A Wondrous Performance of Magnificat with Matthias Maute and Friends

On Saturday, January 21, a large-sized audience was inspired by a rare concert that sublimely resurrected the utmost beauty inherent in Baroque music. The supremely noble interior of Montreal’s new Bourgie Hall (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts) with it stunning array of stained glass windows was sacredly fitting to the Magnificat program offered by conductor and recorder player extraordinaire Matthias Maute and his Ensemble Caprice.  The choral music sung by the18 artists offered typically reverent praise of God in lyric. The effect was magical mysticism. Bach’s Magnificat and Arvo Pärt shared most of the compositional honours – the former having been born in 1685, the latter still living. Yet the message of each was clearly similar as each verse resounded brilliantly in the Baroque vein; the technical virt
uosity of the vocalists and mid-sized orchestra was noticeably unified. The message was mainly of praise, glory and humility, though solemnity and reference to those who shun God’s omnipotence was evident in Part’s Magnificat. In each of his two choral songs, the choir was godly in tone and phrasing. The voices were immeasurably unified; the harmonies were glorious in colour and mood. The final notes, always lingering into the distance until silence spoke the final beat. Soloists Shannon Mercer (soprano), Philippe Martel (bass) were particularly captivating in Bach’s Magnificat.  Matthias Maute’s lively energy swooped over the musicians, leading them on to perform with gusto the Bourée and Gig in Bach’s Suite III BWV 1068. Although it got off to an uneven start, an exquisite balance of expression and tempo effortlessly overtook the first flaws of looseness in the overture.

The program opened with Antonio Lotti’s Crucifixus à 8, and tears came to my eyes. This choir was outstanding. Superb colouring and a multi-layering of voices in deep minor harmonics was both haunting and eternal.  Finally, in contrast, the robust energy of the entire ensemble showed off its spritely sparkle in Bach’s Magnificat. Everyone left feeling uplifted - that all was right with the world.

Trio Fibonacci “Made in Canada”

 Friday, May 22, 2016, 19 h 30 at the / Vendredi, 22 Mai à 19 h 30 à la Chapelle Historique du Bon-Pasteur 

Members / Membres 

Julie-Anne Derome : violin / violon

Gabriel Prynn: cello / violoncelliste 

Wonny Song: piano / piano

Trio Fibonacci Premiers Great Canadian Compo

It was an evening of unabashed contemporary-style compositions by four daring creators, two of which were commissioned by Trio Fibonacci. This evening’s works fell into two lines of thought regarding contemporary music; it can either be conceptual in image input or completely cerebral in form. The first piece – Elemental was written in 2014 by Jeffrey Ryan. Its four sections – Earth, Water, Air and Fire offered astounding burst of crescendos and dramatic contrasts in use of the instrumental application and expression. To my mind, this fell into the image category. Piano strings were played inside the piano itself; I was hearing and seeing the naissance of the Big Bang, and as it exploded, and then the aftermath -what ensued: the creation of the four vital elements. I loved the rain-drop type lightness of water and its subsequent flow. The music evoked eruptive moments in our planet which from the beginning introduced the sostenuto of the violin and cello on a single note. This piece for me was conceptual in composition, and image visualizations were born via the music we heard.

 The second work by Uriel Vanchestein was commissioned by the Trio and premiered in this concert. Cerebral in approach, the composer told me he had no feeling – no sentiment behind the piece. It was really an intricate play of notes in the sonata – rondo form of four basic notes: F, E, D# and C# used in a motif in three parts. The piece was called Création, and compared to the first piece, it was not nearly as interesting for me, despite the grand variety of instrumental application. It would be a marvellous piece put to a ballet of some sort as Stravinsky did in The Rite of Spring.

The third work performed was titled On the wake of the wind for violin, and the composer David Eagle definitely succeeded in conjuring up images of the wind on water and the transformative mutations of turbulence. Inspired by the poem written by Daniel David Moses. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the computer was subtly used to create an echoing sound at the beginning or the tail end of phrases. It was as if the wind was dying out and new gusts came into the air. The electronic aspect of this work was masterfully planned, and the effect was wonderful.

Finally, my favourite work of three continuous parts was composed by the genius, François-Hugues Leclair. Titled, Hymnen an de Nacht (Hymn at Night), this astounding work – commissioned by Trio Fibonacci – was positively inspirational. I could feel night coming on, and then I was led into its mysterious qualities of its magical darkness. The piece opened with the strings inside the piano being brushed. Here the bows of the artists were set down to create the dying down of light as night begins to ascend. The piano was muted several times so the inside strings when ‘brushed” would create their own tonal lines. It was so ethereal. Ever-so quiet slides up and down the string instruments then came into play as the artists returned to their instruments; good thing violinist, Julie-Anne Derome  had taken off her high-heel shoes to avoid any sound as she returned to her violin.

Nighttime held me in its grip. The ending part of the piece which offered moving harmony in ascension was god-like.

Trio Fibonacci pulled off a remarkable feat playing this highly interesting and challenging program. Their timing and virtuoso attack perfectly conveyed the excitement and ever-changing contrasts that marked each work. This composition fittingly marked the finality to the Trio’s programming season

Bravo!

Trio Fibonacci’s 2015-2016 season will take place on October 13^th inside Bourgie Hall, Montreal. The program will feature the music of Robert and Clara Schuman, and that of Johannes Brahms. I can hardly wait!

