OSL Winter Classical Festival | Friendly Baroque Journey

To open the 4th edition of its Winter Classical Festival, the Orchestre symphonique de Laval (OSL) invites us to travel to 18th-century Europe. Under the direction of conductor Mathieu Lussier, in the heart of winter, the OSL performs music by Handel, Vivaldi, Hasse, Quantz and Albinoni.

The repertoire is meticulously chosen: while presenting well-known composers, the orchestra offers pieces that are less well known. Mathieu Lussier, not without a sense of humor, introduces each piece to an attentive and receptive audience. Between anecdotes, keys to understanding and frankly amusing comments, his friendly tone enhances and enriches the journey.

The concert opens with 3 movements from Georg Friedrich Handel’s Concerto Grosso in D major, Op. 6, No. 5. Antoine Bareil, Johanne Morin and Chantal Marcil, respectively first solo violin, second solo violin and principal cello of the group, rival each other in spirit. This is followed by the Bassoon Concerto in E minor, RV 484. The sound of OSL principal bassoon Michel Bettez is enchanting, especially in the second movement. Performed immediately afterwards, Johann Adolphe Hasse’s Sinfonia in G minor, Op. 5 No. 6 was my finest moment of the evening. The orchestra is full of fire, and Bareil’s playing is expressive, precise and nuanced. Johann Joachim Quantz’s Concerto for flute in G major was a little less successful for soloist Jean-Philippe Tanguay, second flute and piccolo with the OSL. His high-pitched attacks lacked clarity. Vivaldi’s Overture, La verità in cimento, RV 739, plunges us back into the fire of the orchestra, while Tomaso Albinoni’s Concerto for oboe in D minor, Op. 9, No. 2 introduces us to the lively playing of Lindsay Roberts, second oboe and English horn of the OSL. Vivaldi closes the journey with the Trio Sonata in D minor “La follia” RV 63, arranged by Mathieu Lussier and featuring all three soloists.

Unfortunately, the room wasn’t full for this first evening. What I have to say about that is that the absentees are often, if not always, wrong. The comments and smiles on people’s faces at the end of the evening left no doubt: they left with their hearts in their mouths, warm and cosy, despite the chill that returned with a vengeance towards the end of the evening.

Photo Credit: Gabriel Fournier