Canadian Boy Choir Costumes: Two Choral Traditions


Figure 1.--The Amabiles Trebble Choir is seen here in thor uniform of white-blue shirts, blue sewater, blue short pants, and white kneesocks.

Canada is a bilingual, bi-cultural country with both English and French speaking populations. As a result there are two choral traditions in Canada. There are the French Catholic choirs and the English Anglican choirs. Most of the French Canadian boy choirs are based in Quebec. French Canadian choirs, like les Petits Chanteurs de Tracy in Tracy, wear uniforms very similar to the French choirs. The boys at Tracy wear white turtle neck sweaters, blue shorts, and kneesocks. Unlike French boys, they wore blue instead of white knee socks. Other French Canadian choirs have uniforms even more similar to French choirs, wearing blue sweaters with blue shorts. Most of these choirs have in the 1980s changed the uniform to long pants. There are also boy choirs in English Canadian provinces. I do not, however, have any information yet on the English Canadian choirs. Presumably they follow the traditions and uniform and costumes styles of the English choirs.

French Choirs

Most of the French Canadian boy choirs are based in Quebec. French Canadian choirs, like les Petits Chanteurs de Tracy in Tracy, wear uniforms very similar to the French choirs. The boys at Tracy wear white turtle neck sweaters, blue shorts, and kneesocks. Unlike French boys, they wore blue instead of white knee socks. Other French Canadian choirs have uniforms even more similar to French choirs, wearing blue sweaters with blue shorts. Most of these choirs have in the 1980s changed the uniform to long pants. The similarity of the uniforms suggest a very strong influence of te French choir movement that developed in the early 20th century. Here we assume the Catholic Church played an important role in carry information about Frebch choirs to Canada.

English Choirs

There are also boy choirs in English Canadian provinces. I do not, however, have any information yet on the English Canadian choirs. Presumably they follow the traditions and uniform and costumes styles of the English choirs. English cathedrals began reviving boy choirs in the mid-19th century. We are unsure when the first Canadian boy choir was formed.






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Created: 10:17 PM 7/11/2005
Last updated: 10:17 PM 7/11/2005