It is a tradition that has continued since the beginning of the Virée classique: at each edition, amateur musicians come together to form an ad hoc orchestra and perform pieces from the symphonic repertoire to the audience gathered at the Complexe Desjardins. This Symphonie de la Virée, which has established itself as one of the most eagerly awaited and popular events of this mini festival organized by the OSM, attracts the attention and ears of many attentive and curious passers-by.
Conducting the various instrumentalists is Adam Johnson, newly appointed music and artistic director of the Laval Symphony Orchestra, who has been commissioned this year with a program that flirts with both familiar repertoire and new discoveries, including several local composers.
The orchestra began with Felix Mendelssohn’s Overture to The Hebrides, an energetic and dynamic piece with lyrical lines and percussive string passages. This was followed by a suite of three dances by Florence Price, one of the most important American composers of the 20th century and the first African American woman to have one of her symphonies performed by a major US orchestra. Dances in the Canebreaks, one of her last pieces, is steeped in African-American folk inflections with energetic, lyrical, and lively movements, marked by exchanges and interactions between the strings and brass and passages accompanied by pizzicato.
From Russian-born Canadian composer Airat Ichmouratov, the orchestra played his overture The Myth of the Falcon, a programmatic work based on the mythical bird of the Hungarian people, of whom they are said to be the descendants. It is an extremely colorful work in which Ichmouratov’s talent as an orchestrator is evident, particularly in the passage leading up to the final climax of the piece, which surprised many with its sudden change in dynamics.
The concert concluded with an excerpt from Maxime Goulet’s Symphonie de la tempête du verglas (Symphony of the Ice Storm). The movement, entitled Chaleur, represents, with luminous energy, the mutual aid that took place during the extreme weather event of 1998. Jig and rigadoon rhythms run through this work, which was conducted by Rafael Payare. A frenzied conclusion that celebrated the love of music for these musicians from all walks of life.
Photo : Gabriel Fournier
