Vêpres de la Vierge

Les Vêpres de la Vierge

Les Vêpres de la Vierge. Work by Gilles Tremblay for mixed choir, soprano solo and instrumental ensemble, commissioned for the 850th anniversary of the foundation of the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Sylvanès, France, where it was premiered 20 Jul 1986 by Pauline Vaillancourt (soprano), Réjean Poirier (organ), Jean-François Tremblay (flute), the choir of the Orchestre national de Lyon, and an ensemble of 13 Quebec instrumentalists conducted by the composer. It was revived at the Festival d'été (Festival international) de Lanaudière and by the SMCQ in 1987, in Ghent, Belgium in 1988, in London and at the Abbey of Ainay, Lyons in 1989, and in Ottawa in 1990. Most of the texts are in French, except for the hymn 'Ave maris stella' and two antiphons. These vespers, which follow liturgical order, are divided into three large sections: 1) Prologue: Envol, an allelulia for solo flute, and an introduction with Gloria, Lucernaire, Bénédiction, and the 'Ave Maris stella' hymn; 2) a series of psalms preceded and followed by their Gregorian antiphons embellished by tropes; 3) a brief reading from the Apocalypse of St John. The work was recorded in 1986 by the performers who premiered it, on CD (Arianne ARI-136) and on cassette (SNE 541).