Les Petits chanteurs du Mont-Royal

Les Petits chanteurs du Mont-Royal. Choir and choir school which exists primarily to provide the musical portion of the religious ceremonies at Saint Joseph's Oratory on Mount Royal, Montreal. It was founded in 1956 by Father Léandre Brault (b Montreal 22 Jan 1920, d there 12 Nov 1971) of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, who was its general as well as musical director. His successor, Charles-O. Dupuis, became director in 1969, followed by Gilbert Patenaude in 1978. Father Rémi Legault became its general director in 1971. In addition to professional music training, the young singers receive a complete academic education from the third grade of primary level to the fifth year of secondary school. The school, made up of 20 boy trebles in 1956, numbered 140 in 1990. The choir made numerous JMC (YMC) tours throughout Canada between 1962 and 1969 and performed in New York and in Paris where it took part in a 1967 concert combining choirs from five continents. It sang, notably, in Springfield, Mass in 1974, in Utica, NY in 1976, at Massey Hall in Toronto in 1978 and in Cambridge, Mass. in 1984. It took part in a CBC TV Christmas program with the tenor Luciano Pavarotti in 1978; this broadcast, recorded at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal has regularly been shown on Canadian and US channels during the Christmas period. In 1983 about 30 choristers went to Caracas, Venezuela for an international choral meeting. Also in 1983 the CBC chose the Petits chanteurs as delegates to the Rencontre de chant choral des radios francophones in Brussels. In 1984 the choir sang in Mahler's monumental Symphony of a Thousand presented by the MSO at the Forum. It also gave concerts as part of Expo 86 in Vancouver and made a Belgian and French tour in 1989. Its repertoire, although consisting mainly of renaissance pieces and Gregorian chant, also contains a selection of French and Quebec folksongs.

Author Pierre Rochon

Discography

Adeste Fideles: misc carols. Patenaude conductor, Laurin organ. 1990. Analekta AN-930 (CD)

Chants à Saint Joseph. Dupuis conductor. 1976? Petits chanteurs du Mont-Royal PCMR-009

Fauré Requiem; Messe basse Maîtrise du Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Petits chanteurs de Trois-Rivières, soloists, Perrin organ, CBC orch, Lasserre de Rozel conductor. 1988. REM 311096XCD

Folksongs et al. Dupuis conductor. 1976? Petits chanteurs du Mont-Royal PCMR-008

Hymnes eucharistiques. Brault conductor. Radio-Marie RM-36618

Jeux de la XXI^e Olympiade - Montréal 1976, Musique des cérémonies officielles/ Games of the XXI Olympiad - Montreal 1976, Music of the Official Ceremonies (arr Vogel). Disciples de Massenet, Orpheus Choir, Vogel conductor. 1976. Poly 2424-124

Joie de Noël. 12 songs. Daveluy organ, Brault conductor. RCA 10-PPKM-1339

Musique sacrée à l'Oratoire Saint-Joseph: Palestrina - Bruckner - Archer - et al. Patenaude conductor, Seutin organ. 1985. SNE 528

Noëls de la Nouvelle-France. Patenaude conductor, Ens Arion. 1985. SNE 533

Nous avons vu le Seigneur. 1972. Office catéchistique du Québec 41973

Panorama: Renaissance songs. Sel M-298-104

Les Petits chanteurs du Mont-Royal: Bach Cantata No. 147 ('Jesu bleibet meine Freude') - carols. Daveluy organ, Dupuis conductor. 1978. Telson AE-1517

Les Petits chanteurs du Mont-Royal chantent Vigneault et Leclerc. Coda 001

Les Petits chanteurs du Mont-Royal: Mass 'O Magnum Mysterium' - motets - renaissance songs. Brault conductor. RCA Victor LM-2501/RCA CGPS-217

Renaissance/ Musical Renaissance: Hassler - Lassus - Palestrina - et al. 1968. RCI 237/Madrigal MAS-417/Oryx EXP-36

Viens vers le Père. U. Parr organ, Brault conductor. Radio-Marie RM-36418/Radio-Marie RM 36906 (corrected edn 1969)

The choir also recorded Harry Freedman's cantata The Flame Within for Paul Almond's film Act of the Heart (1969, CBC SM-142/Decca DL-75244) and participated in the recording of the musical comedy La Course au bonheur (1984, Triangle TR-1401)

See also Discography for Dubeau

Bibliography

Perreault, Jean-Guy. 'Une maîtrise: les Petits chanteurs du Mont-Royal,' L MUS thesis, University of Montreal 1971

Destination aventure: Les Petits chanteurs du Mont-Royal au Vénézuela (Montreal 1985)

Bernard, Florian. 'Les Petits chanteurs du Mont-Royal: on dirait des enfants comme les autres,' Montreal La Presse, 12 Apr 1986

Sarrazin, Francine. 'Gilbert Patenaude: un homme-orchestre québécois,' Aria, vol 13, Spring 1989

Dupuis, Charles-O. Léandre Brault c.s.c.: fondateur des Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal (Saint-Laurent 2000)