In honor of the 80e Robert Charlebois’ birthday, the OSM offered a symphonic setting for an anthology of his songs on Thursday. This unforgettable evening led by Jacques Lacombe celebrated the “extraordinary ordinariness” of a Quebec icon.
This was a first for Robert Charlebois with the OSM at the Maison symphonique. The singer had already collaborated twice with the orchestra at the time of the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier: in 1970, participating in “Popular Concerts” in arrangements and under the direction of Léon Bernier (excerpts from a concert can be found on YouTube); then in 2005, under the direction of Charles Barbeau, with arrangements by Gilles Ouellet.
The songs chosen for this 2024 vintage by arranger and trombonist Hugo Bégin were very different from those of 2005. We found April on Mars And Ordinary in the first part; Fu Man Chu, I will return to Montreal And Lindbergh in second, or only a third of the titles.
Aesthetic change
Since 2005, the aesthetic of the OSM’s “Pop Concerts” has changed a lot, notably under the influence of orchestrators such as Simon Leclerc and Blair Thomson. It is no longer, as it once was, a juxtaposition of two incompatible worlds — strings and a large orchestra facing a ” band » exogenous with rhythm section – but of the creation of an original symphonic universe.
The height of the conception of the symphony orchestra as a useless servile foil (for a carpet of strings here and there) is materialized in the project “Ferland Charlebois symphonique 1999” with the Orchestre de Laval which can be seen on YouTube.
Yet the intrinsic orchestral dimension of many of Charlebois’ songs easily opens the symphonic path. This is exactly what distinguishes the menu of this concert of the 80e anniversary. Robert Charlebois, Hugo Bégin and the OSM drew on the prolific period of 1969 (album Quebec Love) to 1976 (album Long distance) of the singer, passing by Solidarity And A very ordinary guywith a breakaway in 1981 for Happy in love.
The protagonists of the show combined Robert Charlebois’ desire to illustrate the “invisible films that hide behind words”, as announced by the singer at the beginning of the evening, and the songs, carrying his words, which lent themselves quite naturally to orchestral treatment. The counter-example, difficult to symphonize, was the essential Fu Man Chubut Hugo Bégin did very well with the trombones, the snare drum, a small choir, the woodwinds, a treatment in the form of a big band and the use of the organ at the end.
When we return to the Fu Man Chu original, we realize to what extent its sonorities fix it in the 1970s while such a successful orchestral treatment makes the work timeless. Bégin’s tricks often include a skillful use of the organ of the Maison symphonique. What could be more luminous and natural than this instrument for Phoebus and Boreas, the latter character being a sort of god of the winds. It is for all this that we are astounded that such an event, of such heritage content, was not filmed, recorded, preserved at all costs.
Velvet
Opposite of Fu Man Chuit is an understatement to say that Two golden women, Mount Athosthe perpetual motion of Dying young (where Charlebois blamed himself for having had a memory lapse over some of Gilles Vigneault’s words) or Insomnia call the orchestra as if on velvet.
But other titles, such as Mrs. Bertrand Or Ordinaryfeed on a rhythm section, the first in essence, the second in its gradation. Like, therefore, the evolution of recent years under the impetus of his colleagues, Hugo Bégin’s work integrates everything into the orchestra (without a separate rhythm section).
The rhythmic framework is there, in the background, by the snare drum. But the gradations are made by the orchestration in the broad sense, and not by a dynamic amplification of the percussion. The flagship song Ordinary was “cathedral-like”, with the contribution of a choir, brass and even the organ. To end on a high note, Jacques Lacombe, very invested in the project, left the baton to an ecstatic singer to conclude the first part.
During this first part, the contralto Rose Naggar-Tremblay began by giving a reply in a tone that was a bit too lyrical to the star in Sensation. The singer’s color was impeccable in Happy in love And Earth Love in tandem with Frédéric Antoun. Charlebois delegated Earth Love (plays long, sustained notes) to operatic voices, with masterful effect. The duality between the anti-militarist lyrics and the Canon Pachelbel’s work is much better highlighted when the Canon is played in the orchestra.
Rose Naggar-Tremblay was a luminous partner for Robert Charlebois in Mrs. Bertrandwhere she relaxed into a fiery and irresistible duet, then into Lindbergwhere the variety of its colours and the freedom of its singing brought the audience to its feet. It very discreetly coloured I will return to Montreal.
Throughout the evening, Robert Charlebois impressed with his vocal presence… And it was necessary given the increasing decibels of the orchestrations! He had the very good idea of concentrating his efforts and resources on this vocal performance, abandoning his usual keyboard performances, perfectly maintained by the OSM pianist.
Two more recent songs were reserved for encores: Don’t cry if you love me (album Everything is fine2010), a song inspired by a text by Saint Augustine, then And here it is from the eponymous 2019 album to close the evening, a song that Charlebois, gripped by emotion, finished with a strangled voice in front of a distraught audience.
It is true that when you think about it, you have to decipher this film behind the words like a great arch on finitude. All this was so beautiful, so noble, so dignified, that thinking in parallel about the flow of the hourglass of life inevitably made the emotion rise.