Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin won two Grammy awards on Sunday evening, presented at the Premier gala. As musical director and conductor of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera Chorus, the Quebecer won the prize for Best Opera Recording for Fire Shut up in my Bones, by Afro-American composer and jazzman Terrence Blanchard. Then, as piano accompanist, in the category of Best Classical Vocal Solo Album for Voice Of Nature — The Anthropoceneinterpreted by the famous American soprano Renée Fleming.
Opera in three acts whose libretto is signed by actress, screenwriter and director Kasi Lemmons, Fire Shut up in my Bones by Terrence Blanchard was first created at the Opera Theater of Saint Louis in 2019 before being presented again in September 2021 by the MET. This is the second opera composed by Blanchard, a story adapted from the memoirs of journalist Charles Blow which tells the story of the protagonist, a young African-American who grew up in destitution and violence and who, as an adult, makes peace with his past. The recording of this performance was released by MET Opera Records.
The singer Renée Fleming shares her Grammy with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who accompanies her on the piano on Voice Of Nature — The Anthropocene, a repertoire of airs combining the romantic and the contemporary, from Fauré and Liszt to the young Nico Muhly. The Decca house published the album in October 2021. These two statuettes are added to that, won in April 2022, for the Best orchestral performance of the Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3 by African-American composer Florence Price, this time while conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra.
The conductor was the only Quebecer nominated in one (or four, as far as he is concerned) category of the 65th edition of the Grammy Awards to get his hands on the golden gramophone. Nominated in the category of Best Dance/Electronic Recording for his collaboration with HER (Intimidated), composer Louis Kevin Célestin, aka Kaytranada, was beaten by the star of the day, Beyoncé (and her song Break My Soul). The popular musician came to the ceremony with nine nominations, more than any other colleague.
Arcade Fire was nominated in the category of Best Alternative Album, but in all lucidity, the chances that his album WE to win seemed slim against the excellence of its competitors, Björk, Big Thief and Yeah Yeah Yeahs; it was the young British post-punk duo Wet Leg who finally picked it up on the podium, just after being awarded the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance for their infectious song Lounge Chair.
Xavier Dolan was counting his chances of winning Best Music Video for his work on Easy on Me of Adele, but Taylor Swift and her producer Saul Germaine robbed her of the prize for All Too Well: The Short Film. Finally, in the category of Best reggae album, the Montreal songwriting duo Banx Ranx hoped that the fruit of their work on Sean Paul’s recent album would be recognized – he wrote six of the sixteen songs on Scorcha -, or the trophy was given to Kabaka Pyramid for The Kalling.
On the other hand, there was a bit of us in the awarding of a brand new award created this year by the Recording Academy: Best soundtrack for video game and other interactive media. This inaugural award was won by American composer Stephanie Economou for her work on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok, a game developed by Ubisoft Montreal. In collecting her prize, Stephanie Economou wanted to salute Montrealer Simon Landry, musical supervisor of the project.
This long first ceremony distributed almost 70 prizes in artistic and technical categories. Among the notable victories, let us first salute the first Grammy of a career for actress Viola Davis (Best audiobook for Finding Me), who thus becomes the 18th artist in the history of American galas to reach the EGOT, that is to say to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Awards.
Ozzy Osbourne has just announced his retirement from performing, but he hasn’t left the Academy’s mind, winning two Grammys (Best Metal Performance for Degradation Rules and Best Rock Album for Patient Number 9). Japanese composer Masa Takumi surprised in the category of Best Global Music Album by beating the hugely popular Burna Boy with his album Sakura.
With seven nominations, singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile also distinguished herself by winning three gramophones – Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song and Best Americana Album for In These Silent Days. Spain’s Rosalía won the Grammy for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album for MOTOMAMIthe young Samara Joy for Best Vocal Jazz Album (for Linger Awhile) and composer and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington for Best Jazz Instrumental Album (for New Standards Vol.1). Finally, the essential Kendrick Lamar rightly won the prizes for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song thanks to The Heart Part 5.