Selections from Fauré’s Requiem - YouTube video - Choral Workshop registration deadline May 1st.

Stained glass window with Sunlight, St. James Anglican Church

Selections of Hostias and O Domine from Fauré’s Requiem are performed by Ottawa's Stairwell Carollers and guests - Gabriel Lewis-O'Connor and the choirs from Glebe Collegiate.  Gabriel performs the baritone solo in Hostias.

The 40th anniversary concert was the grand finale of a weekend workshop event with  Gabriel Lewis-O'Connor ( Chanticleer alumnus, professional singer and choral conductor).  Three Glebe Collegiate choirs joined Stairwell  in preliminary workshops hosted by Gabriel at the Galilee Centre.

Audio: Wayne Hawthorne.  Recorded at St. Chrysostom Church, Arnprior, Ontario, Canada, May 5th, 2018. (Date is wrong on video)
Videographer: Matthieu Brennan
Video Editing: Pierre Massie

Gabriel Lewis O’Connor Choral MASTERCLASS 

Gabe is a doctoral student in choral conducting at the University of Missouri-Kansas City He received his master’s degree from the same institution, studying with Dr. Robert Bode.

Read more about Gabe HERE.

Gabriel Lewis-O'Connor in workshop with Stairwell and the Glebe choirs

Prior to graduate school, he sang for four years with Chanticleer.

To join in The Masterclass you must…

1. Be a CURRENT OR FORMER MEMBER of any Greater Ottawa/Gatineau region choir.
2. Prepare the following three songs -

(Scores provided at registration – files are provided for practice purposes only)

Fa una canzone – Orazio Vecchi – Public domain

Tourdion (Quand je bois du vin) – Pierre Attaignant – Public domain

Remember – Stephen Chatman – copyright – Original scores provided at registration

MASTERCLASS INFO

Date: Saturday May 18. 2019

Time: 9 am to noon ( 8:30 am registration)

Cost: $25 

Music scores are included in your registration package

Location: Saint Joseph Parish Hall, 2757 St. Joseph Blvd, Orléans, ON K1C 1G4

At the moment of publishing this post there are 46 spots left.

If sold out, email us.  Your name will be added to our cancellation list.

Click on the Canada Helps logo to register. Deadline is May 15, 2019

Click here to Register now

Workshop hosted by The Stairwell Carollers chamber choir - furthering choral excellence and development in Ottawa's choral community now for over 41 years. 

About The Stairwell Carollers:

Pierre Massie created our a cappella choir in 1977 while he was a music student at Ottawa University. We are ranked among the best of Ontario choirs, winning both the 2010 and 2013 Ontario Music Festival Association competitions. 

A registered Canadian charity, The Carollers also help local charities with net proceeds from concert, CD and cookbook sales.

Eya, eya, gaudeamus - P. Massie - Choral Workshop with Gabriel Lewis-O'Connor - sign up now!

Sopranos Zaena and Suzannah relax before dress rehearsal

Can't express how thrilled I am to post this rendition of Pete's original, award-winning composition Eya, eya, gaudeamus! Gabe was such a gracious choral teacher - generous with his knowledge and expertise and then blending in with the choir as if he had always been just another member of the group.

I couldn't resist including this lovely portrait of two of our sopranos, Zaena and Suzannah.

Eya, eya, gaudeamus - sung by The Stairwell Carollers and guest, Gabriel Lewis-O'Connor.
The Stairwell Carollers 40th anniversary concert, May 5, 2018. (Date is wrong on video)

This concert was the grand finale of a weekend workshop event with  Gabriel Lewis-O'Connor ( Chanticleer alumnus and professional singer and choral conductor).  Three choirs from Glebe Collegiate and Gabriel Lewis-O'Connor joined The Stairwell Carollers  in workshops at the Galilee Centre and in concert.

Audio: Wayne Hawthorne.  Recorded at St. Chrysostom Church, Arnprior, Ontario, Canada, May 5th, 2018. (Date is wrong on video). 
Videographer: Matthieu Brennan
Video Editing: Pierre Massie

Ottawa MASTERCLASS with Gabriel Lewis O’Connor 

Only 46 spots left!

