Annie Clarke, known by her stage name St. Vincent, added another symphonic gem to her body of work on Sunday. Dressed in a simple yet elegant suit paired with scarlet shoes, she shone brightly from the first to the last second of this superb performance.
St. Vincent performed her classics with poise and authority, weaving together guitar solos and stage movements with carefully choreographed gestures, all punctuated by lavish orchestrations that elevated the entire performance.
There is no doubt about this American artist’s sensual charisma; her intellectual presence continues to impress and blends seamlessly with her rock persona—sexy, queer, electric, and incandescent. The symphonic complexity here serves a woman deeply rooted in rock culture, who is completely at ease in this context, striking a perfect balance on the tightrope connecting the two worlds.
Composed of local musicians, an orchestra of some sixty instrumentalists accompanied the fifteen or so songs on the program at the Maison symphonique, featuring arrangements by Jules Buckley, Rachel Eckroth, Sam Gale, Jochen Neuffer, Peter Riley, and Tom Trapp. Brilliant.
These arrangements are not uniform; one can observe different styles from one song to the next—sometimes post-Romantic, sometimes post-minimalist, sometimes modern, sometimes contemporary. The day after the performance, we listened to the brand-new album Live in London! and concluded that it has a beautiful cohesion.
Generally speaking, the spirit of the songs is surprisingly well preserved; the soloist’s guitars are often brought to the forefront, and the rock band backing her achieves a remarkable balance with the orchestra. We know how incredibly difficult it is to blend pop/rock and symphonic aesthetics—a feat that is still all too rarely accomplished. Here, however, the arrangements are varied and well-suited to rock expression—that of one of the most unique artists to have made a name for herself internationally since the golden age of indie rock.
St. Vincent’s symphonic repertoire is performed under the baton of British maestro Jules Buckley, who has created a wealth of orchestral arrangements tailored to various contexts and contemporary styles: today’s pop culture, jazz, and contemporary music. The conductor of the now-famous Metropol Orkest (a different ensemble from the one performing at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier on Sunday) draws from a wide range of artists, from Patrick Watson to Louis Cole, including Emilie Claire Barlow and… St. Vincent.
For a long time, symphony orchestras enhanced popular songs by smoothing out their rough edges and emotional intensity. What we’re seeing today is quite different: the talented arrangers of our time have grasped the essence of rock’s energy, and we had a compelling example of this on Sunday—in the service of St. Vincent.
