Flutist Aram Mun wins McGill Concerto Competition

by Elena Mandolini

Following a process that began several weeks ago, the Romantic/Modern/Contemporary Concerto Competition of McGill University’s Schulich School of Music has crowned flutist Aram Mun the winner of the 2023-2024 edition, in the section devoted to brass, woodwinds and percussion. Mun stood out with an impressive performance of Carl Nielsen’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra FS 119. With her expansive vision, rich sound and fluid, easy technique, the young artist won the highest accolade from the jury, which included Simon Aldrich, Alexis Hauser, Trevor Dix, Jacinthe Forand and Kristie Ibrahim. Personally, I was also impressed by the evening’s other flutist, YuLai Guo, who played Jacques Ibert’s concerto, and above all by percussionist Charles Chiovato Rembaldo in a spectacular performance of Peter Eötvös’s Speaking Drums. The fourth candidate, trumpeter Christopher Keach, demonstrated beautiful sonorities, but largely insufficient technical mastery, in a concerto by Oskar Böhme. Too many missed notes and missed attacks, leaving a lot of burrs, certainly sunk the young man. If you’re a fan of up-and-coming classical musicians, you should know that the piano section of this same competition will have its preliminaries on February 12, followed by the finals on February 14.

For the calendar, click here.

Psych-Rock / Rock / Surf

Taverne Tour Day 2: TEKE::TEKE & the Surf Rock Demon Wave

by Stephan Boissonneault

I finally saw the wild psychedelic Japanese surf rock hydra, TEKE::TEKE live during Taverne Tour. Since moving to Montreal three years ago, all the true heads told me to check out TEKE:TEKE. So after missing them live a handful of times and listening to the latest fire release, Hagata, I knew the sold-out show was going to be a memorable one.

From the very moment they stepped on the stage (a bit late mind you, but hey that’s show business) I knew we were all in for a treat. The first aspect I noticed was how impeccably dressed they all were; the guitarists rocking what looked like vintage kimonos, the flutist in a traditional-looking silver dress and headband, and the lead singer, Maya Kuroki, dressed to the nines in colossal thick-framed glasses, dangling orb earrings, and a striking floral dress. TEKE:TEKE looks the part and for the next hour or so, they’re taking us on a journey of Japanese ghost stories that sound like the backdrop to a raucous Tarantino film. Like the sonic equivalent of a strange tsunami, each song grows and grows into a spiraling vortex of surfy rock n’ roll, and the band is unbelievably tight, trading out weird time signatures like nothing. The projection backdrops of the Japanese red sun, topographic mountains, cartoon birds, oni, and Kanji add to the spectacle of it all.

I can’t believe this band is only seven years old because they play like they have been doing so for decades. The encore of The Clash’s “Bankrobber,” sung in Japanese was also a bonus. If you like live music, it’s almost a disservice to not see TEKE::TEKE live. They’re a triumph.

Post-Punk

Taverne Tour Day 2: Sweeping Promises Deliver Punk Rock No-Wave Fury

by Stephan Boissonneault

I love being surprised by a live show … and I’ll admit it’s becoming rarer and rarer as a music journalist of almost a decade, but one set that left me stupefied during Taverne Tour was from Kansas’ post-punk/no-wave rock group, Sweeping Promises. The combined vocal powerhouse and fuzzy bass riffs of Lira Mondal and the angular, adrenaline-punk guitar of Caufield Schnug was excellent. Schnug knows punk rock guitar like the back of his hand—sounding a bit like The Fall and Interpol smashed together. I also really enjoyed his antics of jumping and maintaining a healthy power stance throughout the set. He owned the universe.

I guess if I was doing my job right I would have done a bit of research before, seeing how the group is on Sub Pop … but I was very glad to go in cold. I’ll be checking out all of the current and future Sweeping Promises material in the near future.

