Les Petits Chanteurs à La Croix de Bois aka PCCB

[Padmachou]

Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois have performed a concert in the Basilique Notre-Dame du Rosaire de Lourdes, and the concert was broadcasted today for the New Year.

You can watch the replay here :
Ihttps://www.cnews.fr/emission/2023-01-01/en-que ... 23-1306250

They have some fine soloists.

[Celtic]

Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois have performed a concert in the Basilique Notre-Dame du Rosaire de Lourdes, and the concert was broadcasted today for the New Year.

You can watch the replay here :
Ihttps://www.cnews.fr/emission/2023-01-01/en-que ... 23-1306250

They have some fine soloists.

Thanks Padmachou, that's a nice concert!

Fun fact - the arrangement of Jinglebells, that they sing, was done by Jonathan Rathbone who conducted the London Forest Choir in:

Did you happen to catch YCOTY finalist Sam Brophy singing with the London Forest Choir on the 22nd?

BTW, Sam has started a YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@sambrophymusic4546.

Small world.

Also another connection:

► Show Spoiler

2022-12-22 - Sam Brophy Programme (2).jpg (174.17 KiB) Viewed 6412 times

2022-12-22 - Sam Brophy Programme (2).jpg (174.17 KiB) Viewed 6412 times

~

P.s. still listening to PCCB: I love Entre le Boeuf et l'ane gris! What a wonderful little concert!

[Luckdragon]

Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois have performed a concert in the Basilique Notre-Dame du Rosaire de Lourdes, and the concert was broadcasted today for the New Year.

You can watch the replay here :
Ihttps://www.cnews.fr/emission/2023-01-01/en-que ... 23-1306250

They have some fine soloists.

Thanks Padmachou, that's a nice concert!

Fun fact - the arrangement of Jinglebells, that they sing, was done by Jonathan Rathbone who conducted the London Forest Choir in:

Did you happen to catch YCOTY finalist Sam Brophy singing with the London Forest Choir on the 22nd?

BTW, Sam has started a YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@sambrophymusic4546.

Small world.

Also another connection:

► Show Spoiler

2022-12-22 - Sam Brophy Programme (2).jpg

~

P.s. still listening to PCCB: I love Entre le Boeuf et l'ane gris! What a wonderful little concert!

Thanks for the link and the info, guys. Great stuff.

Another "small world" fact I learned recently was that David Hill -- conductor, former boy treble, and Joseph's grandfather -- was Rob Lewis' choirmaster at Westminster Cathedral in the mid-80s.

I hope you enjoyed your time away from the forum, Celtic.

[Padmachou]

Incredible fact about David Hill and Rob Lewis

Thanks for the information Celtic, I've always liked this Jingle Bells arrangement.

[Surpinto]

Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois have performed a concert in the Basilique Notre-Dame du Rosaire de Lourdes, and the concert was broadcasted today for the New Year.

You can watch the replay here :
Ihttps://www.cnews.fr/emission/2023-01-01/en-que ... 23-1306250

They have some fine soloists.

Thanks! Watched this while on the stationary bike at the gym Not bad for sure.

[Padmachou]

Hi everyone

Here is a review from a concert by "Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois" (PCCB) I attended this week.

They sang in Paris on the 7th of July at the Saint Antoine des Quinze Vingt church. I had not attended a concert from this choir for a long time, the last one must have been in 2012. For quite some time now, I have thought that this choir was not on top like they used to be. They certainly had difficult times, changing location, changing direction... All in all, their broadcasted concerts in Korea have not pleased me so much...
But for a few months, some extracts on their social medias made me want to try a concert.

They sang 21 songs, in two parts. As usual, the first one was sacred music, wearing the white robes, and the second one was secular music.

Globally, I found it pretty good in terms of music. The director did a great job, with good spirit, and very subtiles nuances. I really liked the harmonies. The arrangements are good (by Vincent Laissy their pianist). I remember that a few years ago the songs used to have the same redondant scheme : solo - choir. Now, it was much more entertaining, you got the chance to hear all the voices shine from time to time.

Of course they sang A cappella and sometimes with the piano, and without microphones. It clearly is an issue for the solos (I could not hear the voices clearly and I was seatting on the 4th row). I do not remember having the same issue back in 2012, on the contrary, I was struck by the strenght of the soloists' voices. But every church has a different sound. By the way, they already finished school and not every singer was available for this tour, from what a mother of a singer told me, they had to change the program and some songs could not be performed at all. Though, I really enjoyed solos from 1 soprano boy and 2 alti boys.
Some songs were all voices involved, and some were for trebles only.

