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MARIE-CLAIRE SAINDON

choral, instrumental, traditional and multimedia music

LA VALSE DE MARIE

TITLE: La valse de Marie

INSTRUMENTATION: SSAA a cappella

TIME: 3m30s

$/COPY: $2.00 CAD (+tx where applicable)

SAMPLE: click here

recording coming soon

TEXT

Viens, viens 

Qu’on se dépose

un instant

loin du train quotidien

Viens, viens,

reprenons notre souffle 

d’enfance, 

T’en souviens-tu du chemin?

 

Viens, viens,

retournons au bercail

un moment

qu’on retrouve les cousins 

Tiens, tiens,

tends-moi la main

on y va

On y croisera sûrement Marie … 

Échangeons nos nouvelles

Ranimons nos souv’nirs

Épluchons nos querelles

À en pleurer de rire

Et parmi les semances

De nos grandes confidences,

On ressent sa présence

Qui se lance en cadence

Ensemble

le temps d'une épluchette

ou d’un conte,

Qui nous rassemble

le temps d'une causette vagabonde 

 

Un défilé tendre de gestes chéris :

voilà où virevolte l'âme de notre amie,

de notre Marie.

Viens,

Qu’on s’élance en vélo

Sur la digue

inspirer l’air marin

Viens,

Qu’on y danse une vie

Sous la voûte étoilée 

On y saluera sûrement Marie …

Remplis d'allégresse,

Accueillons l’aventure:

Une promesse d’ivresse

À sa juste mesure

Et parmi l’abondance

De nos réjou-issances,

Son esprit s’y relance,

Nous incite que l’on danse

Ensemble ...

Courtesy translation by Aella Choir

 

Come, come

let's rest

a moment

far from everyday life

let's go

catch our 

childhood breath

do you remember the way?

 

Come, come,

let's return to our roots

for a moment

let's find our cousins

hold, hold,

hold out your hand

let’s go

and there, we'll surely meet Marie …

 

Let's trade news,

revive our memories,

make light of our quarrels

'til we're crying with laughter

And among the seeds

of our great confidences,

we feel her presence

launching itself in rhythm

 

Together

Time enough for corn shucking

or storytelling,

bringing us together

time enough for a quick chat

 

A tender string of cherished moments:

this is where the soul of our friend, of our Marie, flies.

 

Come,

let's go out and bike

on the sand dunes

and breathe in the sea air

come,

let’s dance out a life

under the starry vault

and there, we'll surely greet Marie …

 

Filled with joy,

let's welcome adventure:

promising just enough

unrestraint

And among the abundance

of our joy,

her spirit rekindles its dance,

encouraging us to join in

together

PROGRAM NOTES

"La valse de Marie" is a call to slow down and to one's roots  and gather together once in a while, with as many little stolen moments as possible. It is also an hommage to Marie Paquette Rivard, beloved mother of Aella Choir's chorister Josée Rivard, who was a dancer, harpist, singer, choir mom, and all-'round staunch supporter of the Franco-Ontarian arts. Marie suddenly passed away in 2022, and is remembered by how she celebrated life.

This piece was a collaboration between Marie-Claire Saindon and Marie's family: her children wrote down as many that they associated with their mother, after which, their uncle, and Marie's brother, singer-songwriter Robert Paquette, suggested scenes, lines and moments out of those words. Being a singer-songwriter, Robert's process is to create lyrics and music at the same time, and found he could not go further in creating concrete lyrics for the piece. I took all of the family's text ideas and snippets, found the driving story within them, and included a couple of Robert's lines in the final version. The end result is something that is quite personal, and yet, still so universal. I would have never been able to create such a work without this incredible intimate collaboration. Thank you to the Paquette Rivard family!

Commissioned by friends, family, and members of Aella Choir in memory of Marie Paquette-Rivard: maman to Aella member, Josée Rivard, and much-loved choir mom to us all.

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