Garage Punk / Garage Rock / Rock

Taverne Tour Day 2: SAMWOY Gets Real For a Sec

by Lyle Hendriks

Something about SAMWOY’s onstage persona just cracks me up. He has a boisterous confidence up there, cracking goofy jokes nonstop like an emo version of Jack Black. It’s an ease of motion, a sure sign of someone who has been through the wringer of live music and discovered that they actually had what it took to make it. But beyond the humour and armour suit of confidence, Sam Woywitka also has no problem with vulnerability, with expressing his gratitude and love for everyone who comes out to listen and dance.

Musically, there’s a youthfulness that instills Sam’s work, with upbeat, yet aggressive indie alt vibes that get you moving and perhaps thinking about your ex. Initially, his set was relatively light, with the kind of emotional lyrics and angsty instrumentation we were all hoping for. But in a moment, I went from dancing around and having a good time to simply standing there, slack-jawed and a little misty-eyed as Sam played a song I’d never heard before.

Sam delivered a monologue that was part spoken word, part half-sung rap, telling the story of how he got into music. I guess this is common knowledge for many, but it was my first time hearing Sam’s story of waking from a coma at 17, his life irreversibly changed by a car crash that robbed his friend of life and Sam of his memory. He talks about nearly dying, about seeing his mom in a strange, purgatorial hotel room and being pushed away, back to life, back to the world, and back to the music that, today, drives him so completely. It was an unexpected twist of sensitivity and vulnerability that I hope to see more of in future SAMWOY shows.

Prog Rock / Psych-Rock / Rock

Taverne Tour Day 2: Population II is Exploding at the Seams

by Lyle Hendriks

I’ve had the chance to see Population II a number of times now, and they have never once failed to be completely exceptional. The Montreal-based psych-rock three-piece is, to me, the definition of doing a lot with a little. Demonstrating that the classic set-up of guitar, bass, and drums is only as restrictive as you want it to be. Indeed, Population II seems to thrive within these apparent limitations (with the help of the occasional synth part), popping out and bursting at the seams like an overstuffed suitcase of face-melting riffs, pungent basslines, and unbelievable percussion.

One of the most impressive aspects of Population II is their drummer and vocalist, Pierre-Luc Gratton. His voice is perfect for the project, with an insistent, almost indignant singing tone reminiscent of King Gizzard. His drumming is also a bonafide phenomenon, with so much technical skill and sophistication that it begins to look freeform and naive, like a bullet train that’s about to rattle right off the rails. But what brings Population II its energy and irresistible urgency is the fact that he does both of these things simultaneously, his entire body and soul engaged in a frantic bloodletting of what I can only assume are his deepest, darkest demons. And when Gratton swings the mic out of his way and gears up for an instrumental break, you know you’re about to get blown right off your feet.

New rule for Montreal-ers: you never, under any circumstances, miss a Population II show.

Folk / Pop / R&B / Soul/R&B

Taverne Tour Day 2: Yves Jarvis provides a warm set of acoustic ballads

by Stephan Boissonneault

I pulled up just as Yves Jarvis was through a quarter of his Taverne Tour set at Aux 33 Tours. The record store venue was the perfect setting for the weird, yet warm devotional acoustic R&B folk he played. It was interesting to see many passersby come into the store to look through the record bins and be stopped dead in their tracks after hearing Jarvis.

His technical guitar-playing skill was evident, perhaps something you don’t pay too much attention to when listening to his whacky experimental pop on the album, The Zug. But this performance was raw and intimate, feeling like we were all Jarvis’ friends listening to him play new songs in his family living room. All of his songs felt stripped back like he was still testing the waters on a few chords or vocal lines, but Jarvis is a terrific performer—cracking jokes throughout his set while looking at his thrown-together setlist on a small piece of paper. “I didn’t really plan this. This is actually my grocery list.” It’s a rarity to really see an artist like an open book as they are trying out new songs, especially in a low-key setting such as a record store. Good job Taverne Tour and Yves Jarvis.