(formerly of Chanticleer)

Gabe is currently a doctoral student in choral conducting at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and received his master’s degree from the same institution, studying with Dr. Robert Bode.

Read more about Gabe HERE.

Prior to graduate school, he sang for four years, with the professional vocal ensemble Chanticleer.

To participate in The Masterclass you must…

1. Be a CURRENT OR FORMER MEMBER of any Greater Ottawa/Gatineau region choir.
2. Prepare the following three songs -

(Scores provided at registration – files are provided for practice purposes)

Fa una canzone – Orazio Vecchi – Public domain

Tourdion (Quand je bois du vin) – Pierre Attaignant – Public domain

Remember – Stephen Chatman – copyright – Original scores provided at registration

MASTERCLASS DETAILS

Date: Saturday May 18. 2019

Time: 9 am to noon ( 8:30 am registration)

Cost: $25 

All music scores included in your registration package

Location: Saint Joseph Parish Hall, 2757 St. Joseph Blvd, Orléans, ON K1C 1G4

At the moment of publishing this post we have room for 46 more participants; first come, first serve.

If sold out, email us.  Your name will be added to our cancellation list.

Click on the Canada Helps logo to register. Deadline is May 15, 2019

Click here to Register now

Only 46 spots left!

Workshop hosted by The Stairwell Carollers chamber choir - furthering choral excellence and development in Ottawa's choral community now for over 41 years. 

About The Stairwell Carollers:

Pierre Massie created our a cappella choir in 1977 while he was a music student at Ottawa University. We are ranked among the best of Ontario choirs, winning both the 2010 and 2013 Ontario Music Festival Association competitions. 

A registered Canadian charity, The Carollers also help local charities with net proceeds from concert, CD and cookbook sales.

Fledgling Composer Rain Stretches Wings - Part 2 - His Music Flows like Water

A torrent of musical creation has poured from David's heart even before he discovered his muse in his beloved Rideau Falls.  In his own words, he tells us his compositional story. (Holly)

In 2015, at the ripe age of 63, I first got the urge to write a piece of music for a cappella choir, a Missa Brevis.

In 2016, I first experienced that unique thrill of hearing one of my pieces performed in public, the “Rideau Carol” written specially for and dedicated to my choir the Stairwell Carollers.

Audio: Tom Barnes.  Recorded at Knox Presbyterian Church, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Dec 16th, 2016.
Videographers: Gert-Jan van Heuzen, Andrew Mason
Editing: Pierre Massie

In 2017, led masterfully by our choir director Pierre Massie, the Carollers performed my second piece in public, a challenging arrangement of the German classic, “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen”
And this spring in 2018, I got to hear a third piece performed by the Carollers, another challenging arrangement, this time of the medieval song, “In natali Domini.” A true thrill!
Throughout all of this, I have been mentored by Pierre, who has taken huge amounts of his precious time to listen to my new works, review them, make comments and suggestions, push me this way, pull me that way, and generally challenge me to make each piece the best that it can be. I owe him a huge debt, thanks Pierre!

Well, I’ve been totally bitten by this “composing bug” and have now written 17 (!) pieces for mixed a cappella choir.  Check out my YouTube channel.

It’s way too much for one choir to digest, so I’ve naturally been looking for ways to speed up the process of hearing what each piece actually sounds like, sung by real singers, and not by the artificial sounds of a computer program. (I should mention that I don’t play the piano well enough to hear most of my pieces on a piano even.)

One initiative of mine has worked out quite nicely. A few current and former Carollers have formed a small singing ensemble that we call the “Ad hoc Chorale.” It started out as an invitation to come test out and “workshop” some of my new pieces. The first session went well and the second is coming up soon, and there is even interest to widen the net a bit, as some of our “Ad hoc” members are also choral composers, so I’m really looking forward to hearing their pieces workshopped too!

