Requiem by François Dompierre
+ Fauré: Requiem. Myriam Leblanc, Andrew Haji, Geoffroy Salvas, Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir of Music Lovers, Francis Choinière. Maison symphonique, June 7, 7:30 p.m.
THE Requiem by François Dompierre was created Friday evening by the Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir of Musicians under the direction of Francis Choinière. The work, coupled in concert with the Requiem by Fauré, performed again Saturday evening at the Maison symphonique and Sunday afternoon at the Palais Montcalm, unfolds like a series of sound paintings.
By establishing for The duty his favorite Requiem trio, François Dompierre had clearly chosen Mozart, Fauré and Verdi, the composer also admitting an attachment to the War Requiem by Benjamin Britten.
Gender and its codes
Having thought for a long time about composing a Requiem when he visited cathedrals in Europe, Dompierre was full of these references. Just like the choice of the soloist’s range in “Tuba mirum”, his “Confutatis” from the “Lacrimosa” section is a clear homage to Mozart, almost candid in the final measures, copying those of the model. The whispers of “Dies Irae” simulate those of Britten. They overlap with the Gregorian theme. We also think of the children’s voices dear to Britten in “Lux aeterna”.
A composer of Requiem must also make choices of texts: Dompierre wanted an “In Paradisum”, a sequence reintroduced in the 20the century by Fauré and Duruflé. He, on the other hand, discarded “Pie Jesu”, but preserved its principle, which we also find in the German Requiem by Brahms: that of a soothing soprano solo. At Dompierre, this solo, an anchor point in the middle of the work, is the “Hostias”, sung by Myriam Leblanc, a “hit” in itself. Here this central node is double, because the soprano solo is followed by a Bocelli-style tenor aria. Last major “code” of the Requiem, the return of a strong moment in the “Libera me”, the penultimate part. In Verdi, it is the violent resurgence of “Dies Irae” (last judgment). For Dompierre, it is that of the theme of the “Requiem” of the Introit.
Poor Lazarus
We will recognize François Dompierre for the merit of lucidity. He himself asks the right question at the conclusion of the preamble to his score: “Secular work, religious work? It will be up to you to judge. Sincere work? Without a doubt. » The composer created a sound film on human feelings in 12 atmospheric scenes to the detriment of cohesion and mysticism. The most “religious” sections (“Kyrie”, “Benedictus”, “Agnus”) are not the most inspired. Dompierre is at ease when he produces an effect (see the “Sanctus” in syncopated neoclassical).
In any Requiem including an “In Paradisum”, it is this final movement that we watch for. It is also the one that Dompierre proudly distributed to the press as an “appetizer”. We wrote that he mentioned the Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramirez. The melodic vein is splendid. But if you scratch a little, it’s a movement that leaves you speechless.
First blow: the Latin language is massacred on a very obvious tonic accent, that on “paradisum” which is on the syllable “di”. Accentuating “sum” is pure heresy. No one therefore noticed, between the composition and the creation, recording included, that the only two possible formulas were “In Pa-a-ra-di-sum” or “In Pa-ra-a-di-sum” but in no case the odious “In Pa-ra-di-know-um”?
Second point, the very essence of “In Paradisum” is the message “Et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem” (And that with Lazare, the poor man of old, you enjoy eternal rest). Lazarus is the character in the “Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus” from the Gospel of Luke. The access of the poor to paradise, and therefore of man of all conditions, is the reason for “In Paradisum”. Amputating this piece of sentence is therefore incredible… unless the reason for being is to have a final ditty, certainly not devoid of prettiness but empty of meaning.
Comparisons
As the deceased does not accompany Lazare we will wonder ultimately who is dead, which will come as no surprise, because meditation is not the key word defining composition. All this changes nothing to the pleasure of this Requiem profane in twelve more or less evocative tables, which we will not fail to compare shortly with the Dream Requiem by Rufus Wainwright premiered in Paris next Friday.
Those who want to will measure that of Dompierre at the release of the CD on September 13th against those of two composers of similar obedience: the more flamboyant and ambitious one of Andrew Lloyd Webber, who has certainly not imposed himself for 40 years, and the , intensely collected, by Zbigniew Preisner dedicated to the filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski.
This new work by Dompierre was performed by a committed conductor of the choirs and Myriam Leblanc, Andrew Haji and Geoffroy Salvas, perfectly chosen soloists. In the first part Francis Choinière opted for the Requiem by Fauré, conducted in a very fluid but relatively linear manner with a lack of consonants in the choral pronunciation. Originality. Despite choosing the version with violins, we were surprised by a Sanctus with solo violin as in the 1892 version.