Experimental / Contemporary / Free Jazz / Jazz Rock / Noise / Rock / Surf

Taverne Tour, Day 1: Yonatan Gat, planet guitar

by Alain Brunet

Yonatan Gat is a living legend to his fervent fans, who turned out on Thursday to meet him at the Sala Rossa. An Israeli guitarist, composer, improviser and bandleader transplanted to New York, he is the guitarist’s embodiment of openness and extreme eclecticism, values we at PAN M 360 unreservedly support. Since his music can be found in the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, and since his quotations range from Dick Dale-style surf rock to the famous Brazilian samba theme, we’d like to talk to you about it.

Obviously, this authentic (and very likeable) guitar hero doesn’t claim to represent the whole planet, but his integrations reflect an immense openness to the whole world. Not only garage punk, but also free jazz, jazz rock, groove, noise, guitar virtuosity and excellent accompaniment – you name it! The last piece on the program lasted some fifteen minutes and took the form of a long jazz improvisation in rock mode, apparently simple and groovy forms within which pearls are constantly spotted.

The story goes that his first garage band, Monotonix, was banned from almost every venue in Israel, forcing him into exile. Today, Jonathan Gat may not be a demigod in his own firmament, but his excellent reputation means that he can be heard in every small and medium-sized venue on this small planet. If what we heard at the Taverne Tour is anything to go by, it’s not about to stop.

Dance-Punk / Experimental / Synth-Punk

Taverne Tour Day 1: Slash Need – For When You Want/Need to Let Loose

by Lyle Hendriks

“Slash Need is like, my favourite band,” said a friend as we chatted between sets at Le Ministère. “It’s just fucking crazy. I love it.” When I said I had never heard them before, his excitement doubled down, a knowing look of ‘you don’t know what you’re in for’ painted upon his face. Within 30 seconds of Slash Need’s Dusty Lee and Alex Low (along with their two backup dancers) taking the stage, I completely understood the hype. The aesthetics of the group were the first to take me in. Lee, dressed in latex and with her face painted in severely fierce makeup, stood over us with the utmost confidence, like a monarch overseeing their populace. In the back, we had Alex Low, who was the embodiment of ’80s vice sleaze in his leather jacket, orange glasses, and fingerless gloves.

As the first song started, the floor began to shake, both from the glimmering yet grimy instrumentation provided by Low, along with the rapidly escalating motion of the crowd around me. The music itself felt like the sexy, dirty, unapologetically depraved club beats of the future, turning the entire room into a red-light district of breathless bodies and breakneck beats. Equal parts glamorous pop and jagged experimentation, the energy never dipped, thanks in large part to the captivating confidence of Lee and their two balaclava-toting backup dancers.

I can honestly say that I’ve never seen a set quite like Slash Need. My friend was right—it’s just fucking crazy. I’ll see you on the floor at the next one.

photos by Stephan Boissonneault

Alternative Rock / Electronic / Jazz / Soul/R&B

Taverne Tour, Day 1: Hawa B, hatching very soon

by Alain Brunet

Nadia Hawa Baldé aka HAWA B, is on a meteoric rise, accelerating in 2024. Clearly, 5 or 6 years spent in the Montreal underground have benefited her, and we are witnessing her imminent blossoming.

PAN M 360 brought you the story last year in the glowing words of Théo Reinhardt. Let’s add another layer with this easy prediction: this artist is a black diamond who will continue to shine in the months and years to come!

We all know that the Montreal scene is now full of excellent singers of color – Magi Merlin comes to mind first – but Hawa B is already at the top among them. And among the rare artists with real international potential, not least because this artist doesn’t stick to the artistic clichés attributed to her skin. Her stage presence and presence, her unique sense of humor, her audacity, her free-thinking, her well-judged irreverence, her vocal talent, her artistic openness

Invited to the Taverne Tour alongside one-man band Félix Petit (Les Louanges, Hubert Lenoir, Laurence Anne, Safia Nolin, FELP, etc.), not to mention a surprise appearance by Greg Beaudin (Dead Obies, Brown Family), she offered an impressive set at Casa del Popolo on Thursday, following a spectacular performance by queer artist Flex – an excellent singer at the crossroads of soul and electro.