The other idea I had was to enter various choral composition contests. Not with the main aim of winning, as that might not be realistic, but with the hopes that somehow somewhere someone on the jury panels might actually like one of my pieces and who knows, might program it in future years. (Did I mention that I’m now 66, unknown as a composer, and I’m not sure how many years I have left to explore this new passion of mine.)

Anyways, fast forward to when to my total shock, I got an email from Jon Washburn, the director of one of Canada’s top choirs, the Vancouver Chamber Choir. Jon informed me that my application to the VCC’s “Interplay” composer workshop had been accepted!

Yikes, did that thought make me nervous! But then I thought, this is a professional choir, one of the very best in Canada, and all I had to do is show up, sit back, listen, and learn. How tough could that be?

On April 4, 2018 some of my choral works along with 2 other Vancouver composers were sung by the VCC choir led by Jon and I received their comments and critiques on my pieces.

But that's another tale for later.

Sincere thanks to Jon and the Vancouver Chamber Choir for offering me this unique opportunity to learn and grow as a composer, and a special shout out to the SOCAN Foundation for making this “Interplay” workshop with Jon and the VCC possible.

David Rain, a fledgling composer, has sung tenor with the Stairwell Carollers for 25 years.

A weekend away - Part 2 - View from the Chorus - Denyse

It is the start of our workshop.

Begin. Eyes closed - 2 minutes of quiet deep breathing.

Gabriel, who we have affectionately called Gabe since we met, launches us into the universe of choral singing. Formerly of the group Chanticleer, Gabriel Lewis O'Connor traveled from his home in Seattle to do workshops with the Stairwell Carollers. For two days, we would be his instrument. He would improve what he could in our voices. Crescendo. Decrescendo. Sotto voce. Fortissimo.

Without being a "Stradivarius", we offered him a chorus well prepared by our maestro. Pierre Massie had high expectations. The prepared songs for the upcoming concert were, as best we could manage, note perfect. Gabe could now refine the performance and suggest new interpretation - which he did with humour and respect.

We were charmed like children and responded readily to his new ideas. For El Grillo, he suggested a nasal voice common in the Medieval era. For the song Ach, wei de Leiden, he insisted on the importance of understanding the words; Schmerzen (pain) must be interpreted expressing the sorrow of love. "If you leave me, I die" - It comes back to that. This is one of the songs we would sing at the concert,  sharing the evening's program with two of the best of Glebe Collegiate's choirs, directed by Rachel Handley. 

Saturday afternoon, these young singers joined us and we continued the workshop with them. At the concert, my vocal ensemble performed five songs. Then, it was the turn of the students and finally, the two melded groups interpreted the grand finale. The highlight of the evening: a Gabriel solo. O Hostias followed by O Domine from Fauré's Requiem. When all took their places, we would have heard the ticking of a clock as the audience was so focused. No chorister was at the end of their ropes despite the long rehearsals; neither young nor old.

A little explanation is needed. Fauré's Requiem requires an orchestra. No problem. Pierre had prepared an accompaniment, a harmonization learned with great effort, but what motivation to sing with an ex-Chanticleer! ( This group of twelve internationally renowned American singers will charm Ottawa in July at the Music and Other World Festival.)Gabe was part of  Chanticleer for four years and participated in five hundred concerts around the world!

In short, this last weekend has transported me to 7th heaven. A blue cloudless sky-  and this was literally true. The location, Galilee in Arnprior, a former Oblate convent, is set amidst lush nature adjoining the Ottawa River and we enjoyed wonderful weather all weekend.Personally, I clicked with Gabriel Lewis O'Connor and vice versa. He saw my passion for singing. "I love your smile" he told me during the first rehearsal. I was so stunned that I checked with him if he had spoken to me and not to Maggie right behind me. She always sings with wonderful expression. No, it was me he was speaking to. 

 It made me blush, I must admit.

All of us now have wonderful memories of the hours spent together as a group.Gabriel enjoyed his experience so much that he wants to visit with his family and perhaps even live there when he finishes his doctorate. 

Imagine if that was true...

Denyse Mageau (translation: Holly Massie - all mistakes are mine)
Cliquez ici pour la version Francais.

