Sunday, at 3 p.m., the Orchester Métropolitain will present The Cloud Shoveler, based on the story by Simon Boulerice published in 2018. This project calls on three musical creations by Marie-Claire Saindon, Stewart Goodyear and Denis Nassar Baptista. Placed at the head of the Orchestra, Geneviève Leclair tells us about this project like no other.
“One day in class, I saw a child pulling on his sleeves to hide his fingers. I asked him if he was cold. He said no, he just didn’t want us to see his white spots, caused by vitiligo. You who hid your hands, you who should never be ashamed of this, this book is for you. »
The idea of adapting the story according to the point of view of the three characters, an idea of Simon, excited everyone
This preamble of Cloud Shoveler written by Simon Boulerice in 2018 is as important as this sentence that we read a little further, defining the vitiligo from which the young Elliot is affected: “Those who suffer from it are sometimes ashamed of their spots. They shouldn’t, because it’s often our little imperfections that make us unique. »
Through questions that are both comical and existential (“If all my color disappears, will I disappear, too?” wonders the boy with an overflowing imagination), The Cloud Shoveler is obviously a plea for difference. The kind of topics that interest musical institutions these days.
Three narratives
“When the Orchester Métropolitain contacted me, the project was already very much under way,” recalls Geneviève Leclair, when asked how to interest young audiences in a concert hall today. “There is the subject, the fear of being rejected, which speaks to everyone, and therefore to young audiences. Having, from this point of view, good equipment is essential. And the idea of adapting the story according to the point of view of the three characters, an idea of Simon, excited everyone. »
This orientation in the realization of the project led to the commission of three works by three Canadian composers. “I received everything; the exchanges with the composers were very brief”, says Geneviève Leclair, who therefore did not intervene in the creative process as such. Marie-Claire Saindon composed the first part, “Les fleurs”, evoking The Magic of the Gardener, The Language of Flowers, The Cloud Factory And The festival of colors. Stewart Goodyear focused on the second part, “The soups”, and Denis Nassar Baptista will conclude with “The clouds”, a part broken down into The poet, Café au lait, At school, An illumination And Cloud Shoveler Hands.
“Three actors, who will do the narration, fit into the works in a different way. In the case of Stewart Goodyear, it is a more symphonic and continuous work which fully integrates the narration. With Marie-Claire Saindon, there are large portions of narration between the movements. And with Denis Nassar Baptista, even if there are several parts, his narration is one with the music. This gives three very distinct musical personalities. »
“The way the play is designed is perfect for capturing and keeping the attention of young audiences,” believes Geneviève Leclair. “There is no staging, but the way the story unfolds is very colorful, and Marie-Claire Saindon’s music could almost be the soundtrack of a cartoon, while that of Denis Nassar Baptista could end up in a video game. Marie-Claire Saindon taking the perspective of the father, who is a gardener, there are sound effects on trombones that imitate mowers! Music that sticks to the narration is perfect,” she says, looking happy.
The concert will be enhanced by the performance of two young winners of the Orchester Métropolitain’s OMNI Music Competition, saxophonist Heidi Robichaud and violist Emad Zolfaghari.