Founded in Paris, France in 1906, les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois (the Little Singers of the Wooden Cross) is a boys’ choir, also referred to as the Little Singers of Paris. The choir is made up of underprivileged boys who join when they are 9 or 10 but leave on their 15th birthday. Upon their formation, the choir’s repertoire was entirely religious. However, over the years, they began to add contemporary material into the repertoire. During World War II, the choir moved base to Lyon, France but returned to Paris once the war was over. They are currently based in Autun (Saône-et-Loire). Initially, les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois was created to be a choir that would travel and bring Gregorian chant and Palestrininian music to the people. They became extremely popular but did not achieve international fame until 1945 when they were featured in the Jean Dréville's film La Cage aux rossignols. Since the 1960s, they have incorporated popular music into their repertoire and have performed with a variety of artists including Charles Aznavour, Pascal Obispo, Coeur de Pirate, and many others. Along with over 17,000 concerts, both inside and outside of France, they have also released many recordings including L'Alouette (1957), Récital (1985), Noël / Christmas (1987), Chants Traditionnels (2006), La Pastorale des Santons de Provence (2010), and Acappella (2017). In October 2021, they released their interpretation of the Schubert’s “Ave Maria” with the Canadian singer Natasha St-Pier.
