Electroacoustic / Electronic / expérimental / contemporain

Akousma | Mystic Oracle, Magnetic Tumult, Granular Gymell

by Salima Bouaraour

On Thursday evening at Usine C, Frédéric Janelle’s L’Oracle had a mystical allure in its spatialization, while Monique Jean made all the phases of Tumultes magnetic, while art and science merged with Gymell, the work of grandmaster Horacion Vaggione.

Frédéric Janelle (ca)

Program: L’Oracle (2024) 8’41”

Lengthening of the note until it evaporates. Silence. Raucous, animal sound. Indistinct whirling. Acoustic flash. Muffled sound. At 2 minutes 20 seconds, an ambient phase is gently inserted, interlaced with divine cavern noises.

A long synth minute featuring envelope, VCA, VCF and probably LFO work in infinite feedback. Note holding. Noisy sequence. Repetition and length. Tone note at 3 minutes 40 seconds. Higher-pitched perception. Drone sequence. Gentle play on sound parameters.

Lasting 8 minutes 41 seconds, the piece was meditative, contemplative and serene. A very interesting way to kick off the evening, with a gentle and refined start.

Frédéric Janelle, a graduate in electroacoustic composition from the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, has spatialized L’Oracle in a more than mystical way.

Monique Jean (ca)

Program: Tumultes 15’ (2024)

Lacerated sound. Magnetic. Vibration. Play on resonance, filter and attack simultaneously throughout the intro against a background of long strings. Insertion of loops. At around 3 minutes, imperceptible voices fade into an indistinct crackle, then suddenly disappear.

A noisy, drone-like scene sets in. An impression of field-recorded sound like that of a railroad. Perception of metallic sound or machinery in any case. We’re heading more in a high-pitched direction. The piece becomes more textured and complex.

Diva-style vocals intermingle with echoing notes that escape the material before sinking into a sizzling pseudo-silence. A long, textured ripple is highlighted by a play of frequencies.

Monique Jean is interested in the tensions, breaks and paroxysms of sound materials. These are worked on like a complex organism. Her device integrates analog and no-input as a source of instability and unpredictability to produce her works.

Tumultes 15′, produced with the support of PRIM’s Research and Exploration program and the CAC, was the clear reflection of a continuous metamorphosis of sound flow. A fine progression before Gymell’s lightning attack.

Horacio Vaggione (ar/fr)

Program: Gymell I (2003) 9’20 followed by Gymell III (2024) 16’00

In the depths of the corpuscle, sonic matter comes to life in a stream of sparks for long minutes before being torn to shreds by sharp blows of strident, metallic notes. Laser beams tear through the material in an unreal, animalistic chirp. A process of liquefaction has enslaved the piece. From the effects of crumpled paper to the cogs of a mechanism.

Gymel, like a ferocious beast, closes the evening in two phases: Gymel I and Gymel III. Over 25 minutes of sequences of short fragments of sound, embroidered with resonant, hyper-colored attacks. A cosmic work in which the density of the grains performs on its own. It was so revealing to perceive the synthesized waves invading the acousmonium, as if to illustrate the astrophysical theory of a continuously expanding universe that could retract at any moment.

Hospitalized, the next composer was replaced by one of his greatest fans for the spatialization of his work, Louis Dufort. Horacio Vaggione, Professor Emeritus at the University of Paris VIII – researcher-composer (Studies in computer music at the University of Illinois (1966), co-founder of the Experimental Music Center at the University of Cordoba (1965-68), member of Madrid’s ALEA electronic music group (1969-73), IRCAM, INA-GRM, GMEB) – has sampled all his know-how in granular synthesis and micro-montage to prove to us that science is an art, drawing inspiration from the great scientist Bachelard’s 1932 quote: “The corpuscle has no more reality than the composition that makes it appear”.

Photo Credits: Caroline Campeau

Classical

OM Beethoven Marathon, Evening 2: On Human Nature

by Alexandre Villemaire

Second stop on Friday October 18 for the Orchestre Métropolitain on its Beethoven marathon at the Maison symphonique with Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

After a heroic introduction the day before, the next kilometer to be covered by the metropolis’ orchestra was devoted to symphonies n^o 6, known as “Pastorale”, and n^o 7, preceded by a premiere by young composer Francis Battah, already the recipient of several distinctions in Europe and Canada. His Prelude to Urban Landscapes, which opened the evening, was specifically conceived to precede the first movement of Symphony n^o 6. In this short piece, Battah reuses several thematic materials from the “Pastorale”, deconstructing and modifying them through complex language and writing. The use of several playing modes (arco for strings, flatterzunge for winds) lends the work a dynamic character and a strong timbral dimension. The piece ends with a ghostly string glissando, before moving straight into the first movement of the Sixth Symphony. The transition is naturally astonishing and fluid, so much so that the musical quotations, which we do not necessarily recognize immediately, but which we distinguish by the evocation of timbre, have prepared our ears for “l’Éveil d’impressions agréables en arrivant à la campagne”.

