Notre-Dame Basilica played host on Monday to the first of two concerts of Handel’s classic Messiah by the Orchestre Métropolitain (OM), its Chorus and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, back home for the holiday season.
Attending Handel’s Messiah in such a Catholic temple is in itself an immersive experience, characterized by special acoustics: more reverberation than in a hall designed for music, less intelligibility as the distance between the stage and the pew increases; as you move beyond half the floor towards the back, clarity declines. The perception of sound is therefore different depending on the position of the seat – but then, it’s also a great way to reflect on the holiday season and enjoy the ambience inherent in Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin has perfectly grasped this acoustic challenge and created a Messiah for this venue, performed with gentleness, sobriety, contemplation and precision. The curve of dramatic intensity was also well planned by the Quebec conductor, with a pastoral and comforting first part (prophecies and Nativity), the second part (passion, resurrection and ascension of Christ) culminating at the 39th station with the famous Alleluia of the resurrection sung by the choir, followed by a shorter and more abstract third part, Handel’s compositional meditation on Christian redemption.
Of the cast of soloists, mezzo Emily D’Angelo’s circumspect contribution is the most noteworthy, as she repeatedly achieves the ideal balance between the fervent expressivity of the religious text and the mystical state perceptible in the roundness of her voice, a state intrinsic to the interpretation of sacred song.
Tenor Frédéric Antoun was also eloquent and solid in context, though it would be interesting to hear more from him about his assumption of slight asperities in timbre in certain passages.
Soprano Anna-Sophie Neher also shone with sobriety, purity and power, and the OM cast also proved highly relevant in this respect, in her 9 interventions over the course of Messiah’s 47 stations.
Baritone Geoffroy Salvas brilliantly replaced his colleague Jonathon Adams.
The snow and cold of that Monday evening provided the perfect backdrop for walking the streets and taking refuge from the warmth of such a program in downtown Montreal’s most substantial of Christian temples. An experience of tradition and spirituality on the winter solstice, whatever our beliefs or skepticism about the afterlife.
Photo Credit: François Goupil