Hawa B’s artistic direction is perhaps not yet fully defined, and there are still strings to be tied to ensure that her multiple influences find their way into a fluid and cohesive approach : to the R&B and hip-hop foundations, juxtapose Mandingo music, contemporary jazz, indie rock, noise and also electro, as we could see with the performance of Forget, first extract from the EP Sadder but Better to be released on April 5 on the Duprince label. For the most talented artists, eclecticism and cohesion are by no means contradictory.

And the words? ” Forget is about addiction to strong emotions. When you can’t find peace anywhere else and adrenaline becomes the main source of pleasure, it can be hard to know what’s good for you. It’s more appealing to live the moment to the full, and easier to avoid confrontation with yourself, even at the expense of your mental health”, she says. she claims in a press release.

Strong emotions indeed. Hawa B is an authentic performer, prone to trance on stage. She doesn’t hesitate to climb up onto the Casa bar, drag her stool across the floor and throw it into the crowd, only to come to her senses… and ours. Wow!

Strong emotions indeed. Hawa B is an authentic stage performer, prone to trance on stage. She doesn’t hesitate to climb up onto the Casa bar, drag her stool across the floor and throw it into the crowd, only to come to her senses… and ours. Wow!

Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between, we bow to Hawa B!

Dance-Punk / Hardcore / Synth-Punk

Taverne Tour Day 1: Deli Girls unleash the digital hardcore war machine

by Stephan Boissonneault

After a spirited set from Toronto’s noisy experimental new wave punk duo, @slashneed the Taverne Tour audience at Le Ministère might have been unprepared for what followed. Brooklyn, New York’s Deli Girls, another duo that delves into dance-punk fury, took the stage and brought with them a wall of distorted sounds that sometimes felt like an airplane taking off, a wall of glass shattering, or synthy madness. This is all thanks to the masked Deli Girls’ DJ, Hatechild.

The leader of the group, Dan Orlowski began the set with some maniacal auto-tuned laughs, sporting some Joker-esque warpaint and a plaid skirt that read “Suck My Dick.” After some well-prepared screams about pain and societal collapse, Orlowski looked at the crowd and said “Do you guys mosh?” before flinging themselves into the crowd and smashing their body against and with the crowd in sweaty discordance. Orlowski might have some of the most controlled screaming I’ve ever heard, a pure punk rock ethos and well-executed digital mania, fringing between hyper pop, synthwave, and breakbeats. The set was pure arcane, untouchable in the grand scheme of live Montreal shows. Deli Girls is indeed, a rare breed.

27th Gala des Prix Opus: All The Results!

by Alexandre Villemaire

The major annual gathering of the Quebec music community was in full swing for its twenty-seventh edition at Salle Bourgie on Sunday, February 4. Bringing together performers, presenters and artisans of concert music, the Conseil québécois de la musique and various partners presented 30 awards, including 8 special bonus prizes, to salute and honor their work. Comedian Jocelyn Lebeau hosted the event for the third year running, delivering a dynamic, fast-paced presentation based on the less conservative formula of the previous edition, with blocks of awards and discussions with three or four winners from different categories, rather than the traditional acknowledgements. These discussions, in which the winners were invited to choose a word that summed up their project, led to some lively exchanges and funny moments. The gala’s musical entertainment was provided by the ensemble collectif9, who, in addition to opening and closing the ceremony, punctuated the announcement of the winners with a variety of instrumental interventions. The audience was also transported by Serhiy Salov’s spirited interpretation of Chopin’s Fantaisie-Impromptue Op. 66, and enchanted by the music of the Masmoudi Quartette with their piece Labyrinthe, where jazz, tango and klezmer music come together. Framing these interventions, the opening and closing numbers respectively featured the works of Nicole Lizée (Another Living Soul) and Romanian composer Sapo Perapaskero (Tot Taraful) in what was, in our opinion, one of the most varied and interesting musical animations of recent editions.

