Canadian composer, performer, teacher, accompanist, organist, conductor, and at-one-time biologist, Donald Patriquin was a member of the Faculty of Music of McGill University from 1965 to 1996, teaching theory, musicianship and arranging, and has directed a variety of ensembles. Recognized internationally for his arrangements of folk music, his large, and eclectic output also includes choral and instrumental works, liturgical settings, a piano concerto, works for voice and piano, and music for theatre, ballet and mixed media.

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Noel Anciens

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These French Canadian spiritual songs of the Nativity come from medieval Mystery plays that are still a vibrant part of Christmas celebrations in both Quebec and France. They depict customs and events associated with the Nativity story, often without much concern for authenticity. Patriquin playfully arranged three of them a cappella, and we're performing two this evening.

 

Venez mes enfants

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It's possible ​that this, also known as Bambins et gamine, is originally German (Ihr Kinderlein kommet). Partiquin calls and answers the text and simple, playground-like melody, and adds merry little "ding dong"s and "cou cou"s reminiscent of his instrumental work (which often uses abstract noises to imitate nature).

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Tous les bourgeois de Châtre

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If Norman Rockwell were French, he'd have painted this 16th Century carol's bucolic narrative: angels of light sing of the Saviour's birth ("la, la, la"); witness-shepherds trundle across a mountain with their "oboes and bagpipes"; people gather for supper ("pies of duck and cormorant") and a parish priest leads schoolboys in song ("Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, la, la"). Patriquin's brush dips into a madrigalist palette, as he trips lightly and gaily through the scene. For the anglophone choir members, it's a mouthful, but a delicious one.

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