One of the most descriptive pieces in Beethoven’s symphonic catalog, Symphony no 6 is also one of the composer’s best-known works, in which it can be easy to fall into easy listening and autopilot, so familiar are its themes that they have been played and heard over and over again. Yannick doesn’t take the easy way out. Conducting the entire symphonies by heart, the conductor calls on every musician in his orchestra to sculpt meaningful phrasing and lines. After the luminous energy of the first movement, the second (“Scènes au bord du ruisseau”) plunged the audience into a soothing, restful state with ethereal sonorities. The third movement exuded a genuine village festive spirit, with the winds standing out overall, despite a few minor inaccuracies. After the festivities, thunder is heard in the fourth movement, heralding the storm. A storm that YNZ gently initiates, as if in the distance, before building in intensity to the point of eruption. With careful control of dynamics, the pastoral song that follows concluded the symphony with serenity.

The second part of the concert, dedicated to the Seventh Symphony, offered a contrast in its bright, rhythmic and vital character. The first movement was regal in character, with a tempo that Nézet-Séguin deployed with elegance. Magisterial was the transition from attacca to the famous second movement, a dramatic funeral march, in which everything, from dynamics to nuances, was just right and balanced. The exposition of the movement architecture was finely constructed by the conductor, in particular by highlighting the interaction between the violin and viola lines. The third and fourth movements, marked Presto and Allegro con brio, were a fantastic, breathless ride in which the rider Nézet-Séguin had great fun, almost dancing on the podium, infusing the various sections of the orchestra with a festive, captivating vitality. This performance was the highlight of the evening. At the end of the run, the orchestra received long applause from a relatively large, jubilant audience.

Addressing the crowd, Yannick Nézet-Séguin issued this invitation: “Sunday, 11am. Tell your friends!” The invitation is made. And we’ll be there for the rest of the tour.

Danny Brown at SAT: Left Field Delighted

by Guillaume Laberge

On Thursday, October 18, the Society for Arts and Technology (SAT) welcomed one of the iconic figures of underground hip-hop in the 2010s, Danny Brown. Fans of experimental hip-hop gathered to witness the Detroit-born artist on a short tour across Canada.

Before the main attraction arrived, DJ Charles Cozy mixed mostly rap songs, warming up the crowd and giving them a taste of what was to come. Danny Brown took to the stage just after 8pm, making a grand entrance dressed in an outfit straight out of the future. He began his set with a few songs from his latest album, Quaranta, released in November 2023.
From start to finish, Danny was incisive. No backtrack, just the instrumental framework. The African-American rapped every word with precision and a clear delivery, despite that singular voice that could alter the perception of clarity. Although some of the rapper’s more experimental songs are less accessible to the average listener’s ear, the acoustic quality of the venue made it all worthwhile. Even the most disconcerting tracks became quite catchy to our ears!
Danny Brown continued with several cult tracks from his catalog, such as “Monopoly”, “Dip”, and “Smokin & Drinkin”. Sung like festive anthems, these three songs helped raise the energy a notch. He also performed a few tracks from his collaborative album Scaring The Hoes with JPEGMAFIA, which helped to draw the crowd into his special world. The fans were very familiar with the various sounds the rapper had to offer, and greatly appreciated his performance. The majority sang along to the songs, adding to the overall energy of the room and hooking those who didn’t know the lyrics. A few mosh pits also formed in front of the rapper, a rare event at the SAT.
Brown concluded with his most popular songs, such as Really Doe, Ain’t it Funny, and Grown Up, all of which generated strong reactions from the crowd. The crowd chanted loudly for an encore for several minutes, even though he had only played for an hour and ten minutes, but unfortunately to no avail. Despite a rather short set and an encore that would have been more than welcome, Danny Brown put in a solid, concise performance, satisfying the audience at the SAT.

Brazilian / Funk / Samba

Céu, Between Retro and Melancholy

by Sandra Gasana

Céu, which means “Sky” in Portuguese, arrived on stage dressed all in black, with a necklace to match her dress, long black lace-up boots and a flower tattooed on her shoulder. Her stage presence was remarkable, as she alternated between dance steps and simplistic choreography.

