An exotic return to the Metropolitan

After the Orchester symphonique de Montréal on September 15, it was the turn of the Orchester Métropolitain to make its comeback on Sunday afternoon at the Maison symphonique. On the menu: a vibrant full of Daphnis and Chloe by Ravel and a creation featuring Inuk singer Elisapie Isaac.

The concert, presented in front of an almost full house, began with a eulogy to Lise Beauchamp, former principal oboe of the Orchestra who died suddenly in August. After a moving testimony by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the group interpreted the Funeral March of the Symphony n^oh 3, Eroicaby Beethoven while a video paid tribute to the deceased.

Then came THE exotic moment of the classic year. Elisapie – her artist name – arrives on stage wearing a black, red and silver rhinestone dress and sporting two huge red diamonds on her ears. She is preceded by her friend Sylvia Cloutier, for throat singing and Inuit drumming.

About fifteen minutes, Nunami Nipiit (“Echoes of the Earth” in Inuktitut) includes two songs from the Aboriginal artist’s latest album. The rest – a lot – comes from the skilful arranger François Vallières, violist in the orchestra, who gives us, so to speak, a foretaste of Daphnis and Chloe in the orchestral transitions (magnificent brass passages and tasty harmonic frictions).

The incantatory melodies of M^me Isaac often revolve around the same notes, which in itself is not a fault. The first is more exterior than the second, more meditative. We appreciate the – amplified – interpretation of the singer, a real “performer” entering a sort of trance as soon as she has a microphone in hand.

His colleague brings a completely original color, with throat songs passing at the speed of a kaleidoscope from abyssal rumblings to high-pitched exclamations.

Is the insertion of works by “pop” artists within classical concerts (orchestras usually reserve exclusive concerts for them) a way forward? Isn’t there a risk of scaring away part of the public, more inclined towards scholarly music (those who listen to The art of running away loop) to the OSM? We’ll see. The spectators on Sunday, in any case, gave the performers a warm ovation.

A flexible interpretation

In any case, there was a very rich chunk to eat after the break. You don’t hear the complete ballet so often in concert Daphnis and Chloea work with sounds from another world of which only excerpts are often played (Ravel made two suites).

The year 2022 is therefore prosperous in this area, with a performance at the Festival de Lanaudière in July by the OSM, and that of the Métropolitain on Sunday. So much the better, because hearing it in concert always has a jamming effect.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin knows this score very well, having recorded it excellently ten years ago with his former Rotterdam orchestra for the BIS label. And it seems.

We can quibble a little on the choir, not always ideal in terms of intonation and color (the a cappella part after Daphnis has bowed). Or on certain filigree wind melodies which perhaps stand out a little too much.

But the chef succeeds in the main bet: flexibility. Ravel sprinkles his score with indications such as “liven up little by little”, “restrained very slightly” or “very free”, sometimes very closely. It is necessary at all costs to avoid hiatuses during transitions, which Nézet-Séguin succeeds like very little.

We particularly enjoy the slow passages, which the conductor lets sing, helping to create atmospheres that fit well with the situations described in the booklet, which the public can read as they go on a screen above the stage.

A bigger downside, however, for fast passages, which could often be sharper. Ravel sometimes writes “très rude” in his score. One thinks of the crescendo of the “War Dance”, which would undoubtedly benefit from being more removed, or the episode of the goat-feet.

The concert will be offered via webcast from October 21 to 30.