Part 1 is HERE
Part 3 is HERE

Learn more about the Galilee Centre
History of the Galilee Centre
Who are the Oblates?
Galilee Centre Mission and Vision

About The Stairwell Carollers:

Pierre Massie started our a cappella choir in 1977 while a music student at Ottawa U. 

The Stairwell Carollers are proud to have won both the 2010 and 2013 Ontario Music Festival Association competitions. A registered Canadian charity, we also help local charities with our concert, CD and cookbook sales.

All Donations receive a charitable receipt.

"One Last Song" - Michael McGlynn - Stairwell Carollers, Youtube video

The men of The Stairwell Carollers, perform "One Last Song" - written by Irish contemporary composer Michael McGlynn.

Audio: Tom Barnes.  Recorded at St. Barnabas Church, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, June 3rd, 2017.
Videographers: Richard Auger, Andrew Mason
Editing: Pierre Massie

Michael is the creator of the choral ensemble Anúna. He was thrilled with our rendition of his beautiful song and we applaud his creativity. Anúna is an amazing group that showcases his work. Here is an example.

About Us:

Pierre Massie started our a cappella choir in 1977 while 
studying music student at Ottawa U.  

The Stairwell Carollers scored Gold in both the 2010 and 2013 Ontario Music Festival Association competitions. A registered Canadian charity, we help local charities with our concert, CD and cookbook sales.

All Donations get a charitable receipt.

Un Week-end en Dehors - Part 2 - Vue du choeur - Denyse

C'était le début de notre atelier.

Debout. Les yeux fermée. Respirations profondes.

Pendant deux minutes.

Gabe, comme nous l'avons affectueusement nommé dès notre rencontre, nous lançait dans l'univers du chant choral. Un ancien Chanticleer, Gabriel Lewis O'Connor arrivait de Seattle pour un «workshop » avec les Stairwell Carollers. Pendant deux jours, nous deviendrions son instrument. Il ferait ce qu'il veut avec nos voix. Crescendo. Decrescendo. Sotto voce. Fortissimo. Sans être un Stradivarius, nous lui offrions une chorale bien préparée par notre maestro. Pierre Massie avait bien aiguisé nos attentes. Les chants préparés pour le concert n'offraient plus de secret au niveau des notes. Gabe pouvait peaufiner le rendement et suggérer de nouvelles interprétations, ce qu'il fit avec humour et respect.

Nous étions charmés comme des enfants et répondions sans restrictions à ses idées nouvelles. Pour El Grillo, il suggéra une voix nasillarde commune à l'époque de sa  création. Pour le chant Ach, wei des Leiden, il insista sur l'importance de savoir ce qu'on chante. Schmerzen. « Douleur » doit être accompagnée par une interprétation qui exprime une peine d'amour. « Si tu me quittes, je meurs » Ça revient à cela. C'est un des chants que nous allions chanter au concert, alors que les deux meilleures chorales du Glebe Collegiate, dirigées par Rachel Handley partageraient le programme de la soirée.

En après-midi du samedi, ces jeunes nous ont donc joints et nous avons poursuivi l'atelier avec eux. Au concert, mon ensemble vocal a interprété cinq chants. Ensuite, ce fut le tour des élèves et finalement, les deux groupes jumelés ont interprété la grande finale. Le clou de la soirée : un solo de Gabriel. O Hostias suivi de O Domine du Requiem de Fauré. Quand tous furent à leur place, on aurait entendu le tic tac d'une horloge tant l'auditoire ne voulait rien manquer. Aucun choriste n'était au bout du rouleau malgré les longues répétitions. Ni jeune, Ni vieux.

Une petite explication s'impose. Le Requiem de Fauré exige la contribution d'un orchestre. Pas de problème. Pierre avait préparé un accompagnement , une harmonisation apprise avec beaucoup d'efforts, mais quelle motivation de chanter avec un ancien Chanticleer. Ce groupe de douze chanteurs américains de réputation internationale charmera Ottawa en juillet lors du festival Musique et autres mondes.

Gabe en a fait partie pendant quatre ans et a participé à cinq cents concerts à travers le monde.