Here are the winners for the 2022-2023 season:

Concerts

Concert of the year – Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music

Handel’s Alcina : l’enchantement, Les Violons du Roy, Jonathan Cohen, conductor, Karina Gauvin, Lucy Crowe, Rowan Pierce, sopranos, Kayleigh Decker, mezzo-soprano, Stuart Jackson, tenor, Avery Amereau, contralto, Nathan Berg, bass, February 9, 2023

Concert of the Year – Classical, Romantic and Post-Romantic Music

Les notes lumineuses, Bruce Liu, piano, Société musicale Fernand-Lindsay – Opus 130 and Centre culturel Desjardins de Joliette, April 23, 2023

Concert of the year – Modern and contemporary music

Le Quatuor selon Berio, Quatuor Molinari, May 19, 2023

Concert of the Year – Contemporary and electroacoustic music

Elle a son mot à dire, Ensemble SuperMusique, Joane Hétu, conductor, Productions SuperMusique, in collaboration with Groupe Le Vivier, May 3, 2023

Concert of the Year – Jazz

Marianne Trudel, piano solo: “La musique et la vie”, Marianne Trudel, piano, February 12, 2023

Concert of the Year – World Music

Transcestral – Sufi and aboriginal encounter, Oktoecho, Katia Makdissi-Warren, composer and conductor, Anouar Barrada, Sufi singing, Buffalo Hat Singers, Moe Clark, singing and drumming, Nina Segalowitz, Inuit throat singing, Joséphine Bacon, poetry, singing and the artists, December 9, 2022

Concert of the year – Multiple repertoires

Antoine Tamestit: Bach, Shostakovich and Stradivarius, Les Violons du Roy, Antoine Tamestit, conductor, April 13, 2023

Albums

Album of the year – Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music

Jean Baur: Chamber Music, Accademia de’ Dissonanti, Passacaille Records

Album of the Year – Classical, Romantic and Post-Romantic Music

Massenet: Complete melodies for voice and piano, A-S. Neher, A. Bareil, A. Bélanger, A. Figueroa, D. Jacques, E. Hasler, É. Laporte, F. Bourget, F. Antoun, H. Laporte, J. Marchand, J-F. Lapointe, J.Lampron-Dandonneau, J. Boulianne, K. Gauvin, M. Simard-Galdès, M. Boucher, M-É. Pelletier, M-N. Lemieux, M. Losier, O. Godin, S. Naubert, S. Tétreault, V. Milot, ATMA Classique

Album of the year – Modern, contemporary music

Lumières nordiques, Vincent Boilard, Quatuor Molinari, ATMA Classique

Album of the Year – Contemporary, electroacoustic music

Au Diable Vert, René Lussier, ReR Megacorp & Circum Disc

Book of the Year

La musique qui vient du froid. Arts, chants et danses des Inuit. Jean-Jacques Nattiez, foreword by Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk, Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal, 2022

Special prizes

Atypical duo Stick&Bow, featuring marimbist Krystina Marcoux and cellist Juan Sebastian Delgado, won the CINARS International Outreach Award ($2,000) and the Canada Council for the Arts Performer of the Year Award ($5,000).

Saskatchewan pianist Meagan Milatz was awarded the Discovery of the Year prize, which comes with a video production courtesy of Télé-Québec’s La Fabrique culturelle. For “the authenticity of her approach, filled with curiosity and interest in others [and] her music [which] are fantastic intercultural encounters”.

Katia Makdissi-Warren received the Opus Prize for Composer of the Year, along with $10,000 from the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec. Danielle Palardy-Roger’s Le Fil d’Ariane was awarded the Opus Prize for Creation of the Year.