FIRST PART
Popyeleos, Anonyme (en procession)
Kyrie K.220, Mozart
O Magnum Mysterium, Victoria
Kyrie Messe à Saint Joseph, Laissy
Gloria Messe à Saint Joseph, Laissy
Alleluia Messe à Saint Joseph, Laissy
Sanctus Messe à Saint Joseph, Laissy
Agnus Messe à Saint Joseph, Laissy
Ave Maria, Schubert
Madame, Boissenot
Gloria, Vivaldi


Popyeleos, Anonyme (en procession)
It was beautiful, and the rare opportunity to hear each chorister's voice while they were walking in the middle of the church.

Kyrie K.220, Mozart
I don't remember much

O Magnum Mysterium, Victoria
Liked it

Kyrie Messe à Saint Joseph, Laissy
Gloria Messe à Saint Joseph, Laissy
Alleluia Messe à Saint Joseph, Laissy
Sanctus Messe à Saint Joseph, Laissy
Agnus Messe à Saint Joseph, Laissy
I did not know this piece (by the pianist). I found it interesting. Though the titles are in traditionnal latine, pretty much everything was written in french. It was nice to hear, a lot of emotions, and the soloists were good.

Ave Maria, Schubert
There were two soloists dueting : a soprano and an alto. You could barely hear the soprano voice, the boy looked tired. It was good, though I have to say that I have heard it by other very good choirs and it left me unbothered. The soloists had nice voices, but it did not work on me.

Madame, Boissenot
Very nice and moving piece

Gloria, Vivaldi
Nah, can't bear this one anymore. I can if the more interesting "Et in terra pax" follows, but every choir sings it and here I did not find that the PCCB did anything different.

SECOND PART
Hay linda amiga, Anonyme
Moo li hua, Anonyme
The Rose, Gjeilo
Quand on n’a que l’amour, Brel
Je vous aime ô mon Dieu, Sernovicz (incertain ?)
Le canon de la Paix, Anonyme
Musique universelle
Emmenez-moi au bout de la terre, Aznavour
La nuit, Rameau
Prière des Petits Chanteurs, Anonyme

Hay linda amiga, Anonyme
Nice one

Moo li hua, Anonyme
Nice one too

The Rose, Gjeilo
Very recognizible Gjeilo, very well sang.

Quand on n’a que l’amour, Brel
Great arrangement, I really liked it.

Je vous aime ô mon Dieu, Sernovicz (incertain ?)
I am unsure this one was performed. There were several songs on the program that they did not sung.
(Eli, Eli, Deanbardos / Cantique de Jean Racine, Faure / Resurrexit, Dionis du séjour / Les Cosaques, Anonyme / Sakura, Anonyme / Ces voix d’enfants, St Preux which is a pity because I love it)

Le canon de la Paix, Anonyme
Classic PCCB, nice one

Musique universelle
3 sopranos did the solo part together. I wish I could have heard them separately but I don't think they had enough strenght without the microphones.

Emmenez-moi au bout de la terre, Aznavour
A great one, a good solo part you could really hear, by an alto boy with his arm broken, who looked tired yet very glad to be here !

La nuit, Rameau
The last two pieces were performed in common with Les Petits Chanteurs du Val de Seine, which opened the concert, I will tell more about them below.
The soloist from the PCCB (same one as Aznavour's ?) was good. I think the sound was better when both choirs sang together, because the PCCB lacked soprano voices and the PCVS had plenty.

Prière des Petits Chanteurs, Anonyme
Same comment.

Now, I really enjoyed the concert musically speaking. But I would not travel, cross countries or even my own country to attend a PCCB concert. If they sing in Paris, that's fine. Once in a while.
It is quite an ancient choir and you can tell. I do not understand that in 2023 the kid still have to stand with feet joined, arms in the back - it's not the perfect posture to sing and breath. Despite their devise saying that the PCCB "shine", they do not. 2 of them smiled all through the concert, 2 smiled from time to time. I could tell the older ones (one of them cried) were moved because it was one of their last concerts with the choir. And I am sure they really like it, it is a great adventure. But you can't really tell ? Where is childhood, freedom, spontaneousness ? They look tired and rigid.

