It was on a rainy Tuesday in March that the boys of Capella Regalis Men & Boys Choir gathered for their first rehearsal of J.S. Bach’s Easter cantata, Christ lag in Todesbanden. Their director, Nick Halley, lost no time in immersing them in the cantata’s German text or introducing them to the exhilarating genius of Bach’s work.
Six weeks later, after many hours of memorizing the German text and learning by heart all their notes in the cantata’s seven choral movements (there was a $50 prize for the first chorister to do so), the boys entered Saint Mary’s Cathedral Basilica in Halifax ready to perform the cantata. Joining them were the men of Capella Regalis as well as members of Ensemble Regale chamber orchestra to record and film the 25-minute piece for YouTube broadcast. As it turns out, the whole project came together just two days before Nova Scotia entered its third Covid-19 lockdown. (You can watch the recording online for free on the choir’s YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/capellaregalis).
Singing in a choir during a pandemic? Wait, boys singing in a choir at all? The reader may be growing incredulous at these propositions. Capella Regalis, however, is an encouraging witness to the possibility of both.
Founded in 2010 by director Nick Halley, Capella Regalis is a non-profit organization that aims to build upon the best aspects of the European cathedral choral tradition and to revitalize this method of music training in Canada. The choir is free and open to any boy who passes a basic audition. It currently comprises approximately sixteen boys (ages 6–14) in a Senior Choir and a Probationers Program (training choir), and sixteen men (including professional singers, university students, and teenage boys called the Young Men, whose voices have changed).
In a normal year, the choir rehearses twice each week in the University of King’s College Chapel, regularly sings Evensong in the Cathedral Church of All Saints as part of the Cathedral’s Sundays at Four music series and undertakes a busy schedule of performances throughout Nova Scotia and beyond. In the spring of 2020, the choir was preparing for a tour of Quebec and Ontario followed by a Canadian premier performance of a John Rutter piece at the invitation of The Scotia Festival of Music, when the first Covid-19 wave hit.
“This year especially because of Covid, it’s been really good to sing in the choir and to have something normal in my life. It’s like a regular year, but we’re all just physically distanced,” says Luc Therien, 15, speaking with Radio Canada in a recent interview. Luc joined the choir when he was seven and now sings as a Young Man in the tenor section.
Beyond providing a sense of normalcy during pandemic times, Capella Regalis seeks to offer its choristers a sense of beauty through music, to expose them to poetry and music that will stick with them for the rest of their lives. The passion with which the boys learned and performed Bach’s Easter cantata is a testament to the powerful effect music can have on children.
“It gives me something to concentrate on, something to do to not be bored,” says Owen Landry, 12, who sings soprano in the Senior Choir. “It took many hours to memorize the Bach, but I think it was a good use of my time.”
The educational model Capella Regalis offers is unique in today’s culture. As a boy’s voice changes in adolescence, he joins the Young Men’s section of the choir and rediscovers his voice as an alto, tenor, or bass, singing alongside the professional adult singers. The Young Men in turn become role-models for the younger members of the choir.
Visit www.capellaregalis.com to learn more about the choir’s history, its performances and recordings.
