mixed chorus, solo soprano, 3 flutes (piccolo), oboe, English horn, 2 trumpets, trombone, 3 percussions, positive organ and double bass

Les Vêpres de la Vierge is a work for mixed choir, solo soprano, three flutes (and piccolo), oboe, English horn, two trumpets, trombone, three percussion instruments, positive organ, and double bass. It is designed to be performed in a cathedral-like architectural setting, with superb acoustics.

Les Vêpres was commissioned to commemorate the 850^th anniversary of the foundation of Notre-Dame de Sylvanès Abbey in France, where the work was premiered on July 20, 1986, with the composer conducting. Ten years later, the Ensemble de la SMCQ, conducted by Walter Boudreau, reprised the magnificent score for a recording that attracted great critical acclaim.

The work is in three parts, each in turn divided into subsections. The “Prologue” includes the “Envol” - an “Alléluia” flute solo brilliantly performed by Lise Daoust. In the final “Magnificat”, soprano Marie-Danielle Parent exudes a sensual joy “so intense,” as the composer himself described it, that “its dimension encompasses the reality of creation and the most extraordinary hope.”

• Recording: CD: Analekta FL 2 3102