RAISED VOICES
Four choirs join forces for spring shows
Human beings, says choir master Laurier Fagnan, simply need to sing.
“I think there is a part of us that just wants to give voice,” says the longtime director of the Chorale Saint-Jean, a 60-person collective operating through the University of Alberta’s French campus for more than 80 years.
That deep-seated desire to both sing, and to sing with others, has given rise to a vibrant choral community in Edmonton, one that’s coming together in an impressive spring concert that’s also a precursor to an appearance at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
On Sunday, April 8, at 3 p.m., Fagnan’s choir joins forces with three choirs from Augustana College in Camrose. All in all, for two glorious hours, 180 choristers will fill downtown’s McDougall United Church (10025 101 St.). Works featured include the powerful 40-minute, five-part Requiem for the Living, by Dan Forrest, a 2014 work that’s already a beloved staple within the canon of the well-established American composer.
“It’s so well-written for the voice,” says Fagnan. “It has these great epic, ascending lines and modulation that are bringing you to beautiful places, vocally and harmonically. Audiences will love the variety that is inherent in the piece. The second movement could easily be a battle scene in Lord of the Rings. It goes from the ethereal and calm and sublime, to the utmost dramatic and intense music. And it’s always drawing you in emotionally.”
The singers at the McDougall concert will be backed by some 30 members of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Two days later, on Tuesday, April 10, at 8 p.m., the same group will perform the show again at the Lougheed Centre/Cargill Theatre of Augustana’s Camrose Campus (4501 50 St.). On May 19, some members of the Augustana choir, along with performers from Chorale Saint-Jean and Edmonton’s Cosmopolitan Chorus, will perform Requiem for the Living at Carnegie Hall.
Augustana choir director John Wiebe says the giant choral gathering “opens up so many doors.”
“From a budget point of view, these are expensive concerts to put on,” says Wiebe, noting that the Augustana choir has been operating since 1912. “It allows us to thrive and put a really strong chorus on stage.”
Both choir directors are enthusiastic about what choral music can do, not only for audience members, but for individuals and the community.
“Singing is the most intimate form of music making,” says Wiebe. “The instrument is within you and when you share it with others, in a communal setting, it’s an opportunity to build community, and build relationships.”
Indeed, choir participants during a recent rehearsal of Chorale SaintJean say being a part of the group, which requires French fluency, has brought much joy to their lives.
“Some of the most spiritual experiences I have had have been with this choir,” says Nicole Bugeaud, a member for some 17 years. “It’s a great stress release. You leave it all behind you when you come to practice. It’s uplifting.”
“There is a choir for every singer and a conductor for every singer,” says Marie-Josee Quimet, who has been with Chorale Saint-Jean for 20 years and is now its assistant director. “You just have to click, and it’s magic.”
Those who remember being forced to sing in the church choir may find their hearts opened anew through the April concert. Listening to Fagnan talk about choir music is akin to hearing a preacher discuss heaven. To say he’s a fan is an understatement.
Fagnan did his doctorate in the principles of bel canto (an Italian technique that allows solo voices to carry over an orchestra). He finds the human voice, when welltrained and directed, to be nothing short of miraculous.
“I’m enthralled with it, and what it can do, and I’ve dedicated my life to finding out how to play with, and alter, and make more magic with the human voice,” says Fagnan, who began singing as a youngster in a choir in St. Paul and has since taught hundreds of vocal technique workshops from Whitehorse to Paris. “When you do that in a choral context, it’s that much more powerful and gratifying to transform the sound of 50 voices together, instead of just one.”
A choir is the great equalizer. It doesn’t matter if you are a famous politician or the guy from down the street.
“It’s what you have to contribute vocally and musically to the ensemble that matters,” says Fagnan. “And when you get a whole bunch of voices together singing in harmony, and you forget about individuality and give of your sound for the greater good of the ensemble, well, there is something good about that.”