LE RAQUETTEUR
(The Snowshoer)
Poet: Albert Lozeau (1878-1924)
TITLE: Le raquetteur
INSTRUMENTATION: SATB / SSAA + optional piano
TIME: 2m30s
$/COPY: $2.50 CAD (+tx where applicable)
SAMPLE: SATB: click here; - SSAA: click here
TEXT
Extraits de « Le chant de nos raquetteurs » d’Albert Lozeau
Il a neigé. Les routes blanches
Luisent au beau soleil d’hiver;
Un blanc velours revêt les branches,
Les vastes champs en sont couverts.
L’air est pur, le ciel, comme une arche,
Courbe sur nous son clair azur;
La nature invite à la marche
D’un pas rythmé, vif, leste et sûr!
Va, cours, vole,
Gai raquetteur au pied léger !
Va, cours, vole,
Sans peur de jamais t’enneiger!
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À l’infini s’étend la plaine:
Qu’il est doux de la parcourir
D’un pas qui ménage l’haleine,
Sans se hâter ni ralentir!
Ainsi la course vagabonde,
Par les chemins droits ou tournants,
Pourrait conduire au bout du monde,
Si chacun en avait le temps!
Courtesy translation:
It snowed. The white roads
Glow in the beautiful winter sun;
A white velvet covers the branches,
The vast fields are covered with it.
The air is pure, the sky, like an arch,
Curve over us its clear azure;
Nature invites you to walk
With a rhythmic, lively, nimble and sure step!
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Go, run, fly,
Cheerful light-footed snowshoer!
Go, run, fly,
Without fear of ever getting snowed in!
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To infinity extends the plain:
How sweet it is to walk through it
With a step that spares the breath,
Without hurrying or slowing down!
So the race wanders,
By straight or winding paths,
Could lead to the end of the world,
For whomever had the time!
PRORGAM NOTES
"Le raquetteur" is a love letter to the beautiful long snowshoe walks that we are all invited to experience during our Quebec winters. Adapted from a poem by Albert Lozeau, the piece introduces us to the calm majesty of nature clad in its white mantle, then transports us into the energetic shoes of a snowshoer dreaming of paths that could lead him to the end of the world!
The “Au choeur des regions” project was designed following the situation experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the necessary distancing which prevented the choirs from coming together, the Alliance des choeurs du Quebec rallied its members digitally across the province. A choir from each of the 17 administrative regions of Quebec was selected by random draw to be paired with a Quebec composer, with the goal of composing a piece for the chosen choir. These 17 choirs across Quebec each recorded their new piece (alone at home, covid-style) and created a video that represented their region during a virtual concert on December 12, 2021, world choral singing day.
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