The morning drizzle had just ended when Ensemble Caprice began playing on the Québecor stage at the Fête de la Musique de Tremblant. The sun wasn’t out, far from it, but it was already more pleasant, especially as the Montreal ensemble had brought some light with them. Twice, in fact. First there was the presence of director Mathias Maute, who provided some amusing entertainment. I knew Maute was a nice guy, but I didn’t remember him being so funny with the audience. Perhaps I hadn’t been paying close enough attention… The conductor’s comments had the particular advantage of supporting a sparkling programme devoted to Vivaldi and the ‘nomads’ of Baroque Europe. Vivaldian concertos that were as twirling as one could wish sat happily alongside anonymous works by little-known composers with a strong folkloric flavour from various corners of the continent, particularly from Eastern Europe. I’d like to highlight the sound quality provided by the festival’s sound technicians. Classical music suffers from outdoor performance and amplification is often not up to scratch. What I heard yesterday was of a quality you’d have heard from the Montreal Symphony or the Orchestre Métropolitain with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, for example. Very good point for the organisation.
Baroque
