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Jonathon Adams, Baritone; Les Voix Humaines
Baritone Jonathon Adams and Les Voix Humaines viol consort recorded this moving performance at the McCord Museum in Montréal. The Métis songs, which survived in the memories of travelers from Quebec to the Prairies, are in Michif, French, and English. The earliest songs can be traced back to their European origins, with melodies that are remarkably similar to airs de cour, a form popular in 17th century France, that were often accompanied by viols. We hope you’ll enjoy hearing these beautiful songs, often plaintive, of the Rossignol Sauvage, a voice of the Métis people.
This concert will also premiere in-person at The Cinematheque at 11 AM as a ticketed event. Please note that this concert film is a double billing with Nightingales in the Garden. Purchasing a ticket for Nightingales in the Garden will automatically give you admission to this film as well.
HOW TO WATCH:
Online: Watch the concert online by clicking here. Access to the online concert is free, and donations are greatly appreciated. Concert will remain available to stream until August 6 at 11PM PDT.
The Cinematheque: Purchase your ticket by clicking here.
PROGRAMME
Traditional Cree
Cree Song
Jean Boyer (v. 1600-1648)
Que feray-je ? Que diray-je ?
Traditional Métis
Petit Rossignol Sauvage *
Étienne Moulignié (1599-1676)
Concert des differens oiseaux *
Traditional Métis
Red River Gigue *
Marc – Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704)
Gigue angloise
Traditional Métis
J’ai fait une maîtresse *
Rossignole Sauvage
Gigue Les petits oiseaux *
*Arrangement by Susie Napper
Programme Notes
The nightingale, at liberty to sing of love and longing, is the star of this programme devoted to songs of nature and nurture! Multicultural, the songs, and gigues encompass many aspects of Canadian history with French, Scottish, Irish, and British colours are woven into a complex and beautiful tapestry.
Of their ambiguous status, little is known about the artistic life of the Métis and their unique contribution to Canadian culture during the 17th and 18th centuries.
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The Métis songs, which thrived in the memories of travelers from Quebec to the Prairies, are in Michif, French, and English. The earliest songs can be traced back to their European origins. With a purely aural legacy and still sung by elderly Métis, the songs are being collected by Lynn Whidden at the University of Manitoba, Brandon. As with most traditional songs, the melody remains fairly constant but the improvised accompaniment changes as styles evolve. The earliest melodies are remarkably similar to airs de cour, a form popular in 17th century France, that were often accompanied by viols.
Music by composers of airs de cour can be found in the private collections of music found in Quebec’s family libraries. Henry Du Mont, Jean-Baptiste Morin, André Campra, Jean-Batiste Lully, and Marc-Antoine Charpentier also composed wonderful viol music some of which are featured in this concert.
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Viols in Quebec? The French nuns in the Quebec convents were dedicated to the education of both European and indigenous children. In 1640, Mother Marie de l’Incarnation wrote that one of their indigenous wards, Agnés Chablikuchich had made great progress….in playing the viol. We know that instruments were abundant in Quebec. A cache of twelve viols was found in the vaults of the Hôpital générale in Quebec City during the 19th century. Historically, however, as fashion dictated, most viols were cut down or built up to be transformed into violins, violas, and cellos by the end of the 18th century.
Imagination and creative thinking are intrinsic to a programme dependant on joining the dots! We hope you’ll enjoy hearing these beautiful songs, often plaintive, of the Rossignol Sauvage, a voice of the Métis people!
Jonathon Adams, Baritone
Jonathon Adams is a Cree-Métis two-spirit baritone from amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton, AB). They have appeared as a soloist under Masaaki Suzuki, Philippe Herreweghe, Laurence Equilbey, and Alexander Weimann, among others, with the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, and Toronto Symphony Orchestras, the Washington Bach Consort, Tafelmusik, Ricercar Consort, B’Rock, Vox Luminis, the Netherlands Bach Society, and il Gardellino. In 2021 they were named the first artist-in-residence at Early Music Vancouver. They have lectured and led workshops at the Universities of Toronto, Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta (Augustana), Bard College, Festival Montréal Baroque, and the Juilliard School.
Jonathon was featured in Against the Grain Theatre’s 2020 film MESSIAH/COMPLEX, in Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s MEA CULPA with Ballet Vlaanderen, and on Jessica McMann’s most recent album ‘Prairie Dusk’. They attended the Victoria Conservatory of Music, the Royal Academy of Music, and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, studying with Nancy Argenta, Emma Kirkby and Rosemary Joshua.
Les Voix Humaines
Recipients of numerous prizes, Susie Napper and Margaret Little, have thrilled audiences worldwide with dashing performances of early and contemporary music for viols since 1985. Their musical complicity has been compared to the skill of two trapeze artists or the telepathic communion of a pair of jazz saxophonists! They are renowned for their spectacular arrangements of a wide variety of music for two viols and have become a world reference for the music of Sainte-Colombe. Les Voix humaines has toured Canada, USA and Mexico, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, China and Japan, has recorded most of the repertoire for two equal viols and has worked with renowned musicians such as Bart and Wieland Kuijken, Charles Daniels, Eric Milnes, Skip Sempe, David Greenberg and Nigel North.
With colleagues Mélisande Corriveau and Felix Deak, Les Voix humaines Consort has been touring Europe and North America for the past several years. In 2017 the VH Consort toured in Mexico and its next venture is a Scandinavian and Eastern European tour in November.
Les Voix humaines has recorded over forty CDs to critical acclaim and has won prestigious awards (Diapason d’Or, Choc du Monde de la Musique, Repertoire-Classica 10, Goldberg 5, Classics Today 10/10, Prix Opus, etc). LVH Consort recordings include Purcell’s complete Fantasias, Bach’s Art of Fugue, Les Voix humaines’ own arrangement of Vivaldi’s Quatro Staggione, “4 Seasons, 4 Viols”, and Dowland’s Lachrimae.
