| Written by Carolyn Girard, The Catholic Register,
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Views : 637  |
 TORONTO - On the outside, the Laudamus Chorus might seem like any other performing choir, with rehearsals, semi-annual performances, four-part harmonies and a core group of about 25 people.
But closer scrutiny reveals a little Catholic culture. The director aims to create a religious experience for both the audience and the performers who come from all walks of life across the Greater Toronto Area.
“It was founded eight years ago with the vision of giving praise to God and bringing His praise to people,” said Bibiana L’Abbé, the director and founder of Laudamus Chorus. “The Latin ‘Laudamus’ literally means ‘we praise.’ ”
Latin isn’t only in the title. L’Abbé has a penchant for the sacred, which she says is more beautifully found in the Latin text of pre-Vatican II compositions such as the Mass of St. Cecilia, which the choir performed in April.
“We try to dedicate our time to big sacred masterpieces and sung in Latin, because it has heavy and strong religious undertones,” she said
Some of the English translations in ancient pieces are good, L’Abbé added, but don’t convey the same feel as intended by the composer in the original phrasing.
This is one reason to bring the Latin text back, she said, even if not everyone understands the meaning. For the Mass of St. Cecilia, the chorus helped the audience understand the meaning behind the music by providing an English translation before each piece was sung.
L’Abbé experienced the Latin Mass when she was a young girl. In fact she started accompanying Latin hymns on the organ at the age of 11. L’Abbé brings a vast background in music to Laudamus as a former affiliate teacher of the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto and music director of the chamber choir Dandenong Singers of Melbourne, Australia, among others. She is currently the early morning Sunday choir director at St. Luke’s parish in Thornhill and also continues to perform and teach.
“As a Catholic conductor working with these masterpieces, it gives me a great challenge and privilege at the same time, not only to produce a good performance, but to perform what is true to the composer’s intent, that also portrays the spiritual that is inherently embedded in the lyrics,” she said.
L’Abbé starts each weekly Laudamus practice with a group prayer, and she also tries to personally motivate the choristers to sing from the heart. She says she also shows them how to better produce that effect.
Gerret Kavanagh, a member of the choir since its inception, says the weekly practices, from fall to spring, are like a breath of fresh air after a busy day of work on Bay Street.
“The choir — it’s like a drug in a good way,” he said. “It’s such a world away from what I do nine-to-five. To come here and to sing spiritual music is a whole other dimension.”
The Laudamus Chorus typically gives two large performances yearly, benefit concerts for charitable causes and church outreach organizations like the Shepherd’s Trust and ShareLife of the archdiocese of Toronto.
Two years ago, the chorus gave its proceeds to help St. Luke’s parish buy a grand piano. It also uses some of its proceeds to hire professional musicians or accompanists for performances.
Although the chorus takes a break for the summer, L’Abbé said plans for the next concert are already in the works for next November. She is also hoping to expand the choir to include another 20 members.
Anyone interested in either joining the choir or donating to the chorus, which is a registered charitable organization, can send an e-mail to
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or call (905) 771-0230.
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