Accompanied by her bassist Lucas Martins, who has been with her since the very beginning, Thomas Harres on drums, Leonardo Caribe Mendes on guitar and cavaquinho and Sthe Araujo, a talented percussionist, the singer transported us into her particular universe, in which she mixes soul, funk, jazz and Brazilian rhythms such as samba, always with a retro background, her signature. In fact, all her musicians are also backing singers, enriching the show.

She mainly shared songs from her most recent album Novela released this year but added hits from her other albums, such as Malemolencia, from the album Céu.

“I’d have loved to speak French with you, but I’m going to go with English,” she tells us from the outset, as several Brazilians in the room shout ”In Portuguese!”

My favorite song is Gerando Na Alta, which she sings as a duet with the Senegalese-born French artist anaiis, but which percussionist Sthe interpreted perfectly in her place. In this song, Céu speaks of the importance of celebrating friendship between women, while the word Novela, taken from the word telenovela, addresses the dramatic aspect of our lives. Some songs had no transition, while she interacted with the audience at other times. She takes the time to showcase her musicians in turn, as she does with Sthe, for example, before the song Lenda, from the album Céu, which opens with percussion.

Much to my delight, we were treated to a reggae sequence, with High na Cachu followed by Cangote from the Vagarosa album. Of course, we couldn’t end the concert without a few covers of Brazilian classics. And for this, she chose two legends: João Gilberto with Bim Bom, and Caetano Veloso with Pardo, both from Bahia.

The highlight of the evening was the encore with Bob Marley’s Concrete Jungle, which she performed beautifully with Haitian singer Paul Beaubrun, who opened the concert. The latter was introduced by his father, the great singer of the group Boukman Eksperyans. “When I saw Paul sing, I said to myself that he had to sing this song with me”, Céu confided. Indeed, Paul seems to be a great fan of Bob Marley, as during the first part he played three songs by the Jamaican icon, always taking care to add his own special touch. However, I would have liked to discover other original compositions such as Noyé, which opened the show.

classique

OM Beethoven Marathon, Evening 1

by Martial Jean-Baptiste

You have to be in top form to attend the Beethoven Marathon by prodigious conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and his accomplices in the Orchestre Métropolitain. The maestro has subjected his troops to training worthy of top athletes: 12 rehearsals, 4 dress rehearsals, all in a very short space of time. The complete symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven are presented as part of the25th anniversary of the link between YNS and the Orchestre Métropolitain.

In 2022, Deutsche Gramophone released a recording of the same complete works conducted by YNS with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. On Thursday evening at the Maison Symphonique, the maestro surpassed this interpretation. From the very first notes, one could already feel a difference, and it was undoubtedly the presence of the conquered audience that raised the game.

The first work on the program, Symphony No. 2, revealed Beethoven’s genius and the mastery of Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the OM musicians. The fourth movement (Allegro Molto) once again demonstrated the musician’s flexibility. For me, No.2 remains one of the German composer’s finest signatures.

After the 20-minute intermission, we were treated to an original composition by Montrealer Nicolas Ryan with the piece Eroi(s)ca, which served as a bridge between Symphonie n°2 and n°3.

Another highlight of the evening was Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s performance of Symphony No. 3 called Eroica, Op. 55 , in E-flat major. This performance provided an opportunity to contemplate Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s talent and the complicity he has developed over the past 25 years with the musicians of the Orchestre Métropolitain.

The marathon continues tonight with Beethoven’s Third and Seventh Symphonies. Hurry up, put on your running shoes and warm up before attending this second evening.

Photo Credit: François Goupil

Akousma | Musicfriend, Delayed Memory, Remanence…

by Salima Bouaraour

From the outset of Akousma’s first evening on Wednesday, October 16, Mikael Meunier-Bisson introduced us to his musicfriend, Vivian Li welcomed us into familiar contexts, Byron Westbrook got us thinking about the concept of remanence.

Mikael Meunier-Bisson (ca)

Program: musicfriend (2024) 8’00”

A composer of experimental and electroacoustic music, Mikael, an experienced self-taught enthusiast of textured ambient, presented his piece entitled musicfriend. Borrowing the technique of materiology, mainly from the field of painting where the use and assembly of various materials, often heterogeneous, create works of art, he is able to transcend the limits of the traditional.

Combining collage and montage, the performance drew on the elasticity of sound, from nothingness to infinity, interspersed with soft layers. The emphasis was on “reverse”, where the physical inversion of part of the tape allowed us to bounce back as quickly as possible to the clarity of a singular, luminous note.

Tonicity. Abstract globality. Onirism. This 8-minute work was laced with electro-acoustic violin or similar effects. Every second, a new sonority or texture came into play, as at minute 2’11 of an astonished vocal. In the end, the overall listening sensation was rather gentle and soaring, even meditative.