Bref, cette dernière fin de semaine m'a transportée au 7ième ciel. Un ciel bleu sans nuages aucun et ceci fut vrai littéralement. L'endroit où nous étions, Galilee à Arnprior, un ancien couvent des Oblats, est situé au milieu d'une nature luxuriante jouxtant la rivière Ottawa et nous avons joui d'une température magnifique.

Personnelement, j'ai cliqué avec Gabriel Lewis O'Connor. C'est réciproque. Il a perçu ma passion pour le chant. « I love your smile » m'a-t-il lancé pendant la première répétition. J'étais tellement estomachée que j'ai vérifié avec lui s'il s'était bien adressé à moi et non à Maggie juste derrière moi. Elle chante toujours avec beaucoup d'expression. Et non! C'est moi qu'il visait. Ça m'a fait un petit velours, je l'avoue.

Tous et toutes, nous gardons un excellent souvenir de ces heures passées ensemble.

Gabriel a tellement apprécié son expérience qu'il veut revenir dans la région avec sa famille et peut- être même y vivre quand il aura fini son doctorat. Et si c'était vrai?

Denyse Mageau

( English version is HERE)

Part 1 is HERE
Part 3 is HERE

À propos des Chanteurs Stairwell:

Pierre Massie a fondé notre chœur a cappella en 1977 alors qu'il était étudiant en musique à l'Université d'Ottawa.

Les Chanteurs Stairwell sont fiers d'avoir remporté les concours de l'Ontario Music Festival Association de 2010 et 2013. Un organisme de bienfaisance canadien enregistré, nous aidons également les organismes de bienfaisance locaux avec nos ventes de concerts, CD et livres de recettes.

Tous les dons reçoivent un reçu de charité.

Learn more about the Galilee Centre
History of the Galilee Centre
Who are the Oblates?
Galilee Centre Mission and Vision

The Galilee Centre - a weekend away - Part 1 - First Impressions...

A glorious tapestry of nature greeted us at Arnprior's Galilee Centre. The weekend promised Choral workshops with Gabriel Lewis-O'Connor,  a huge Saturday evening concert with the Glebe choirs; and oodles of time off to bond with choir members, have fun, walk the trails and gaze at the ocean-like Ottawa River till Sunday morning!

Which came much too soon!

Pete picked up Gabe from the airport and he stayed over at ours Thursday night. After a visit to the Peace Tower Carillon (blog post to come), we arrived in Arnprior in time for an early dinner. Then, on to the Galilee Centre to check in.

I am going to say little else in this blog post. Feelings about the success of the weekend are best expressed in thank you emails from choir members.

David:
We had a good chance to publicly thank Gabe for all that he did, but there wasn't the same opportunity to thank Pierre.

So I'd like to take this opportunity to throw a huge collective hug to Pierre for everything he did to bring this workshop retreat into being! It was certainly one of the highlights of my short life to date.

And a shout out to Susan, EC members and all the others who worked behind the scenes on this, and to all those donors (choir members and others) who contributed so generously to our 40th anniversary fundraising campaign, without whose support this couldn't have happened.

Thanks to you all, and I hope you all got a chance to visit or revisit the eastern white pine forest called Gillies Grove, where Ontario's tallest tree is located.

NB: the beauty of forest walks and runs is that, besides the trees, you never know what or who might be lurking therein, even the odd Stairwell Caroller fan could be walking their dog just waiting for a chance to be invited to come to one of our concerts, you never know. (David invited a person on his run through the forest and he actually showed up!)

Annika:
Just wanted to say a BIG HUGE thank you to everyone for a really fun weekend when I learned even more about singing and more about my new found friends in the carollers. I am so happy to have become a part of this family, and I hope I will stay in it for a long time.

We should do this again!

Yola:
I would like to join with David and Annika by saying how amazing and how much fun it was to get to know so many of you better and what a privilege it is to be a part of carollers.

Maggie:
"I can only echo what has already been expressed -- it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I got to know so many people better this weekend, and the master classes were so helpful (and exhausting!)