The Opus Montréal – Inclusion et diversité prize offered by the Conseil des arts de Montréal $10,000 to Ensemble Caprice for their ClassiqueInclusif 2022-2023 project. The Opus Québec prize went to the Opéra de Québec for the 12th edition of its festival, while the Orchestre symphonique de Drummondville was awarded the Opus Régions prize for its concert Illumine la nuit: la symphonie illustrée. Among broadcasters, the Festival de Lanaudière won the Opus for Specialized Broadcaster of the Year, and Maximum 90, based in Carleton-sur-Mer, for Multidisciplinary Specialized Broadcaster. Olga Razenhofer, violinist with the Molinari Quartet, won the Opus for Artistic Director of the Year. For their OSMose Concert, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal received the $5,000 Production of the Year – Young Audience award from the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec. Groupe Le Vivier’s La Semaine du neuf : Hommage à Claude Vivier, featuring the music of this tragically deceased composer, was named Musical Event of the Year.

Honoured jointly with the Conseil québécois du patrimoine vivant, the group Bon débarras was awarded the prize for Concert of the Year in Quebec Traditional Music for Repères, which comes with a $1,000 cash prize. New Opus Prize partner Mundial Montréal, the global music industry’s renowned conference-festival, awarded the Album of the Year – World Music prize to Les Arrivants, an innovative trio featuring Amijai Shalev, Abdul Wahab Kayyali and Hamin Honari, whose album Home is a “bold fusion of Argentine tango traditions, Arabic music and Persian rhythms”. The prize was accompanied by a mentoring package and a conference.

It was a particularly touching and symbolic moment when Isolde Lagacé was honoured at Salle Bourgie. Isolde, who since 2008 has been Artistic Director of the Fondation Arte Musica and of Salle Bourgie, inaugurated in 2011 under her mandate, was warmly applauded by members of the community for her contribution and dedication to the promotion of concert music in Quebec. Thanks and touching video testimonials were delivered by patron Pierre Bourgie, Geneviève Soly, sister of the laureate, Caroline Louis and Olivier Godin, respectively General Manager and current Artistic Director of the hall, as well as French pianist Alexandre Tharaud. Alexandre Tharaud thanked her for her friendship, and underlined the warm welcome she and her team always extend to foreign musicians – a factor contributing to the recognition of Salle Bourgie as one of the most important concert halls in Canada and internationally. Full of gratitude, Isolde Lagacé praised the diversity and creativity of Quebec’s music scene. Télé-Québec’s La Fabrique culturelle has produced a video to get to know the winner better, which will be available on its website.

Poignant Darkness and Transcendent Light with Yannick Nézet-Séguin

by Frédéric Cardin

It’s a Saturday afternoon at the Maison Symphonique de Montréal: the hall is packed, and the average age of the audience is much younger than we’re often led to believe when it comes to classical music. What’s more, this audience is enthusiastic and attentive to a program of three works that are relatively unknown to the general public. There’s no denying it, classical music is alive and well in Montreal.

Perhaps it’s Yannick Nézet-Séguin, at the helm of his Orchestre métropolitain, who stimulates this interest. But let’s not deny ourselves the pleasure of witnessing a state of affairs that must make many other cities on the continent green with envy.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Karen Cargill cr Denis Germain-Orchestre métropolitain

A program of little-known works, as I was saying, with the exception of Poulenc’s Gloria, and even then. The concept on the poster was entitled De l’abîme aux étoiles, or, if you like, from the depths to the stars. It was mainly in the second half of the concert that this musical and symbolic journey was felt, with Lili Boulanger’s Psalm 130 “Du fond de l’abîme” (From the depths of the abyss), a dark, anguished work in which a small flame of hope nevertheless manages to impose itself, followed by Francis Poulenc’s scintillating Gloria, in which the essential balance of forces is reversed: a luminous journey through which a few clouds pass but never gather. I’ll come back to this.