The corpus of the work was highlighted by the use of modified frequency. The rhetoric of this project was definitely “strewn with doubts, trials and errors, in a continuous coming and going”.

Vivian Li (cn/ca)

Program: Memory Playback (2024) 7’00”

Here are 7 minutes of a sonic diary pierced by field recordings in the style of sonic archaeology, tending towards the familiar and introspective. Vibrant resonance of interior and exterior decor. Salient feature of bird vocalizations. Synth note. Distant conversation in Cantonese. A touch of sweetness and nostalgia. The more we listened to the piece, the more the auditory sequences clashed or blurred in a controlled blur, like the play of memory, which compartmentalizes and mixes memories according to the emotions.

In the last third, clear notes of electrified string instruments could be heard. Children’s laughter in a “new age” echo. The winner of the Concours de Composition Acousmatique petites formes 2024 thus explored in depth the “therapeutic and temporal properties of sound” to sublimate them in Memory Playback.

A regular at national and international festivals such as MUTEK (Montreal), Pique (Ottawa), Sound Art Lab (Struer), Inkonst (Malmö), Eastern Bloc (Montreal), perte de signal (Montreal), Kwia (Berlin), Fondation Phi x Nuit Blanche (Montreal), Hectolitre (Brussels) and Karachi Biennale, Vivian Li won over the Akousma audience with the sincerity of her work.

Byron Westbrook (us)

Program: Translucents (Remix) (2024) 20’00’’

Sculptural and immersive, this abstract musical embroidery was worthy of a performative installation in a contemporary art museum. Tapestries of urban field recordings such as a train, a helicopter in mid-air, the echo of road traffic, birds chattering, the scene of life on the way home… combined with performative electronic music, repetitive in sequence and inspired by concrete music.

Ideally, it would be preferable to mention scenes like chapters that open and close with a real construction, a display and mediation of raw sounds that are made, unmade or recast at times with jolts of twists and springs of sound.

Translucents plunges you into the complex, textured weave of memory, where inner and outer spaces detach and annihilate each other. Between each phase of sounds captured in the field, an electronic, acousmatic or concrete musical scene intruded abruptly, as if to symbolize the complex transmission of memories and the neuronal system. Then, without transition, we moved on to a pseudo-pause of pitch or frequency modulation, sometimes tending towards the drone.

The original piece lasts 40 minutes, but for the Festival, a remix has been reworked to last just 20 minutes, concentrating all the energy of the work.

His work has been shown at the Walker Art Center, ICA London, MOCA Los Angeles, MoMA PS1, MaerzMusik and Rewire festivals, among others.

To fully grasp the complexity of this composition, it’s a good idea to listen to the piece, available online, while observing the paintings of abstract artist Blinky Palermo to blend in with the process. Byron was inspired by them. We can safely conclude that the phenomenon of afterglow sought by the New Yorker has been achieved.

Photo Credit: Caroline Campeau

Electronic / expérimental / contemporain

Akousma | Combat Zones, Scuba Diving, Avian Extrapolations…

by Alain Brunet

The second half of Akousma’s first evening was dominated by the two female composers on the program: Estelle Schorpp and Ana Dall’Ara-Majek, preceded by Pierce Warnecke.

Lasting 21 minutes and 34 seconds, Sonopeutic Smooth Sailing by Pierce Warnecke, a Californian-born artist based in Europe, was undoubtedly the most violent piece on the program for Akousma’s first evening. The take-off is smooth, but once at high altitude, disturbances start to creep in, although some of the tools are recognizable – Akai 808/809, modular synth, generative patches that constantly reproduce certain sound patterns imagined by their creator. The rest is the result of complex, shaggy, cross-hatched and very spicy editing.

The soft frequencies become more and more intense, asperities cling to them, and you have to fasten your seat belts! Calm returns temporarily, and the initial ambience is gradually replaced by the crackling and cross-hatching of processed sound. The “plane” becomes a train hurtling through war zones. Suddenly, we’re on foot, wandering through a field of at first sparse, almost silent sound propositions. As the piece reaches the peak of its sinusoidal curve, it becomes increasingly dense, forceful, violent and downright noisy. Walking becomes an obstacle course in a Skywalker vs. Darth Vader-style laser confrontation. The game calms down fairly quickly after the peak of intensity is reached, and we can imagine some serious casualties in the narrative. Hardcore attitude in a context of high electronic expertise. Yes, violence must be expressed!

