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THE ART OF MEDIEVAL SONG                                                                                          Editor: Nancy Nourse 

Date: March 8, 2012  Region: Estrie

Presented by two groups of pupils of l'école Perce-Neige, (Pierrefonds), Le Premier Chant (Medieval Song) highlights the music, the instruments and the songs of the early settlers who came to settle on North American soil. This original creation, under the artistic direction of Philippe Gélinas, will take place at the Beaubois Theatre (4901, rue du Collège Beaubois, Pierrefonds) on Wednesday, March 21, 2012, at 10 a.m..

Several thousands of years ago, men, women and children trudged through the snow... Coming from the West where the sun sets, they crossed large icebergs, three rocky islands and an enormous sea, then found themselves on a very white continent. Five hundred years ago, other men, women and children came from the East where the sun rises, from a country where one built stone castles and high cathedrals, arriving on large sailing ships. They built their homes out of logs and learned, from the Amerindians; all that they needed to know to survive the cold winters and to protect themselves from the nasty black flies.

To create a rhythm for their steps, the Amerindians played drums and flutes. Travelers from Europe brought violins, hurdy-gurdies and bagpipes. These men and women also brought many stories and songs with them, too numerous to count. An interpretive specialist of medieval music, Philippe Gélinas has taken part in several tours of America and Europe over the last few decades.

In 1989, he founded the l'Atelier du conte en musique et en images (Workshop of Storytelling in music and images), an artistic musical organization geared toward the young public and families, encouraging their artistic interest. Only one of the various initiatives carried out by the company, the concert, Ménétrier, received an Opus Prize, from the Conseil québécois de la musique, (1999). The album entitled Philippe Gélinas - Ménétrier (OLCD 9545), inspired by this performance, received a nomination at the 2003 Gala de ADISQ. With the collaboration of young percussionist Joëlle Saint-Pierre, the students of l'école Perce-Neige are proud to present Le Premier Chant, a touching and poetic musical filled with rhythmic arrangements to the accompaniment of dulcimers, citterns and drums of olden days, to their peers and the surrounding community.

This original initiative is possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, within the framework of Free Programming in the arts and the Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport du Québec, under the program 'a Montreal school for everyone'.

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Photo credits: Myriam Sainson