Thanks to everyone who participated this weekend, and huge thanks to those who did all the work to let the magic happen, especially the Steering Committee and the 40th Anniversary Committee.

This is not the sort of thing that happens overnight, but through months and months of effort and planning, and I truly appreciate it.

I miss those who weren't able to make it, and look forward to this kind of choir dynamic in the future -- not to this extent, obviously, but certainly a continuation of the 'family vibe'. I *love* our collective mind, and how well we work together."

Part 2 - Denyse (en Français) (in English)
Part 3 is HERE

Learn more about the Galilee Centre
History of the Galilee Centre
Who are the Oblates?
Galilee Centre Mission and Vision

About The Stairwell Carollers:

Pierre Massie started our a cappella choir in 1977 while a music student at Ottawa U. 

The Stairwell Carollers are proud to have won both the 2010 and 2013 Ontario Music Festival Association competitions. A registered Canadian charity, we also help local charities with our concert, CD and cookbook sales.

All Donations receive a charitable receipt.

Youtube Comments - even The Stairwell gets Flamed

Every now and then on Youtube we get a slightly negative comment for a song video.

I'm not complaining; 99.9999% of the comments we receive are high praise for our music. We have met new fans and other artists and have been usefully corrected - usually in a polite manner - thanks, you!

The funny thing is that those negative comments almost always go like this:

You sing (name of song) 

(beautifully/wonderfully/angelically/etc) 

BUT the (word he thinks means "dynamics/phrasing") 

are wrong.

OMG facepalm emoji

I almost need a copy/paste answer for this one.

Dynamics (even phrasing) can be at the discretion of the Director. Period. It's called interpretation.

Our Director, Pete, with his Rock band LEGACY in 1985. A multi-instrumentalist, he is an expert at interpretation too.

The exception is an adjudication situation with an adjudicator who has a favourite way he likes a piece to be sung. Then you better do your homework if you want him to judge you positively.

That being said, there are common/popular versions of pieces that listeners are used to.  With that familiarity comes an unspoken consensus of the application of dynamics - especially if they are indicated in the music. If a director chooses to ignore the published song dynamics, then that director must let the "claps" fall where they may.

But, wait a minute, here's the thing bugging my posterior sensibilities today.

In the Renaissance era, Dynamics for songs were not printed on the sheet music.  My info today is from the website and pen of a well-respected expert in the field of music history, Andrea Angelini, Choral Conductor, Composer and Music Journalist.

Sigh. I wish commenters would do their own homework before trying to show off their "knowledge" with unpleasant "drive-by" commenting.

I figure if you can't say something good say nothing at all.  And that's from this certified whiner and complainer.

But I try.

What do you think? Are you a musician on Youtube? Feel free to post your link to your channel in the comments section along with your comment.

Yes, I sense the irony.

About The Stairwell Carollers:

Pierre Massie began our a cappella choir way back in 1977 while studying music at Ottawa U. The Stairwell Carollers are ranked among the best of Ontario choirs, having won the 2010 and 2013 OMFA competitions. 

A registered Canadian charity, we help local charities with our concert, CD and cookbook sales. 

Net proceeds benefit charity.

Please DONATE to support our 40th year workshops! 

40th Gift to the director a BIG surprise!

What would you like to get to commemorate your 40th year directing your choir? Chocolates? flowers? A new tuning fork?

Susan, alto and treasurer, had the BEST idea.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Pierre's favourite choral conductors were always Sir David Willcocks and John Rutter.

Sadly, Sir David  is no longer with us. The choir and Pierre have a wonderful souvenir in a special arrangement he made for us back in 2000 of We Wish you a Merry Christmas. We recorded it for our Christmas CD I Saw a Swete Semly Syght.

He also sent his well wishes to Pete for the choir's 30th anniversary!

Guess what? John Rutter is in Ottawa this summer at Music and Beyond.
Susan couldn't let this chance go - she had been lucky enough to meet Mr. Rutter at a music workshop in England. She reached out to him in request for a meeting with Pierre while he is here in Ottawa.

