On January 29 and 30, the world premieres of Voivod Symphonique take place, a rare public event that juxtaposes classical “high culture” with the underground world of metal. Yet there are many links between these two European traditions, both in terms of music and history. Nevertheless, even the most erudite of scholars, and orchestral musicians in particular, remain largely unaware of this connection. To demystify the context in which this extraordinary collaboration culminates, our collaborator and musicologist Laurent Bellemare presents a brilliant comparative overview of the similarities between these two worlds.
photo credit: Alain Brunet
“For the occasion, David Therrien Brongo and I were interviewed by Laurent Kolam Indah (Bellemare) of PAN M 360 to prepare a huge 4-part dossier to discuss the issue. There’s a lot to talk about. Many see the affinities between Vivaldi/Bach/Beethoven and Rhapsody Of Fire, Nightwish, Sonata Arctica, but few realize the affinities between Stravinsky/Ligeti/Ferneyhough and Martyr, Meshuggah and Necrophagist”, begins Pascal Germain-Berardi.
When we think,” he continues, ”that pop music was born in reaction to the complex classical and jazz music of the early 20th century, and that a few decades later, from this pop music, metal music was born in reaction to the simplicity of pop and invested with a mission to transgress all boundaries, we consequently discover, at the source of the creative impulse, very similar artistic wills between classical and metal. Long live classical, long live metal, and long live the progress of a mutual understanding of these two universes where creators are often imbued with the same ideals but simply have different tools and cultural baggage to express them.”