From French-born Montreal composer Ana Dall’Ara-Majek, an interplay of instrumental, electroacoustic and purely computer music was to be expected. She is interested in the sounds that microorganisms might induce, as well as those that emerge from concrete or abstract forms. Her piece Mare Buchlae, for example, evokes an underwater dive where a variety of sounds emanating from plankton are captured. However, this is an extrapolation, i.e. the recreation of an aquatic environment by means of artificial sounds generated by a modular synthesizer – Buchla 200. The story lasts 11 minutes and 53 seconds, as we find ourselves suspended in the virtual liquid, imagining that this sound environment is entirely consistent with the intentions of its creator.

Last but not least, the main course. Salima Bouaraour’s interview with Estelle Schorpp on PAN M 360 left the impression that the quality of the idea might outweigh its sensual outcome: to compose a work based on recordings of birds made in the wild over a century ago, in the age of the phonograph, hence the avian title A Conversation Between a Partially Educated Parrot and a Machine, lasting 20 minutes. The title is inspired by a quote from Eldridge Johnson, director of the famous Victor Records label at the turn of the previous century (later RCA Victor), who said of the phonograph that it “sounded like a partially educated parrot with a sore throat and a head cold”, signifying the limitations of this archaic machine.

The treatment of these archives could have turned out to be grey and clinical, but this was by no means the case. For the French-born composer and Université de Montréal professor, it was a matter of imagining a “conversation” between birdsong and recording technologies, both old and new. And no, this has nothing to do with a sound recording at the Biodôme, it’s really an immersive experience where the songs of volatile creatures, scientific rhetoric on ornithology and an artistic binder (deconstruction of avian sounds, superimpositions of textural layers, etc.) and documentary narratives create a formidable diffraction of creative materials through a sensitive and inspired discourse.

Photo Credit: Caroline Campeau

La Luz live is a ray of psychedelic sunshine

by Vanessa Barron

At a sold-out Friday night show at Bar le Ritz, a giant golden cardboard cutout sun with googly eyes and a toothy grin took centre stage. From behind it, the four members of La Luz emerged, decked out in vibrant patterned button-downs that complemented the swirling flower projections behind them. With jangling guitar leads, ripping basslines, chilling synths, and an upbeat snare groove, La Luz transported the crowd, with their sonic waves, to a nostalgic and hypnotic dimension.

Hailing from not-so-sunny Seattle, La Luz combines the brightness of surf rock with the moodiness of ‘60s psychedelia to make a dreamy, trancey soundtrack that would fit right into a 1960s B-movie. The effortless melodies and warm fuzzy tones of the bass and guitar are nicely paired with the cooler synth leads and airy vocal stylings of lead singer and guitarist Shana Cleveland. The tracks from their latest album News of the Universe lean toward a moodier and introspective side, with a standout performance of “Poppies” as one of my favorites of the night.

The visual elements of the show heightened that kitschy B-movie vibe I had often pictured while listening to their music. Group choreography, such as synchronized head turns and nods, and showy props like the sunshine cutout added to the goofy and relaxed ambiance. Just listen to a song like “Floating Features” and you’ll picture yourself driving along a West Coast highway in a swanky outfit after a bank robbery … or maybe you’ve just been abducted by a flying saucer and you’re in the middle of kicking some alien ass. On Friday night, the crowd got to live this fantasy as La Luz hoisted two giant inflatable neon-green aliens across the crowd, crowd-surfing the night away.

It was definitely a more relaxed vibe for Le Ritz but still packed and brimming with energy – the ideal music for smoking a joint outside and sipping exactly one tasty, overpriced beer inside. The laidback pace of most tracks encouraged a healthy amount of grooving, shimmying, and head-bobbing. And as the cherry on top of this chill ice cream sundae, the show wrapped up before 9:30 p.m. Both concertgoers and Shana herself on the mic remarked with glee about how sweet this was—an easygoing end to a dreamy and delightful night.

Photos by Amir Bakarov

Fontaines D.C. delivered the goods, but we wanted more desire

by Ann Pill

Fontaines D.C. did exactly what they needed to satisfy their sold-out MTelus show, no more maybe slightly less. Since the release of their fourth album, Romance, the Irish post-punk band has absolutely exploded. Between blowing up on TikTok, opening for Arctic Monkeys, releasing their most sonically cohesive album to date, and a ringing endorsement from none other than Elton John, I and most of the 2,300 people were crammed into the venue long before the opener started.

