période romantique

Festival de Lanaudière | Bruckner and Payare: Cathedral builders

by Frédéric Cardin

One man meticulously drew up all the plans for a majestic edifice, while the other was responsible for raising it from the ground, on solid foundations, decking it out in the finest finery and lifting it to the heavens. The undertaking succeeded admirably, and the result unveiled last night at the Amphithéâtre de Lanaudière was something of an Olympian.

I’m talking about Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 in C minor, which the explanatory clichés always compare to a great, magnificent cathedral. For once, let’s give clichés their share of symbolic truth. The Austrian composer’s penultimate symphony is indeed grandiose and monumental, and written in a spirit of vibrant devotion (Bruckner was very religious). This work, which lasts almost an hour and a half and requires a huge orchestra, has everything it takes to stimulate an architectural allegory as impressive as that of a cathedral. Notre-Dame? Reims? Strasbourg? Cologne? You get the idea.

Payare has skilfully constructed this Herculean edifice yesterday, with details and contrasting dynamics that reinforce the spiritual drama at work. Drama, yes. For even if we compare the Eighth to a cathedral, even if we say, quite rightly, that it is like an immense prayer by the composer, inviting us all to share his devotion with it, the power of the emotions concealed in this score tells a personal story of the search for transcendence.

Everything was perfect. Payare controlled the dynamic impulses, without really holding them back, just communicating, clearly, Bruckner’s will. Like a spiritual ferryman. Moments of extreme gentleness were so faintly audible that the nearby birds sounded louder. The composer would have been ecstatic! On the contrary, the moments of magnificence filled the natural basin of the site like the divine taking up all the space.

And what an orchestra! Payare and we are lucky. Ideal intonation of the solos, section ensembles and tutti, phrasing of the adagio without haste but with a palpable inherent energy.

This Adagio, moreover, and especially this quivering ascent of the strings accompanied by the three (!) harps, a celebrated moment (which recurs several times) that transports music-lovers very close to the gates of Paradise, had something purely celestial about it, and was perfectly successful. As for the finale of the Finale, a majestic construction, the final finishing touch to a sublime building that would house any supreme divinity of any cult (God, Allah, Brahma, Odin, Ra, Zeus, etc., etc.), this finale that grabs you by the guts and lifts you up in spite of yourself, was grandiose to a fault, but without any vulgarity. All real, all felt, with respect and elegance.

Oh, I could quibble about details. The trumpets in the Scherzo could have been much more incisive. I like them that way, you see. To mark the plebeian side of the movement, in contrast to the piety of the previous one. And the last bars of the first movement, which call for contemplation, could have been a little more “contemplative”.

Nevertheless, this level of musical quality is to the credit of our Montreal orchestra, which is undoubtedly one of the best in the world. Bravo to the soloists, impeccable, and in particular Catherine Turner on the French horn. What exceptional work, what accuracy of tone, sonority and colour. The lady was remarkable, mastering an instrument that is so capricious and so often tempted to betray its owner.

The only real downside was the audience: it was only partially full. A shame, given the quality of the performance on offer.

Latest 360 Content

Lifeguard – Ripped and Torn

Lifeguard – Ripped and Torn

Brainwasher – At Least It Beats an Actor

Brainwasher – At Least It Beats an Actor

Nicholas Daniel – Complete Works for Oboe by Madeleine Dring

Nicholas Daniel – Complete Works for Oboe by Madeleine Dring

Christine Tassan; Marie-Véronique Bourque – Bruissement boréal

Christine Tassan; Marie-Véronique Bourque – Bruissement boréal

Lanaudière Festival | Metropolitan Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin/Marc-André Hamelin: When Nature Drives the Concert

Lanaudière Festival | Metropolitan Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin/Marc-André Hamelin: When Nature Drives the Concert

Festival de Lanaudière | Sol Gabetta : Queen of the cello meets les Violons du Roy

Festival de Lanaudière | Sol Gabetta : Queen of the cello meets les Violons du Roy

Friday night at the Dômesicle – All night long with Jump Source

Friday night at the Dômesicle – All night long with Jump Source

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Lanaudière Festival | The Sparkle of Strauss, Schumann, and Brahms in Joliette

Lanaudière Festival | The Sparkle of Strauss, Schumann, and Brahms in Joliette

Wet Leg – moisturizer

Wet Leg – moisturizer

Sister Ray – Believer

Sister Ray – Believer

Festival de Lanaudière | Franco Fagioli and the voice of bel canto

Festival de Lanaudière | Franco Fagioli and the voice of bel canto

Subscribe to our newsletter