Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducted a full orchestra and choir on Friday in a packed Maison symphonique. the german requiem Brahms, a requiem of consolation and hope, appeared as the symbol of a hope in a normality regained for a long time. The evening was a kind of miracle, a confirmation, above all, that Yannick Nézet-Séguin is an admirable musician.
If the concept existed, it would be said that Yannick Nézet-Séguin is of “overwhelming admirability”. We haven’t always been kind to him, but what’s amazing is that he was probably his toughest critic.
This musician’s ability to challenge and the speed with which he can achieve great things probably surpasses anything seen among great performers.
In 2009, the London Philharmonic recorded a concert by Yannick Nézet-Séguin in this work and published it on disc. His German Requiem then stretched over almost 76 minutes in a contemplative, collected and static version, sometimes close to what Herbert von Karajan was doing, that is to say a misinterpretation.
Consolation and Hope
Because the german requiem of Brahms, it is not that: it is a work in motion, a journey which, through faith, leads to consolation and to the hope of redemption. There is also a tribute to the masters of the past (Schütz, Schein, Bach) whom Brahms conducted in Vienna as conductor of the choral society Singverein. This “archaism” leads to an expression that is often more “human” than grandiose. All these data, Yannick Nézet-Séguin has perfectly integrated and realigned them in this interpretation in 69 minutes, an ideal tempo, parrying an approach whose humility translates into very contained dynamic bellows in the 1st part, for example.
And the letter served the spirit very well. Rarely have we heard in Montreal a choir singing so well in German, with patent clarity from the start, when in “und tragen” we heard the “d” and the “t” very well. At the beginning of the 6th movement, the peregrination of the marching people was very well rendered by a joint rebound on the letter “n” and on the pizzicatos, while the central movement of the work (IV), a sort of haven of peace, was obviously natural.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin had taken particular care with the staging of the orchestra. This put the timpani in the march of the II in great relief, but with a striking and positive effect, unlike the overflow of trombones at the end of the fugue of the III, which blocked the choral polyphony.
Fight against death
The most notable interpretive biases of this “new german requiem by Yannick Nézet-Séguin are the very “post Bach” dimension of the first part, with a perfectly measured pedal; a II where, again, the dynamic bellows are reduced but whose fugue is a little too martial; an expressively well-balanced III, with a very just fugue and a perfectly chiseled IV, with an ideal match between tempo and pronunciation. The biggest interpretative bet is in the fight against the death of the VI, a scored part perennial taken a little under the tempo but with an exemplary aggressiveness and ferocity (horns, trumpets, double basses and even piccolo!). This movement makes it possible, as elsewhere, to note the superior quality of the tenor section of the choir, of superb color and elegance. Hats off to the choir for singing in tune and with consistency.
The final part confirmed the new impetus shown by the leader. In this final movement there is the possibility of playing even more on the choral texture and the expressive mystery of the “dolce” passages.
On the soloists side, Eric Owen sang with aplomb in a very nuanced way but tightening his voice a little in the most acute passages, which lost a little impact instead of flourishing. As for Suzanne Taffot, Yannick Nézet-Séguin was infatuated with her voice, which would undoubtedly be in situation in Verdi. Here, she is too much of a singer to be the consoling mother wanted by Brahms. Moreover, in the middle of the air everyone got lost.
the german requiem was introduced by a work by Canadian of Cuban origin Luis Ernesto Peña Laguna dedicated to the victims of Covid, a skilfully composed and consensual choral and orchestral work.