So, along with tickets to his concert, Pierre will get to meet one of the world's great choral geniuses face to face!

Thanks to all the choir members, the committee, and especially Susan for this amazing gift!

About The Stairwell Carollers:

Pierre Massie began our a cappella choir way back in 1977 while studying music at Ottawa U. The Stairwell Carollers are ranked with the best of Ontario choirs, winning both the 2010 and 2013 Ontario Music Festival Association competitions. 

A registered Canadian charity, we also help local charities with our concert, CD and cookbook sales. Net proceeds benefit charity.

Please DONATE to support our 40th year workshops! 

Early Music Trivia Quiz- No Drake, Bieber or Gaga

A Musical Trivia Quiz to celebrate the arrival (or not) of Spring:) 

ANSWERS AT END OF POST

1. Which British composer, whose work we'll be performing on May 27th at St Martin's Church, lived in London at the same time as Shakespeare?

In fact, he is one of the few composers of the only surviving contemporary settings of verse by Shakespeare...  (don't cheat by clicking the link!)

2. From just the title of this piece, Abendlied (evening song), can you guess which Bible story it is referring to?

Clue : it is in the New Testament.

3. What is a composer attempting to express in a madrigal?

And what is a madrigal?

4. If you were to read the song lyrics "falalala", you would likely think they come from the Christmas song Deck the Halls. But, this Spring, we are singing these lyrics too! Can you guess what the name of our piece is, and where the "falalala" comes from?

5. Which Renaissance Franco-Flemish composer was so influential in his time that he:

• was kidnapped three times as a child, because of the beauty of his singing voice? 
• occupied the prestigious post of "maestro di capella" at one of Rome's churches at only age 21? 
• received invitations from monarchs of France, emperors, and the Pope?

6.  In what era do you think this piece was composed? Take a wild guess!
"La la la, je ne l'ose dire" tells the story of a husband who has many reasons to be jealous of his wife, because she will go to sea with anyone. In the song, you can also hear all the village gossips. The moral of the story : "sadly, marriage lasts for eternity!"

7. This German composer composed many madrigals. In fact, his book of madrigals was used in music teaching for more than 100 years after its publication and he is now considered one of the madrigal leaders.

What's the name of the composer?

8. Quite a few of our pieces this Spring talk about the longings for love. But which one is based on an award-winning poem from 1918 by Sara Teasdale?

• I love my love, 
• Say love if ever, 
• I am not yours, or 
• Farewell dear love.

9. This French composer was a close friend of Camille Saint-Saëns, was invited to Buckingham Palace in 1908, was given an unprecedented national musical tribute in 1922...his musical style influenced many 20th Century composers.

Who was he?

10. There are various arrangements of Fauré's Requiem, Offertorium. What makes Pierre Massie's arrangement (premiered this Spring) a special one?

11. Can you give us the name of the German composer who was an expert in designing organs and who developed a clockwork organ later sold to the Emperor Rudolf II?

ANSWERS
(drum roll)

1. Thomas Morley.

2. It is from Luke 24, when the two disciples invite Jesus to stay with them : « Abide with us, for evening shadows darken, and the day will soon be over... »)

3.  The composer is trying to express the emotion contained in each line of a celebrated poem. A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras.

4. My Bonny Lass. Dance-like rhythms and the Fa la la refrains typical of an Italian balletto.

5. Roland de Lassus, 1530-1594.

6. In the Renaissance era. By Pierre Certon 1510-1572

7. Jacques Arcadelt.

8.  I am not yours.

9.  Gabriel Fauré 1845-1924.

10. It is an all a cappella arrangement - no instrumental parts.

11. Hans Leo Hassler.

Quiz created by Kristina, soprano :) Photos by Holly, alto

About The Stairwell Carollers:

Pierre Massie began our a cappella choir way back in 1977 while studying music at Ottawa U. The Stairwell Carollers are ranked with the best of Ontario choirs, winning both the 2010 and 2013 Ontario Music Festival Association competitions. 

A registered Canadian charity, we also help local charities with our concert, CD and cookbook sales. 
Net proceeds benefit charity.