About

Musique Royale welcomes audiences of all ages to hear a collection of beautiful Acadian songs performed by soprano Rose Marie Bernaquez and theorbist Michel Cardin. The Cookie Concert is a great opportunity for young listeners to hear the majestic theorbo up close, and it will be a delight to hear Rose Marie interpret these traditional songs. These songs were gathered by Father Anselme Chiasson (1911-2004) who travelled to many parts of the Maritimes collecting people singing these songs, which have lived on from past centuries, going back even to before the Acadian deportation, thorugh oral transmission. He published about 600 songs in many successive books from 1942 and following decades. The lyrics are about war, sailors, drinking with friends, a monk mocked by a young lady, family problems, lost love, the lover going to sea, the promised lover killed at war, and more.

These songs are not as well known as the famous French folksongs like À la claire fontaine or V’la l’joli vent, etc. but they are just as fine in quality, and a real discovery for any lover of Maritimes folk songs. Join us at the Lunenburg School of the Arts (6 Prince Street) on Saturday March 2 at 2 pm to hear Rose Marie and Michel, followed by a sweet treat! Admission is $5 at the door, and ages 4 and under can attend for free.

About the Artists

Rose Marie Bernaquez, soprano

Rose Marie Bernaquez is a soprano based in New Brunswick. She has a Master’s studies in singing from the University of Montreal, a two Bachelor’s degrees from the Université de Moncton, singing and interpretation, and in piano. She has studied privately with Madame Chantal Dionne, and taken lessons, coaching and masterclasses from Christianne Riel, Lauraine Nubar, Jane Randolph, Rose-Marie Landry, Adrienne Savoie, Louise-Andrée Baril and Dalton Baldwin. She has also done an internship on choral directing from the University of Sherbrook.

She has conducted many groups including Chorale Aux voies des marées, Moncton, Chorale Aux chants du tchai, Cocagne et Richibucto, NB Chamber choir, Aux airs du Cap, Cap pelé, Chœur de la Visitation, Grande-Digue, Les petits chanteurs de la côte, Shédiac, différents chœurs d’églises de Montréal et Laval, chœur des jeunes de Notre-Dame de Grâce, Montréal, Polumnia, NDG, Montréal, chœur de jeunes filles, Vincent d’Indy, Montréal, chœur des employés du Cirque du soleil, Montréal. An interesting fact is that for six years she was a singing evaluator, for auditions in Montreal, the United States and Europe for Cirque du Soleil, and was a vocal coach for their show Délirium.

Michel Cardin, theorbo

Originally from Montréal and working in the Maritimes since 1980, Michel Cardin has gained international recognition as a teacher, a performer, a musicologist and a producer. He is currently full professor of guitar and lute at the Department of Music of the University of Moncton (Canada), with a PhD equivalence status, and has made 12 compact discs of solo Baroque lute music and duos with flute. This series of recordings, consisting for the most part of world premieres, is dedicated to The London Manuscript by Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750), the undisputed master of the instrument. The enormous enthusiasm for these recordings, shared by critics and the general public alike provides unambiguous justification for the re-discovery of such a great composer.

M.Cardin was awarded Quebec’s Music Council’s OPUS award 1998 for Best Classical Album of the Year, the Geocities Vienna 2000 Award for Outstanding Artistic Merit for the New Millennium, the Éloize 2001 and Éloize 2010 Awards for Best International Exposure outside Atlantic Canada, two Étoiles Awards (Classical Artist and Album of the Year), and has received the Excellence in Music Award from the Government of New-Brunswick in 2000. His CDs were 5th place in the Music Lovers Top 20 (US website, members’ voting system) and are among the most regularly played by the Canadian FM radio stations, Galaxy & Stingray Music, Spotify, iTunes, YouTube (over a million viewers), etc. Michel Cardin has given concerts, conferences and masterclasses in both Americas, Europe, Japan and Africa.