And, I was mostly upset because I thought this would be about music. But it was about propaganda... sort of. It really was nothing like in 2012, when I was sad that only the director speaked through a bad microphone. Well, now, the kids speak through a good microphone.
Reading a text... written by an adult, about liturgy mostly, and not about the songs at all. It is a (fake) PCCB's diary, starting with school, through Toussaint, Christmas, Easter... A kid wondering whether he loves God enough, if he is giving enough (the kid is in a boarding school, singing to God everyday, praying while kneeling in a Chapel...), wondering if he is humble enough. It was very "holier-than-you" and not very authentic. The only parts I found authentic and moving were about how singing together with friends was great, and the beauty of concerts when you share with the audience. But mostly it was too much and not what I expect from a concert.
I remember from my experience in 2012, thinking that the music in itself was enough to get you closer to believing, that it gathered people towards a same ideal of peace and beauty that could be seen through the voices. The experience I had this week, I found it cleaving and very specifically linked to white french catholicism from numerous families of 6. Not very modern rallying effect.

The Petits Chanteurs du Val de Seine performed 6 to 7 pieces before the PCCB, but I do not have the program. It is a choir with both girls and boys, a great sound, some of the soloists were better than the PCCB's (then again, grown 14-16 years old girls have had time to work their voices). It was good music, and I really liked their arrangement of "L'oiseau" (from the movie Belle & Sebastien).

I was a good concert, but not exactly my cup of tea and not the PCCB I used to love 10 years ago.

[Luckdragon]

Sadly they don't tour in Paris anymore.

Here's one that may be of interest. Also March 11, same time and place.

428475074_825687742699416_5692947439701546650_n.jpg (459.45 KiB) Viewed 4136 times

428475074_825687742699416_5692947439701546650_n.jpg (459.45 KiB) Viewed 4136 times

[Padmachou]

Oh no... this looks amazing but I can't make it

[Jake4263]

Amazing !

I didn't know that the PCCB had to change location a few years ago. I just learned that they are no longer in the Paris region, but rather in the center of France, in the town of Autun.

They are currently performing in concerts throughout France, including 2 dates in Autin and Commelle (a neighboring village) in June and July 2024.

Amazing, because, these 2 concerts are 2 hours from my house by car! so I reserved my place of course...! Although the identity of PCCB is different from Libera, I hope to have a good time!

Do any of you plan to go?

https://concert.pccb.fr/category/touslesconcerts/

[Padmachou]

I have attended a concert in Paris a few months ago, it was pretty good, I had fun. Though the touring members change a lot from a concert to another and I think their quality might be unstable depending on the soloists you get for 1 concert. But they are definitely having a good time right now and I think you will like it ! The sound is enjoyable, the arrangements interesting.
Though do not expect fun speeches like the Libera boys grant us... you will get a boy reading his personal thoughts and prayers to God from a diary between the songs...

[Citlec]

PCCB have been through a couple of transitions, the first in around 2011 when I believe they moved from Paris and their director at the time Veronique left. She went on to form her own choir, and founded a new choir with a national name, Les Petits Chanteurs de France. I'm sure her husband working for the Peuri Cantores organisation had nothing to do with this astounding coup on the name... She also took a number of the headline soloists with her, so PCCB effectively had to start over.

I maintain what I've posted here before. They used to be good... very good! And I have seen some very encouraging videos from them recently, but I'm not entirely convinced yet....

[Jake4263]

Thank you for this feedback!
Their story seems very complicated. I hope they didn't suffer too much.
Regarding their talent, I can't wait to hear them! I will form an opinion which I will not fail to communicate to you.
From what I have seen on the internet, there are a lot of songs without (or little) musical accompaniment, or a lot of religious singing. But in the most recent searches, there are much more entertaining clips with livelier music and singing! It looks very Goods!!
In any case, due to not being able to see Libera this year, the PCCBs will be a great alternative.

[Citlec]

Thanks, I will always be interested to know what their current state is. Boy's Choirs can change very quickly with new directors and new trebles, so I'll never fully dismiss a choir! I feel PCCB is one that could definitely be great again!

[Yorkie]

I can never forgive them for that afront to decency that was the horrendous, awful cat meow song.

I would rather listen to endless WSK songs than any of their performances.

[Surpinto]

I can never forgive them for that afront to decency that was the horrendous, awful cat meow song.

I would rather listen to endless WSK songs than any of their performances.

My hatred for that caterwauling piece is likely even greater than yours