LA SÉRIE ENCHANTÉE
New Visions in French-Canadian Music

arr. Larry Nickel

SATB with piano   –    CP 1321 – duration 3:45  
Cette chanson est apparue vers 1604, lors de l’établissement de la première colonie française au Québec. Une fontaine limpide, une rose et une peine d’amour. Les enfants chanteront cette chanson folklorique de manière ludique, tandis que les adultes s’intéresseront davantage à ses couleurs plus profondes. Nickel enveloppe la mélodie pentatonique avec une harmonisation évocatrice dans cet arrangement qui a été créé aux Nations unies à Genève.

This song may have appeared as early as 1604, when the first French settlement was established in Quebec. A clear fountain, a rose, and heart-break. Children sing this folk-song playfully while adults may relate to its deeper meanings.
Nickel gives the pentatonic melody evocative harmonization. This arrangement was premiered at the United Nations in Geneva.

arr. Mark Sirett

SA with piano   –    CP 1446 – duration 3:05 
Cette chanson est apparue vers 1604, lors de l’établissement de la première colonie française au Québec. Une fontaine limpide, une rose et une peine d’amour. Les enfants chanteront cette chanson folklorique de manière ludique, tandis que les adultes s’intéresseront davantage à ses couleurs plus profondes. Cet harmonisation de MarK Sirett pour voix égales est sublime.
This song may have appeared as early as 1604, when the first French settlement was established in Quebec. A clear fountain, a rose, and heart-break. Children sing this folk-song playfully while adults may relate to its deeper meanings. This beautiful arrangement is the ideal setting for treble voices.

arr. Stephen Smith

SATB a cappella   –    CP 1449 – duration 2:00  
Cette chanson est apparue vers 1604, lors de l’établissement de la première colonie française au Québec. Une fontaine limpide, une rose et une peine d’amour. Les enfants chanteront cette chanson folklorique de manière ludique, tandis que les adultes s’intéresseront davantage à ses couleurs plus profondes. Cet harmonisation a cappella de Stephen Smith pour chœur mixte est unique et évocateur.

This song may have appeared as early as 1604, when the first French settlement was established in Quebec. A clear fountain, a rose, and heart-break. Children sing this folk-song and adults relate to the deeper meanings. Stephen’s setting is fresh and evocative.

arr. Michael Snelgrove

SSA with piano   –    CP 1535 – duration 4:25  
SATB with piano   –    CP 1536
Connue dans le monde entier, cette chanson folklorique est très ludique. Peut-être pas si amusant pour l’oiseau menacé de se faire arracher les plumes de plusieurs parties de son anatomie ! Mike Snelgrove a su écrire une version en forme de thème et variations qui saura plaire à vos choristes ainsi qu’à votre public.

Known the world over, this folksong is all about fun; perhaps not so much fun for the bird being threatened to have feathers plucked from multiple parts of the anatomy! Michael Snelgrove has penned a very playful version in theme and variations form that is sure to be a hit with choristers and audience alike.

arr. Erica Phare-Bergh

SATB a cappella  –   CP 1701   – duration 4:50

Voici un arrangement très charmant de cette ancienne mélodie qui circule depuis des siècles, mais ici avec des couleurs et harmonies modernes entrelacées avec grande finesse. 

Here is a very charming arrangement of this ancient melody that has serenaded us for centuries, but here with modern colours and harmonies interwoven with great finesse by Erica Phare-Bergh. 

arr. Erica Phare-Bergh, text by Mary Travers known as “La Bolduc”

SSA with piano   –    CP 1433 – duration 3:20  
Remove stockings from the mantel when the fireplace is in use!
Often considered to be Quebec’s first singer-songwriter, Mary Travers (known as “La Bolduc”) hit the peak of her career in the 1930s. She popularized the well-known turlutte (French Canadian mouth music) that is now synonymous with Québecois folk song. She wrote mainly political and satirical songs, but also a number of New Year’s songs, although this particular one is a Christmas song. Le bas de Noël, depicts the antics of a family as they meet to celebrate Christmas together. La Bolduc’s tongue-in-cheek tone is found even here in her non-political song.

