Arlette Cousture sat at the back of the control room. The author came to discover how Caleb’s daughtersthe fabulous story that she imagined in the mid-1980s and which touched the hearts of millions of Quebecers, would take on a new mantle, that of music.
Behind the glass in front of her, there were the musicians of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Sitting in front of the desk, chef Dina Gilbert gave some instructions. Then she raised her arms. The violins started, followed by the cellos, the winds, the percussion.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Conductor Dina Gilbert directing the musicians during a recording session of Daughters of Caleb Symphony
The faces of Émilie and Ovila appeared. Those of Caleb, Félicité, Napoléon, Célina, Dosithée and Charlotte too. The dark and wild landscapes of Mauricie loomed on the horizon. The painful passion of the most famous lovers of our literature and television has been heard.
I turned to Arlette Cousture. His eyes were full of water.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Arlette Cousture, moved, attending the recording session
What I am telling you here, I experienced last June 3 when I attended one of the recording sessions of the Daughters of Caleb Symphonya project carried out until now in the greatest secrecy.
“It moved me because I saw myself alone, at home, writing this novel,” Arlette Cousture told me during a break. “The first sentence I lengthened was: ‘Caleb came back from the stable.’ I said to myself: ‘Yeah, you won’t get far with that.’ Now I’m discovering this music and I’m telling myself that this can’t be happening.”
This idea of transforming Caleb’s daughters as a symphonic work, we owe it to producer Nicolas Lemieux.
My mother really liked this series. I watched it with her. I find it to be an important work. I wanted to bring it back to the public’s memory by creating something unique and beautiful.
Nicolas Lemieux, producer of Daughters of Caleb Symphony
The producer and artistic director entrusted composer Blair Thomson with the heavy responsibility of creating a musical work inspired by this plot. The one to whom we owe Symphonic Riopelle embarked on this adventure not without some stress. We don’t approach a work that has so captured the imagination of Quebecers casually.
His first challenge was to include the memory of the unforgettable music that Richard Grégoire composed for the TV series which was seen by 3,600,000 viewers in 1990-1991. Blair Thomson, while signing a very personal work, achieved this objective. It subtly recalls the inimitable squeaky violins of Richard Grégoire which announced every Thursday evening, at 8 p.m., the drama, the passion, but also the unreason that was offered to us, all generations combined.
Excerpt from opening of Daughters of Caleb Symphony
“This approach is fascinating,” Richard Grégoire, present at this recording session, told me. “He started from someone else’s music and made it his own music. The result is frankly astonishing. »
Richard Grégoire spoke to me about the inspiration that led him to create, 35 years ago, music that we can today identify in five seconds. “When I composed this music, I had in mind that everyone knew it was going to end badly. It guided me. »
When Nicolas Lemieux contacted Richard Grégoire to tell him that he wanted to create a musical work inspired by Daughters of Caleb, the composer was initially hesitant. “Even if it’s a new creation, I absolutely wanted to have his authorization,” says the producer. He finally told me that if Arlette agreed, it was OK. »
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
The producer Nicolas Lemieux, the composer Richard Grégoire and the author Arlette Cousture
Over time, Richard Grégoire forgot this proposition. Also, he was shocked when Nicolas Lemieux called him back after eight months to tell him that the work had been composed. “Arlette called me and told me she was on her ass,” says the composer. I was too. »
Some will be tempted to add passages from Blair Thomson’s work to certain scenes from the novel or the series. Arlette Cousture did not do this exercise.
I rather surrendered to the general atmosphere of the work. This love story grates. And that’s what I felt.
Arlette Cousture, author of Daughters of Caleb
So, after the novel, the TV series and a “folk opera” imagined by Michel Rivard and Micheline Lanctôt, in 2011, here we are Caleb’s daughtersof which we will highlight the 40e anniversary of the novel and the 35e anniversary of the television series in 2025, will first come back to life in music thanks to a disc which will be released this fall. Then, as Nicolas Lemieux likes to see things in the big picture, the work will be transposed to the stage the following year.
Excerpt from Ovila’s Theme of Daughters of Caleb Symphony
“On record and on stage, there will be the presence of three singers,” he explains to me. A classical singer, popular performer and slammer. »And where will we find the presence of Ovila and Emilie? “They will be represented by two cellos,” adds the producer. I will not tell you anything else. »
Nicolas Lemieux entertains the idea of making a cinematographic work from the show, exactly as he did for Symphonic harmonium.
Before leaving the group, I posed a question to Arlette Cousture that she had probably heard a million times, I thought. Surprisingly, no. Why did this work have such an impact on the public? “Phew! I don’t know what to say to that. If I knew, I would do another one like this. I think people liked the authenticity. There was no sauce in this novel. The feelings were true. That’s all. »
Stories with true feelings, even if they hurt excruciatingly, will always prevail over others. This is what makes a work stand the test of time. And that she can afford to borrow other faces.
Visit the site about the musical work