La Chapelle de Québec Choir & Bernard Labadie – The Road To Christmas (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

For Bernard Labadie, Le Chemin de Noël is the realization of a great dream inspired by the tradition of the annual Christmas concerts at the Chapel of King’s College in Cambridge, England. Named after the beloved annual concerts that Labadie has conducted in Quebec since 2016, Le Chemin de Noël is the conductor’s deeply personal reflection on the meaning on Christmas.

In one of my earliest childhood memories, I am perched on a dresser at the top of the stairs in my family home, and my mother is telling me a story as she is getting me dressed. My favourite of her stories was about the carpenter and his young pregnant wife who were seeking accommodations upon their arrival in Bethlehem. Every time my mother told me the story, I had a specific role to play: when Joseph knocked at the inn door, I had to say “knock knock!”

Christmas is etched in my memory as far back as I can remember. Everything is still there: the lights on the tree, the ceramic Nativity figurines (a tiny bit of Joseph was chipped off if I remember correctly), the rock paper we placed on a pile of shoeboxes to imitate a short hill on which stood the small wooden stable…

In church at Christmas, we received a true treasure: the complete program of the holiday celebrations along with the melody and text of each carol. I would spend hours copying them all down with my father’s old Rem- ington typewriter, as if to inscribe them even more deeply in my young mind.

Tracklist:
1. Richard Pare – Pachelbel: Von Himmel hoch (01:54)
2. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Traditional: Down In Yon Forest (02:25)
3. Colin Fox – I. Text: Introduction (The Road To Christmas) (01:47)
4. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Adam: Minuit, chrétiens! (04:22)
5. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Dompierre, Arcand: Mais où sont les neiges? (03:07)
6. Colin Fox – II. Text: Awaiting The Child (01:22)
7. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Traditional: Veni, veni Emmanuel (03:00)
8. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Traditional: Venez, divin Messie (03:15)
9. Colin Fox – III. Text: The Tree Of Jesse (02:26)
10. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Anonymous: Maria durch ein Dornwald ging (01:58)
11. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Traditional: Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen (03:03)
12. Colin Fox – IV. Text: The Messenger (02:05)
13. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Traditional: Angelus ad virginem (01:57)
14. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Traditional: Gabriel’s Message (02:06)
15. Colin Fox – V. Text: The Mystery Of The Night (01:26)
16. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Rameau: Hymne à la Nuit (02:38)
17. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Gruber: Sainte nuit (03:32)
18. Colin Fox – VI. Text: The Song Of The Angels (02:23)
19. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Daquin: Je suis l’archange de Dieu (01:57)
20. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Anonymous: Les anges dans nos campagnes (03:07)
21. Colin Fox – VII. Text: Children’s Sleep (00:57)
22. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Traditional: Le sommeil de l’enfant Jésus (02:03)
23. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Traditional: Cher enfant qui vient de naître (03:40)
24. Colin Fox – VIII. Text: The Shepherds (03:17)
25. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Schubert: Gott ist mein Hirt (04:11)
26. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Anonymous: D’où viens-tu, bergère? (02:28)
27. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Traditional: Çà, bergers (03:21)
28. Colin Fox – IX. Text: Christmas Morning (00:59)
29. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Anonymous: Il est né le divin enfant (02:45)
30. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Traditional: Silence, ciel! Silence, terre! (02:49)
31. Colin Fox – X. Text: The Adoration Of The Magi (01:10)
32. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Traditional: Bel astre que j’adore (03:01)
33. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Anonymous: La marche des rois (01:44)
34. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Cornelius: Die Könige (02:36)
35. Colin Fox – XI. Text: The Massacre Of The Innocents (01:15)
36. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Stopford: Lully, Lulla, Lullay (04:49)
37. Colin Fox – Traditional: XII. Text: The Witness (01:46)
38. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – Fortier: Les âmes des justes (04:31)
39. Colin Fox – XIII. Text: Conclusion (The Road To Christmas) (06:49)
40. La Chapelle de Québec Choir – A New Year Carol (02:56)