This piece was premiered in 2007 as a commission by the CBC and was directed by Zimfira Poloz at the CBC-McGill Youth Gala Concert in Montréal. It is the second arrangement of three songs by La Bolduc, originally entitled, La Bolduc en fête.

arr. Erica Phare-Bergh, text “La Bolduc”

SSA with piano   –    CP 1434 – duration 2:00  
Mary Travers (known as “La Bolduc”) wrote mainly political and satirical songs, but also a number of New Year’s songs like this one. It speaks of families getting together for New Year’s – the good old times, the hugs and kisses, the gastronomical list of treats and of course, Grandma’s meat pie (tourtière).

arr. by Jean-Charles Côté

SATB with piano   –    CP 1423 – duration 3:55   
Mary Rose-Anna Bolduc, née Travers, was a singer of French Canadian musician. She was known as Madame Bolduc or La Bolduc. During the peak of her popularity in the 1930s, she was known as the Queen of Canadian Folksingers. Jean-Charles has given a very convincing rendition of a Canadian classic.

by Michael Murray

SATB a cappella   –    CP 1420 – duration 2:55  
Listen to this quality recording by musica intima – one of Canada’s finest choirs. Imagine being a bystander when the caravan with the three magi marches past on their way to Bethlehem.

arr. Donald Patriquin

SSA with piano   –    CP 1445 – duration 4:30  
SATB with piano   –   CP 1453
This is a wonderful example of a folk song that came to Canada (Quebec) from Europe (France) and was made into a ‘local’ work song with the addition of a refrain– all sung to make the hard work enjoyable while paddling canoes on early Quebec’s waterways.

arr. Donald Patriquin

SATB with piano   –    CP 1655 – duration 4:00  
Another wonderful French-Canadian folksong arranged by our inimitable composer.
It is in the Month of May – going up the river,
The girls are beautiful – all the lovers change sweethearts
But I am not going to change because mine is too beautiful
She has beautiful blue eyes and a red mouth
How nice it would be to live with her

arr. Mark Sirett

SAB with piano and violin    –    CP 2231   – duration 1:45  
This is a classic French Canadian Folk-Song and Dr. Sirett makes it really SPIN. The text of this song is based on a game of words. In the vernacular of colonial Quebec, the name “Moine /Monk” is given to a small toy called in France: “German Top / toupie d’Allemagne”. Apparently, the “Moine/Monk” is actually a top (toupie) that the child puts into a spin with a cord and as it spins, the child tries to make the top dance by whipping it lightly with the cord.” So this explains the metaphor of referring to the toy top as a monk, and then singing this song which basically tells the top (Monk) that if it dances, the child will give it a list of things that are important to a monk.

arr. Erica Phare-Bergh

SATB with piano – CP 21078– duration 2:20  
SA with piano – CP 21073
En passant par la Lorraine is a catchy French folksong derived from a legend about the feisty Anne of Brittany (1488-1514) who, as queen, would wear wooden clogs in order to associate with the commoners. A great concert ender, this piece includes body percussion and a few hidden melodies (La Marseillaise and Wagner’s Bridal March). The lyrics are quite repetitive making this folksong accessible for non-francophone choirs.  Erica’s composer notes go into detail. click here.

by Claudel Callender

SATB with piano or organ – CP 1737   – duration 3:45   
L’étoile bleue is a choral piece for a SATB choir, a soloist and organ accompaniment written on an original text depicting the nativity of Christ. It invites seekers to collect themselves and find inner peace and guidance through the symbol of the Star which led the meek to their saviour some two thousand years ago.s.

by Michel Conte, arr. Erica Phare-Bergh,

SATB with piano – CP 1551 – duration 8:20  
SSAA with piano – CP 1595
Evangeline is an epic poem that was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1847. It describes the betrothal of a fictional Acadian girl named Évangéline Bellefontaine to her beloved, Gabriel Lajeunesse, and their separation when the British deported the Acadians from Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia, during the Bay of Fundy Campaign in 1755. The poem follows Evangeline as she spends years in search of Gabriel across America; sometimes she is near Gabriel without even realizing it. As an old woman, she works as a Sister of Mercy among the poor. While tending the dying during an epidemic, she finds Gabriel among the sick, and he sadly dies in her arms. The final verse of Michel Conte’s lyrics says, “Your name is more than Acadia…it stands for all those who, despite unhappiness, still believe in hope and love.”

by Bruno Dufresne

SATB with piano  –  CP 1410 – duration 5:10
A bird, a tree, a child – with questions of happiness and loneliness. What a provoking trilogy to deal with the deep questions of our existence in such a charming way.

by Gérard Jean, arr. Marcien Ferland

SATB with piano – CP 1725 – duration 3:30
On tour, on a rainy day far from home, a lonely musician offers his song as a gallant jest to the one he loves.
Il pleut : le musicien en tournée s’ennuie, loin de son amie. Il lui crée une chanson, prenant le rôle d’un troubadour galant.

by France Levasseur-Ouimet,  arr.  Allan Bevan

SATB with piano   –    CP 1502 – duration 4:40
SSA with piano   –    CP 1524
Regardless of colour or creed, we are all immigrants – one way or another – and we all belong. This stirring anthem goes straight to the heart.

arr. Michael Snelgrove

SATB with piano   –    CP 1534 – duration 3:10 
SSA with piano   –    CP 1533
This piece is a real barn burning showstopper for a skilled pianist and a choir that that loves adrenaline pumping music. This Canadian folksong has been around for generations and Michael takes it to a new level of energy and FUN. The text is repetitive and easy for any choir to catch on to.

by Marie-Claire Saindon

SSAA with keyboard or string quartet – CP 1440 – duration 12:30 for the trilogy.

