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With Christmas coming, the French choir troupe the Little Singers of Paris will perform Christmas carols, traditional choral pieces and songs from all over the world in early December. Dressed in white vestments and wearing little wooden crosses around their necks, the young choir members sing with a purity of voice that astonishes audiences.
The programme will include Christmas carols such as "Douce nuit, Sainte nuit", "We wish you a merry Christmas", "Jingle Bells" and "Pueri concinite", as well as "Bruremarsj fra ValsØ
yfjord/Aure" from Norway, "Nella Fantasia" from Italy, "Paris panam" from France, "Kalinka" from Russia and more. Among the traditional choral pieces will be "Hallelijah" (extract from "Messiah") by Handel, "Ave Maria" by Gounod and "Exultate justi" by Viadana.
The Little Singers of Paris received their first scholar in 1907 and the choir's first concert was held in St-Germain l'Auxerrois in October in the same year. The performance was well received by music lovers in Paris. In 1931, a young priest, Abbé Maillet, took the Little Singers out of France to North America, where they received a warm welcome in the United States and Canada. That tour was the beginning of an international programme that to date has covered a total of 80 countries and four rounds of world tours. Today, the Little Singers continue to serve as "Little Singers of Peace", with Clotilde Sebert as Music Director.
"The Little Singers of Paris" is one of the attractions of the "Cheers!" series presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. It will be staged at 8pm on December 6 (Friday) at the Auditorium, Tsuen Wan Town Hall. Tickets priced at $260, $180 and $120 are now available at all URBTIX outlets, on the Internet and by credit card telephone bookings. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and their minders, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (limited tickets for CSSA recipients available on a first-come, first-served basis). A maximum discount of 20 per cent is offered for the "Cheers!" series and group booking. Please refer to the programme leaflets for details.
For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/ce/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/program_338.html. For ticketing enquiries, call 2734 9009; for credit card telephone booking, call 2111 5999. Internet bookings are available at www.urbtix.hk.
Other "Cheers!" series programmes include Hayley Westenra with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, "What time is it, Uncle Fox?" by the Ming Ri Institute for Arts Education, "Crazy Farm Puppet DIY Workshop" by Ming Ri Institute for Arts Education, "MoMo's Fancy Dress" by Make Friends With Puppet, the Hong Kong Oratorio Society Christmas Concert - Christmas Fantasia, the Zunyi Acrobatic Troupe of Guizhou Province, Mark Nizer 3D (US), "Juggling Revealed Workshop" by Mark Nizer (US), "Sleeping Horses Lie" by Terrapin Puppet Theatre (Australia), "Puppetry in Everyday Objects Workshop" by Terrapin Puppet Theatre (Australia), "ECHOA" by Arcosm Company (France) and "Body Percussion and Dance Workshop" by Arcosm Company (France). Please refer to the booklet of the "Cheers!" series and programme leaflets for details.
Ends/Friday, November 1, 2013
Issued at HKT 10:01
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