Series: Ratatouille
French Baroque Noëls and Songs of Winter
December 3, 2026 – 7:00 p.m. | Église de la Visitation
Featuring dazzling motets and variations inspired by traditional Christmas carols, this program celebrates the rich musical heritage of the Nativity in 17th- and 18th-century France. The composers blend fervor, elegance, and winter poetry in a world where the sacred and the secular come together naturally.
Presented by the Maison de la culture Ahuntsic and produced by ICI Musique
Tickets are free at the box office and $2 online
Tickets will be available on Tuesday, November 17 at 6 p.m.
Works by Campra, Clérambault, Boismortier, Dandrieu, Corrette and Daquin
No other feast day in the liturgical year has inspired such a rich musical output as Christmas. Whether anonymous or composed by the greatest names, this repertoire exudes a sense of freshness, with no strict boundary between the sacred and the secular. Alongside motets of all sizes, such as those by André Campra or Nicolas Clérambaut—whose 350th birthday we celebrate on December 19 this year— French musicians composed, on the occasion of the Nativity, series of virtuosic variations for organ or instruments based on popular Christmas carols, transposing the elements of these modest and touching melodies into sophisticated forms. As for the season of snow and cold in which the holiday takes place in our northern lands, let us heed the French proverb according to which: “Christmas carries winter in its satchel. If it’s not cold before Christmas, it will be cold after…”
Artists
Jacqueline Woodley
Francis Colpron
Grégoire Jeay
Olivier Brault
Mélisande Corriveau
Christophe Gauthier
Program
Works by Campra, Clérambault, Boismortier, Dandrieu, Corrette and Daquin
Date
Thursday, December 3, 2026 – 7:00 p.m.
Venue
Église de la Visitation
(Maison de la culture Ahuntsic)
1847, boul. Gouin Est, Montréal
Soloist
Jacqueline Woodley
Soprano
Canadian soprano Jacqueline Woodley has been praised for her fearless versatility, changing styles fluidly from early music to contemporary, from opera to art song.
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Sought after for her “exceptional talent” in performing modern works, Jacqueline created the role of Milice-Bride in the première of Ana Sokolovic’s opera Svaba-Wedding with Queen of Puddings Music Theatre. This production toured Europe and Canada, with Ms. Woodley additionally chosen for both the San Francisco and Philadelphia Opera premieres of this remarkable work.
This past season, Jacqueline performed in the world premiere of Come Closer with Toronto’s Opera5, and joined Orchestre symphonique de l’Estuaire for Brahms’ Requiem. Her 2025/2026 season also sees engagements for Handel’s Messiah (Orchestre classique de Montréal, Kingston Symphony Orchestra), Haydn’s Creation (Ottawa Choral Society), and a program of Bach Cantatas with Les Boréades.
During the 2022/2023 season, Ms. Woodley appeared as the soprano soloist with the Grand Philharmonic Choir for Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Arion Baroque for a series of Bach cantatas, the Brahms’ Requiem with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and Handel’s Brockes Passion with Metropolitan United (Toronto). She also returned to Pacific Opera Victoria as Zaunschlüpfer in Braunfels’ Die Vögel, a Canadian premiere of the work. Recently, Jacqueline appeared in Handel’s Apollo et Daphne with Early Music Vancouver, under the baton of Alexander Weimann, and Brady’s Information with Chantslibres (Montréal).
Jacqueline’s 2021/2022 included a celebrated performance as Valencienne in Calgary Opera’s production of Lehar’s The Merry Widow. In December, Jacqueline was the soprano soloist for Orchestre Classique de Montréal’s Messiah and Choral Fantasty of Beethoven.
During the 2019-2020 season she moved back to the baroque world for the works of Bach, Handel and Charpentier for concerts with The Florida Orchestra, Regina Symphony, Clavecins en concert, Chorus Niagara and the Ottawa Choral Society. As well, she sang the 2019 Messiah for the Edmonton Symphony. In Victoria, Pacific Opera Victoria patrons heard her as Tina in Dove’s Flight.
She was hailed for her searing performance as Natalia in the world premiere of Oksana G for Tapestry New Opera and earlier appeared in the premiere of that company’s production of M’Dea Undone which won a Dora award. Other acclaimed performances of contemporary music include works by György Kurtág, Kaija Saariaho, and Judith Weir.
Her recent seasons have included Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), Cherubino (Marriage of Figaro), and The Forest Bird (Siegfried) for the Canadian Opera Company, Messiah with the Grand Philharmonic Choir and Symphony Nova Scotia, Mozart’s Exsultate, Jubilate with the Edmonton Symphony, Daphne et Apollo and Dido and Aeneas for Toronto Masque Theatre, and Tapestry’s ‘Lib-Lab’.
Other highlights include her Montreal Symphony debut under Kent Nagano, the role of Adele (Die Fledermaus) for Edmonton Opera, appearances at the Vancouver Early Music Festival and the Ottawa Chamberfest with Les Voix Baroques; a soprano and trumpet programme for Clavecin en Concert and La Fête de la Musique de Mont-Tremblant; and Handel’s Messiah for groups such as the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Aradia Ensemble, and in a staged version for Against the Grain Theatre.