The night started with the New York band Been Stellar. Their atmospheric, early ’90s Smashing Pumpkins-esque sound made perfect sense to gear the crowd up for a very Romance-heavy set. Though they looked like recent winners of their high school’s battle of the bands (I have since learned they are older than I am), they played a tight and beautiful set. The crowd was an absolute sea of teenagers. And as annoying as it was to witness them try to inorganically force a mosh, it is beautiful to watch teenagers absolutely shit their pants over something. And at 9:01 when Fontaines D.C. emerged, that’s exactly what they did.

Been Stellar

Now, don’t get me wrong—our Irish rock saviours, Fontaines D.C., played well. It was incredible to watch some of the more orchestral songs from Romance replicated perfectly live, and it was so fun to see Dogrel songs I’ve been listening to for five years. But there was certainly something missing. I was so ready to freak out to the punchy and powerful songs from their early albums and weep to beautiful melodic songs from Skinty Fia and Romance, but they lacked the energy to deliver what I was hoping for.

Fontaines D.C. consists of Conor Curley, Conor Deegan III, Tom Coll Carlos O’Connell, and Grian Chatten. But they also tour with Cathal Mac Gabhann and Chilli Jesson. Even with seven people on stage, it really was all about the frontman Grian. He came out in sunglasses, a hat, and a coat and hardly even looked at the crowd let alone speak to them. One of the following things was happening: either he was doing a whole “rockstar” act where he was pretending he didn’t really care, he genuinely hates his newfound teenage fanbase, or they’re tired. Or considering how different this album is from the previous three, they’re just trying something new they aren’t as good at yet.

Whatever the reason, the set lacked connection and character. The strength of Fontaines D.C. is the band’s simple but powerful sound with the poetry of Grian’s lyricism. But very little of that translated to me at the show. People weren’t really dancing, though they did know all the words, and there was never a threat to my glasses.

Fontaines D.C.

At one point, Grian stood with his arms outstretched in a way that said “I know you love me.” And I’ll take it a step further to say it meant he knew people would devour whatever they did on stage so they didn’t have to try that hard. It does feel rich for me to complain about them not putting on more of a show. Like when your boss is mad that you did the task you were assigned but weren’t happy while doing it. But here I am begging for any evidence that they wanted to be there.

Fontaines D.C.

From a technical standpoint, seven people switched instruments in nearly every song on stage. It sounded good but there were points where the sound person just couldn’t keep up with the literal musical chairs and things got a little wobbly. And other than the ever-present lights, which I can now call “brat green,” there was very little visual interest on stage.

It’s not all their fault. I was standing between a kid who learned “I love you” in sign language that day and a Gen X woman trying to film the show with her flash on. But it certainly didn’t help.

I’m sure Fontaines D.C. will catapult even further into superstardom, and they deserve it. I just hope the next time I see them they have the charisma and stage presence their music warrants.

Photos by Julia Mela

Baroque / classique

Arion Orchestre Baroque and SMAM | And Royalty Was Satisfied!

by Alexis Desrosiers-Michaud

The Arion Baroque Orchestra and the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal (SMAM) joined forces Saturday evening at the Maison Symphonique to launch their respective seasons. For the occasion, a program dedicated to works composed for various British sovereigns of the era. 2024-2025 marks SMAM’s 50th season.

In the interests of fairness, the two conductors will each conduct one half of the concert, with Andrew McAnerney (SMAM) taking charge of the first half. Unfortunately, George Frideric Handel’s Zadok the Priest, which opens the concert, lacks direction. The 22 bars that precede the choir’s entrance must be interminable in their slow harmonic progression, so much so that the entrance presents itself as a veritable revelation. Yet there is little movement, and the chorus, despite its good power, fails to fill the gap. God save the King (not to be confused with the national anthem of the same name) is the best part of this piece, thanks to the agility shown by the choristers in their vocalizations, performed at rapid speed.

This was followed by two a capella anthems, in which the vocal prowess of the choristers could be admired. First, in William Byrd’s O Lord, may Thy servant Elizabeth our Queen, the accuracy of their timbre was thrilling, while in Thomas Weelkes’ magnificent O Lord, grant the King a long life, the direction applied to each long note enabled all seven voices to make themselves heard with ease and dictate the phrasing.

It’s up to the musical directors of our institutions to decide which works will hang on to the jewels of the repertoire to complete a program. Sometimes, it turns out, we are treated to an uninteresting work, obviously placed to “make time”. But fortunately, as was the case this evening, we are treated to a complete discovery of a jewel that we feel we should see live at least once more in our lives. William Boyce’s three anthems for the coronation of George III are now on that list. The first anthem is lively, the slow part full of sweetness and the end flamboyant, and ends with a superbly beautiful delay in the cadence. The second is sublime, with the continuo as sole accompaniment, leaving all the space to the choir. Don’t remember the 3rd.

