Thirty-six choir members. Seven musicians. A musical director. A whirling dervish. And of course, there were the two stars of the evening: Syrian singer Khaled Al-Hafez and Quebec contralto Gabrielle Cloutier.
The Fifth Hall at Place des Arts was almost full, but this time, unlike the other concerts of the Arab World Festival, there was a predominantly Quebec audience, mostly older, the families of the choir members were probably numerous.
The choir, composed of the Vox Ensemble, provided a backdrop. It returned between the songs performed sometimes by Khaled, sometimes by Gabrielle, and sometimes by both. In fact, Gabrielle sang in Arabic for Khaled’s songs and in French for her own. Dressed in a long red dress, she stood out in the hall, as everyone else was dressed in black. Her voice was breathtaking, especially when she stood in the middle of the stage and let it out freely.
Khaled’s chants had the feel of prayers, a bit like those that resonate through mosques, while the choir immersed us in the atmosphere of a church service. And we waltzed between these two worlds throughout the evening. Before the end of the first part, we saw the whirling dervish arrive and illuminate the room with his spinning meditation. He seemed completely in a trance, and all the while, I wondered how he didn’t get dizzy at the end of it all.
The musicians each had their turn to shine. They made sure to take their time during their solos, without rushing, so that the audience could enjoy it to the very end.
Images were projected throughout the evening, sometimes letters of the Arabic alphabet, other times geometric images or decorations that blended well with the music.
I would say the only drawback was perhaps the length of the concert. A spectator sitting very close to me thought the show was over at the intermission, since we had just enjoyed an hour and a half of performance. The second half was admittedly a bit shorter, but for fans of this kind of music, they were well served.