Une œuvre poignante de grande ampleur, Marie-Claire a composé cette merveilleuse trilogie comme un Magnificat moderne pour chœur de femmes et quatuor à cordes (ou piano). Les textes sont tirés de trois sources différentes et mettent en lumière les pensées très humaines de Marie quant à son  sentiment d’incertitude d’être digne de porter le fils de Dieu. Voir ci-dessous pour les pièces individuelles qui peuvent également être commandées comme une œuvre entière.

Grand in scope and poignant in effect, Marie-Claire has written this wonderful modern-day ‘Magnificat trilogy’ for women’s choir and string quartet (or piano) on texts from three different sources, all illuminating Mary’s very human feelings surrounding her inadequacy to bear the son of God. See below for the individual pieces which can also be ordered as a combined set.

by Marie-Claire Saindon

SSAA with keyboard or strings   –   CP 1436 – duration 3:20

Le 1er mouvement de la trilogie Méditations de la Vierge Marie de Marie-Claire Saindon. Voir ci-dessus sous ‘Méditations’ pour de plus amples informations.

Movement #1 from the trilogy Meditations de la Vierge Marie. Available as a single score or as a complete trilogy – see above under ‘Méditations’.

by Marie-Claire Saindon

SSAA with keyboard or strings  –   CP 1437 – duration 4:30

Le 2e mouvement de la trilogie Méditations de la Vierge Marie de Marie-Claire Saindon. Voir ci-dessus sous ‘Méditations’ pour de plus amples informations ou pour commander les trois pièces ensemble.

Movement #2 from the trilogy Meditations de la Vierge Marie. Available as a single score or as a complete trilogy – see above under ‘Méditations’.

by Marie -Claire Saindon

SSAA with keyboard or strings   –    CP 1438 – duration 4:05
Le 3e mouvement de la trilogie Méditations de la Vierge Marie de Marie-Claire Saindon. Voir ci-dessus sous ‘Méditations’ pour de plus amples informations ou pour commander les trois pièces ensemble.

Movement #3 from the trilogy Meditations de la Vierge Marie. Available as a single score or as a complete trilogy – see above under ‘Méditations’.

by France Levasseur-Ouimet, arr. Erica Phare-Bergh,

1 – Nuit d’hiver – SATB with piano – CP 2045
2 – Fille d’hiver – SSA with piano – CP 2046
3 – Merveilles de l’hiver – SATB with piano – CP 2047
4 – MES HIVERS – (COMPLETE TRILOGY) – CP 2048

France et Erica ont créé une trilogie de pièces qui racontent l’hiver dans toutes ses facettes. Selon l’auteure-compositeure: “J’ai maintenant vécu beaucoup d’hivers et j’en suis venue à la conclusion que l’hiver est beaucoup plus qu’une simple saison. L’hiver a différents visages selon les différentes générations et les différentes expériences de ceux et celles qui la vivent. La trilogie Mes hivers présente donc trois différents visages de l’hiver”. Avec le choix d’accompagnement de quatuor à cordes ou de piano, ces pièces et leurs textes évoquent la gamme de sentiments qui incarne cette saison complexe. Les mélodies sublimes sont rehaussées par des harmonies somptueuses et une écriture très soignée pour les voix.

France and Erica have created gorgeous choral music about the Winter season. In the composer’s words: “I have now lived through many winters and I have come to the conclusion that winter is much more than just a season. Winter has different faces depending on the different generations and the different experiences of those who live it. The trilogy Mes Hivers (My Winters) presents three different faces of winter.” With the choice of string quartet or piano accompaniment, these pieces and their texts evoke the range of feelings that inhabit this complex season. Memorable melodies are enhanced with compelling lines for each voice part, intuitive voice leading and sumptuous harmonies. 

by Gilles Vigneault, arr. Larry Nickel

SATB with piano   –    CP 1313 – duration 4:30  
The song, with its lyrics about winds, cold, snow, and ice, of the solitude of wide open spaces and of the ideal of brotherhood, has become a kind of anthem in Quebec, with many people seeing it as expressing the free spirit of the province.

