Far be it from me to diminish the quality of yesterday’s performances by the guest artists at the (now) classic eclectic Christmas concert by the Orchestre métropolitain and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Mélissa Bédard makes a strong impression in Glory Alleluia and Minuit, chrétiens (O Holy Night). Her full contralto (non operatic) voice, very accurate and free of unnecessary embellishments, stood out. Kim Richardson did the same with other classics such as White Christmas and I’ll be Home for Christmas. Then there was the lyrical sensation of the hour, Élizabeth St-Gelais, who gave us Les Anges dans nos campagnes (Angels We Have Heard On High) and a rather successful Sainte Nuit (Silent Night) sung in Innu (St-Gelais’ indigenous Nation). There was also a fine duet with Michel Rivard, with a heartfelt Gens du pays. Rivard also offered C’est dans la famille, initially a little vocally fragile, but authentic. 

Taurey Butler, Mr ‘’Charlie Brown Christmas’’ at Bourgie Hall each season, with the excellent Wali Muhammad on drums and Morgan Moore on double bass, gave us some lovely jazz flights of fancy on the piano (no Charlie Brown, though. That’s reserved for the other hall) in a few traditional titles from the repertoire, and fiddler David Boulanger treated us to a very pleasant Petit concerto for Carignan and orchestra by André Gagnon, with Oleg Larshin, OM’s first violin. Well-controlled contrasts between the ‘classical’ solos of Larshin and Boulanger’s fiddlings, modern echoes of Yehudi Menuhin and Jean Carignan, for whom the work was composed. A true miniature masterpiece, it was accompanied by another of Gagnon’s must-haves: an extract from his 1992 album Noël, the warm and gently melancholy Ronde des bergers (Shepherd’s dance). I’d never paid attention to this detail before, but the horn solos are formidable! Even the ever-perfect Louis-Philippe Marsolais learned this the hard way. Of course, the finale was performed by everyone at the same time, an essential communion embodied by the Beau Dommages/Michel Rivard classic: 23 December. It was a great success, bringing people together in an ecumenical way and reflecting the image of a Quebec that is both ‘’traditional’’’ and coloured by its modern diversity. Well done.  

In short, everyone rose to the occasion, and then some. Good humour reigned supreme, and the stage and the entire Maison symphonique shone with a thousand colours, in a cosy, inviting atmosphere. So hats off to them. But the reason I wanted to include Antoine Gratton’s name in my title is that the supreme link between all the pieces, all the performances, all the musical styles evoked in this secular and musical mass, the unifying factor that enabled us to spend almost two hours, without intermission and without any boredom, well hooked into the proceedings, this indispensable secret of success, is Antoine Gratton’s arrangements.

The singer-songwriter, who once called himself A Star, has also been a skilled arranger of symphonic pop concerts for some years now. Yesterday, he came up on top thanks to the originality of the scores he produced for the orchestra and choir, which provided a brilliant accompaniment to the above-mentioned performances. No matter how well-known the tunes, Gratton knows how to sprinkle his arrangements with a host of surprises for the ears, be they harmonic, colouristic or rhythmic. Here’s just one example: the counterpoint between the orchestra’s bells and the backing singers’ clapping hands in a passage from My Favourite Things. Delightful. 

The arranger is too often forgotten in this kind of event, but he shouldn’t be, especially not in the case of this concert, which could have turned into a litany of syrupy melodies strung together interminably, had it been for other, less creative pens. Thousands of dinners of turkey, tourtière and cranberry sauce are the same all over Quebec during the festive season. But sometimes there’s a chef in the kitchen, hiding behind his or her pots and pans, who manages to reinvent the classics and bring them all together in a way that’s original enough to be noticed. And all this without going overboard and leaving a bitter taste in the mouth. In cases like this, let’s invite that person to the table and honour him-her (which is what happened on stage yesterday). 

Let’s not doubt for a moment that there will be a 2025 edition.