The first half was taken up by an unsuspected gem: the Gaelic Symphony by American Amy Beach, which premiered in Boston in 1896 and thus becoming the very first symphony written and published by a woman, and played by a major orchestra in the United States.

It’s a relatively sunny piece, but the first movement contains references to a traditional Celtic tune, Dark Is The Night. Is this what links it with the program concept? Whatever it is, it remains rather tenuous, musically speaking. The symphony as a whole is not really steeped in darkness. It’s far from the initial abyss suggested by the concert’s title. As I said, it’s in the second half that this really takes shape.

But never mind, it doesn’t spoil anything other than the purist obsessions of semantics doctors. The Gaelic Symphony is carried by an orchestra that has muscle but never becomes excessively heavy. The orchestra is finely detailed and often transparent. Beach integrates many elements from traditional Celtic music, that of her ancestors from Ireland and Scotland. That said, she never turns it into a “folkloristic” caricature. The melodies are straightforward and appealing, and in the context of a beautifully coloured orchestration, one thinks of a sound world reminiscent of Russian or especially Eastern European music. Dvorak is an avowed model. One might even add that the Gaelic Symphony is what the Czech might have written had he taken a trip to the British Isles rather than the USA.

Impressions of dancing here and dramatic outbursts against an inspiring panorama elsewhere made this symphony a wonderful discovery for the visibly satisfied audience. I’d like to highlight the superb solo by Yukari Cousineau, the orchestra’s first violin, in the third movement. A powerfully expressive, richly enveloped sound, almost as if it had come from a viola. Magnificent!

As mentioned, it was in the second half that the upward journey into the light took place. Those who didn’t know that Lili Boulanger’s Psaume 130 for contralto, tenor, choir and orchestra is a masterpiece, perhaps one of the great works of classical modernity (yesterday sung only by mezzo Karen Cargill), surely left the concert having definitively swept all doubt from their minds.

Du fond de l’abîme (that’s the title) is taken from the Latin De profundis translated into French and portrays with probably the finest acuity the state of mind in which Lili Boulanger found herself at the time of completed writing, in 1916. The young woman died in 1918 at the age of 24, of Crohn’s disease (unknown at the time). Throughout her short life, she endured the torments of her illness and fought as hard as she could. This Psalm, in which she sets down on paper her distress, but also the faint but resilient glimmer of hope that inhabited her, is a remarkable creation, in which writing techniques interweave brilliantly to create a poignant dramatic discourse. Phrygian mode, octatonic scale, tonal scales, chromaticism and harmony interweave in a visionary canvas. If this sounds hermetic, rest assured: it’s wonderfully beautiful and touching, despite the ambient darkness. Therein lies the great genius of this composer, who could have revolutionized modern music even more profoundly had fate let her live. Cargill, despite her beautiful voice, seemed a little discreet. It was the chorus and orchestra that left their mark, in marvellous chiaroscuro nuances subtly woven by Yannick. A few hesitantly precise attacks in the opening bars prevent me from speaking of a divine moment. But it’s a very little caveat, and the emotional power generated by this exceptional piece remains intact. Bravo, Yannick!

The contrast could hardly be greater with Poulenc’s Gloria. One immediately recognizes the Frenchman’s touch, with its slightly irreverent good humour, even in the context of sacred music. Those who love his opera Dialogues des carmélites will find themselves on familiar ground, melodically and harmonically, when the Agnus dei arrives. Smiles of pleasure but with a few gentle shivers of spleen, this is the Gloria of this atypical and original composer.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, unsurprisingly, was immersed in the music and conveyed its emotional essence to his musicians with brio. Soprano Janai Brugger installed not on stage but next to the choir, made a very fine impression, with a voice projecting fluidly a beautiful light, particularly appropriate, and all this without exaggerated operatic emphasis.

A program and a concert that can unhesitatingly be described as a great success.