by France Levasseur-Ouimet, arr. Allan Bevan 

SATB with piano – CP 1798   – duration 6:00  
This very thoughtful Christmas composition asks a serious question and gives an affirming answer.
Y’a des gens pour qui Noël n’est plus qu’un lourd fardeau de plus à porter
There are people for whom Christmas is more of a heavy burden than a celebration 

arr. Erica Phare-Bergh

SSA with piano – CP 1402 – duration 1:45  
This early 16th Century carol in Dorian mode is believed to be a New Year’s song as it includes not only the Nativity, but also a the visit from the Magi, which is associated with Epiphany on January 6. The most complete text that we have dates from the Bible des Noëls anciens, 1791, which has all 13 verses.

by Matthew Emery

SATB  a cappella  –   CP 1838   – duration: 5:15
Nuit d’été is a anthem for mixed chorus a cappella. The text by Paul Bourget (1852-1935) speaks to feelings we have on ‘sweet summer nights’. It follows a traditional AABACoda form. “Ô nuit, ô douce nuit d’été” acts as a reoccurring musical gesture, in the third stanza the SA voices take the melodic weight while the TB voices sustain on a drone. The music returns to the familiar “A” section in the fourth stanza, and there is an ending Coda section on the text “ô nuit aimante!”

by Robert Ingari

SATB a cappella – CP 1447 – duration 4:15
O most blessed light, fill the inmost heart of your faithful. Robert’s prayer really shines!

by Rémi St-Jacques

SATB a cappella – CP 1878 – duration 2.35
SATB with piano – CP 1879
SSA with piano – CP 1880

The life of a butterfly is short and beautiful. Our lives are also a short blip on the timeline – but can be beautiful and meaningful. The poet, Alphonse de Lamartine captures this metaphor and Rémi has rendered a convincing realization for choirs with lovely and convincing composition. A man who works with choirs, Rémi has hit the sweet-spot.

by France Levasseur-Ouimet arr Allan Bevan

SSA with piano – CP 1217 – duration 4:30
SATB with piano – CP 1261
France wrote the poignant melody and text, Allan wrote a masterful choral arrangement. Listen to a young choir from Lyon give it a beautiful rendition.
Speak to me of the sea. Tell me its story so that I may become a sailor.
Speak to me of the prairies. Tell me their story so that I may be able to see beyond the horizon.
Speak to me of the earth. Tell me its story so that I may become its guardian.

by Jeff Enns

SATB with piano  –  CP 1612 – duration 4:30
Guillaume Apollinaire’s bittersweet poem was an inspiration to Jeff Enns. The author looks over the railing and thinks “loves flows away like water under this bridge.” Jeff specializes in big fat chords. A good choir would love creating these gorgeous sonorities.

arr. Erica Phare-Bergh

SA (two part) with piano – CP 1422 – duration 2:25 
This is an SA arrangement of an old Flemish tune with the French text first appearing in the Recueil de noëls angevins (1874). Listen for the hint of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony and a lot of open fifth bagpipe bourdons embedded in the accompaniment that give it a pastoral feel.

arr.  Mark Sirett

SATB    with piano – KH 108   – duration 4:55.  
SSAA    with piano – KH 109
TTBB    with piano – KH 119
A classic Canadian folk-song set for voices in multiple combinations with exquisite harmonies.

by Robert Ingari

SATB a cappella and cello  –   CP 1414 – duration 8:50
This is some of Robert’s finest handiwork. Please give a listen.

by George Chung

SATB a cappella  –  CP 1409 – duration 2:05
A life affirming poem from “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. George is very skilled at writing intuitive and evocative voice leading. This fresh composition really communicates.

arr. Erica Phare-Bergh

SSA with piano    –     CP 1432 – duration 1:40  
SATB with piano    –     CP 1484
Mary Travers (known as “La Bolduc”) wrote mainly political and satirical songs, but also a number of New Year’s songs. However, this song is actually a Christmas song in which children are being admonished to go to bed early to ensure that when Santa arrives with his reindeer and gifts, he will be in a good mood.

by Rémi St-Jacques

SA with piano  – CP 1796 – duration 3:55

The journey of the summer bird, migration, is a theme that people everywhere can identify with; leaving home to places unknown, taking a risk, seeking a better existence when confronted by difficulties (bad weather?). Birds fly south and people also move on with their lives.  Rémi has crafted a lovely marriage of melody and text in sweet-spot registers – with a flowing piano accompaniment.