The anthem at the end of the first half falls flat, unfortunately. In Handel’s My Heart is inditing, McAnerney’s conducting is discreet and somewhat lacking in energy. He mostly leads the chorus, which responds with great aplomb, but too often leaves the orchestra to its own devices.

After intermission, Mathieu Lussier takes the baton in Music for the Royal Fireworks by the same Handel. His direction is much more committed and demonstrates the desired articulations. In the Overture, the brass lead the way with bold crescendos. Hats off to the oboes and bassoons in the bourrée and first minuet for their lightness and balance of sound.

In the last two anthems, Lussier conducts both ensembles as one. The same articulations are noticeable in the musicians and choristers, more so than in the first part. For example, in Let justice and judgment, the second extract from Let thy hand be strengthened, you can feel the weight that is placed on every first beat of every bar, both in the introduction and in every choral entry.

As an encore, conductors McAnerney and Lussier offered Messiah’s famous Hallelujah, inviting the audience to sing along. What does this have to do with royalty? The story goes that it’s a direct link to tradition that the audience rises to its feet at Messiah performances. At the London premiere, King George II is said to have stood up at this very moment when he heard the words “King of kings, and Lord of lords” repeated.

And when the king rises, everyone rises.

Baroque / Classical Singing

Les Violons du Roy | Emotions and Pleasure with a Sharp Voice for Bach

by Alexandre Villemaire

Audiences packed Salle Bourgie on Friday, October 11 to attend Les Violons du Roy’s concert, the first of the ensemble’s 2024-2025 season in the metropolis, which marks the start of its 40th anniversary celebrations.

In their introductory remarks, both Caroline Louis and Olivier Godin, the directors of Salle Bourgie, underlined the important contribution made by the ensemble, and recalled the long partnership between the venue and Les Violons du Roy, notably through the performance of the complete Bach cantatas, which has occupied their respective programs for the past eight years, and provided some very intense musical moments. In fact, the evening’s program included a small nod to this. Bernard Labadie, founder and musical director of the chamber orchestra from 1984 to 2014, also addressed the audience, highlighting the wild adventure and “little miracle” that is Les Violons du Roy. The conductor also thanked one of the founding members, violinist Nicole Trotier, who was retiring after this concert, which will conclude with another performance at the Palais Montcalm on October 12. The stage was thus set for an evening rich in emotion and pleasure. And that’s exactly the spirit in which the musicians of Les Violons du Roy gave this concert.

Divided into two parts, each was introduced by a Handel concerto grosso. Performed with energy and vivacity, these interpretations of instrumental concertante works, in addition to demonstrating the musicians’ playing and the orchestra’s palette of sound colors, served as preludes to Bach’s two cantatas for viola, featuring British countertenor Hugh Cutting. An alumnus of St. John’s College, Cambridge, the young opera artist is the first countertenor to win both the Kathleen Ferrier Award (2021) and the title of BBC New Generation Artist (2022 to 2024). One of the challenges of a voice like Cutting’s lies in projection, and it’s fair to say that on this level, the young singer particularly stands out with great vocal power, controlled and complementing the amplitude of the orchestra’s sound.

He is particularly noted for the clarity of his performances. His German pronunciation is precise, and the musical and textual discourse he weaves is limpid. His vocal agility came to the fore in the second aria of the cantata Geist und Seele wird verwirret [Spirit and soul are confused]. The aria “Gotte hat alles wohlgemacht” [God has made everything perfect] features a dialogue between organ and voice, supported by continuo. The vocal line competes with high-flying vocalizations that Cutting delivers with a heartfelt and admirable performance, but where one sometimes felt that he came to the end of his phrases slightly at the end of his aria, giving the impression that the phrase is incomplete and overshadowing the finales of certain words. The projection of surtitles at the back of the stage compensated for these slight imperfections, which on the whole never detracted from the meaning of the performance. Mélissande McNabney’s organ playing is also to be commended for the dexterity of her interpretation in lines just as exalted as those interpreted by Cutting.

With its serene, pastoral character, the second cantata of the evening, Vergnüte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust [Blessed peace, beloved bliss], showcased Hugh Cutting’s hushed, crystalline timbre. A particularly expressive moment, the aria “Wie jammern mich doch die verkehrten Herzen” [How I pity these rogue hearts] is a sparse dialogue devoid of any basso continuo, in which the string instruments (violins 1-2 and viola) play in unison with the voice and a two-manual organ. As Bourgie does not own such an instrument, two positive organs were required on stage for this piece. Played by Mélissande McNabney and Tom Annand, this distinct keyboard interplay highlighted the intertwining of vocal and instrumental lines, petrified of tense chords, accentuating the air’s plaintive, afflictive character.

Les Violons du Roy and Bernard Labadie found in this young British man the ideal Bach voice for their program. Hugh Cutting made an impressive debut, full of emotion, clarity and refinement, which the audience in Salle Bourgie returned with a long ovation.

Photo Credit: Pierre Langlois

Baroque / classique

Ensemble Caprice | JSB, Humor, Relevance, Real and Fake Intruder…

by Alexis Desrosiers-Michaud

On Friday at the Maison symphonique, Ensemble Caprice and their conductor Matthias Maute presented the first of their four programs for the year 2024-2025. There was plenty of Johann Sebastian Bach and humor in this concert, with pertinent demonstrations, a fake and a real intruder.

The three Concertos brandebourgeois were each preceded by Maute transcriptions of Préludes et Fugues by… Dmitri Shostakovich! Surprising, but it’s easy to see why this is a Baroque concert.

Before the concert, the conductor explains that on his return from Leipzig, where he judged a piano competition, Shostakovich had the idea of writing his own Préludes et Fugues, in the cantor’s image. Even though they are written in an old-fashioned style, Shostakovich’s own style is quickly apparent.

Maute’s transcriptions are very well realized, even matching the orchestrations of the concertos to which the Préludes were paired.

In the 4th concerto, the dialogue between the violin and the two flute soloists is clear. The best moment is the movement, where the counterpoint is remarkable. Next comes the 1st concerto, which is denser. We’re not dealing here with soloists, but with groups of soloists; there’s the violino solo (Maute’s “baby violin”), but three oboes and two natural horns.

To demonstrate how Bach layers everything together musically, the conductor asks each section to play the first bar of the concerto separately before the performance. In this way, the audience leaves with solid reference points to follow. As the icing on the cake, to demonstrate just what a minuet is, first violinist Olivier Brault even gives a much-appreciated dance demonstration.

Musically, it’s a success, despite the fact that the violino is often lost in the density. The horns punctuate the rhythm of the movements and the ancient oboes bring an amber color, less nasal than the modern oboe. The slow movement particularly highlights this section, with a perfect balance of voices that clearly distinguishes the three instruments.

Then it all comes together until the end of the last movement, when the orchestra comes to a screeching halt to leave these same desks in a fantastic duet (or duel?), with some of them dancing while they play. Which makes you laugh before concluding.

After the interval, another Matthias Maute demonstration, this time illustrating the difference between a modern symphony orchestra and a baroque orchestra. We are treated to a simple chord, with (modern) and without (baroque) vibrato, on which the note is allowed to diminish after the attack.

Next came an excellent performance of the symbolic 3rd Brandenburg Concerto. Symbolic because for Concerto #3, there are 3 violin parts, 3 viola parts and 3 cello parts, so lots of voices.

Maute’s direction injects a great deal of energy, encouraging the musicians to move towards the first beats of the musical phrases.

They flow from one to the next. Dance rhythms are skilfully underlined. Maute picks up speed just enough to maintain the Allegro spirit, while keeping the counterpoint clear. Just follow the conductor to understand where the themes are in the two main movements.

For the second movement, “the shortest in all Johann Sebastian Bach’s music. Two chords!”, Caprice plays just the two chords, instead of letting a musician briefly improvise a cadenza, as is often the case. The Musette BWV Anh 126 that follows is party music so bewitching that you have to restrain yourself from clapping your hands. The musicians stroll and dance around the stage.

To introduce Bach’s 3rd Suite for Orchestra, Caprice plays a transcription by Maute of Tomaso Albinoni’s Adagio, the real intruder. Incidentally, the program falsely refers to Albinoni as the composer of this piece, but in reality it was Remo Giazotto who, in 1950, composed the work based on pieces from various drafts of other Albinoni pieces. Honestly, we’re still trying to figure out why this piece was included in this concert. Besides having nothing to do with Bach’s music, it breaks the mood between the Musette and the Suite. Nor was it an interpretation that will go down in history. Adagio means slowly, which is not the case with Caprice, which takes on a more moderato tempo.

The Suite is a fitting conclusion to the concert. Maute emphasizes the appearance of baroque timpani and trumpets, which then punctuate the rhythms of the various dances. In the Air, known for its ability to be played on the G string, the violins surpass themselves in phrasing and support, without vibrato, of the impeccable notes. The orchestra’s support of the dissonances contributes to the lyricism of the melody. In short, Albinoni/Giazotto goes where it has never gone before.

Crédit photos: Tam Lan Truong