For more information, visit: www.triofibonacci.com

Il Divo Dazzles!

A sensational performance of personality and vocal power

                                                             Presented by Evenko
                                                                     May 28th,2014

 Salle Wilfred-Pelletier in Place des Arts was packed with adoring Il Divo fans and first-timers about to fall under the magic of this charismatic group. People of all ages were there. Such is the timeless appeal these four fabulous singers have – ever since they joined forces to form Il Divo when music producer Simon Cowell first discovered the ‘power of four’.  Fast forward ten years into 33 countries and four world tours during which the dynamic Il Divo established their god-like stature, sweeping audiences off their feet while making classical cross-over-music history. The foursome has sold over 26 million albums and received 160 gold and platinum awards.

Indeed, their confidence, showmanship and connection to the audience was obvious during this May 28th Montreal tour-de-force performance. 
The show’s fitting title, A Musical Affair: The Greatest Songs of Broadway featured popular songs from their sixth and latest album, A Musical Affair.The live 18-member orchestra opened up the show with an instrumental medley of our song favourites from musicals, including Evita, Phantom of the Opera, Cats, West Side Story, Les Misérables and more. And then the spell began: Il Divo’s four dashing figures made their entrance. Smoke slowly swirled from the stage floor, and as their faces came into view, applause thundered and voices roared from the hall’s 2,982 seats.

Their powerful voices blended into rich harmonies no matter the register and tonal challenges within the great variety of song melodies. Whether performing such big numbers as Climb Every Mountain or delivering such heart-wrenching numbers as Some Enchanted Evening, If ever I should love You, and Tonight. These romantic songs showed off the tenderness and the restraint each of these classically trained singers possess. Interestingly, each has his own distinct sound and background. The most opera-sounding voices came from Spanish baritone, Carlos Marín and American tenor, David Miller. Their lush tones melded richly with the pop genre tones of France’s Sébastien Izambard and with former rocker heartthrob, Urs Bühler from Switzerland. Together, the four created a varied vocal fest of sensual expressive brilliance. The volume and range each one displayed was rather mesmerizing, and the arrangements perfect – some parts of song strategically parceled off to the most appropriate voice for that passage in the song. In fact, I would have liked to have heard full length solos from each of them, but each song inevitably brought all four together in most moments of the song and always on the last line. I can’t forget how they ended Somewhere from West Side Story, it fluidly slid out as a piece of vocal silk on a single soft waning note. In contrast was the booming crescendo of such endings in I Did It My Way and I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston would have been proud).

Glitzy guest diva Lea Salanga, added yet another exotic element. An acclaimed Filipina singer and actress whose multiple awards are as impressive as her lead roles: Kim (Miss Saigon), Jasmine (Disney’s Alladin), and Éponine and Fantine (Les Misérables) – excerpts from the latter two performed during this performance along with  the song Defying Gravity from (Wicked).

She really belongs on that stage; she immediately captivated us with her intensity and beauty. When she sang I dreamed a Dream, you could hear a pin drop; we felt her emotional anguish. That mood completely lightened when the fellows joined her vying for her attention in the song If Ever I Would Leave You (Camelot)                                                 

Indeed, the evening was not without jokes – often made at each others’ expense, such as when Carlos talked about his love and prowess with women; in fact, this boasting would have gone on and on had not one of the guys handed him a small container of those notorious “little blue pills”. That got a big laugh.

Self-deprecating humour about how poorly they spoke French came from Mr. Miller and Mr. Marín, but when the group polished off Céline Dion’s upbeat song, Que Tu M’Aimes Encore, their accents and diction were impeccable. The crowd went crazy cheering, standing on their feet, singing along and clapping the beat.

Projected images on the back wall and effective spotlighting enhanced the show’s presentation. But it was the guys who really stole the stage. Three encores and non-stop clapping continued for about ten minutes after it all ended with the parting song delivered in Italian and English Time to Say Goodbye.

                                        

Into the World of Madness SMCQ Concert

            An extraordinary Tribute to Claude Gauvreau in Soirée à L’asile

The tragic poet, Claude Gauvreau, born in 1925, riled against, Catholicism, repression of all kinds and the fact that words never really correctly express the deep feelings of people. In fact, Gauvreau created his own language, “exploréen”. A genius out of synch with his time, a misfit, and a being not born for human banality, he became a great poet who was largely ignored, unfortunately. We saw a clip of him in the third act of this weird but wonderful evening where he is reading his poetry to a small crowd of people at Théâtre Gésu in Montreal.

He committed suicide – some say and others say he fell off his roof. Undoubtedly, he was a man in extreme turmoil. Acerbated beyond repair when his muse/actor, Muriel Guilbault committed suicide –an artist with whom he collaborated in creating the play, “Bien-être”. He was so obsessed with her that when she died, he saw his sanity slip; Mr. Gauvreau ended up in an insane asylum at one point in his life.

The concert I saw featured the heart-wrenching music composed by, another genius, Walter Boudreau – recent winner of Governor General Prize in the Spectacle Arts in the classical music category.

 The piece we heard first performed on piano by Alain Lefèvre was macabre and magnificently dark. When Matthieu Fortin, joined him to recreate the piece with four hands, the breadth and terror in the piece became so evident. No one would ever play the work without being a virtuoso pianist – and then some.  The composition stunningly brought to the ear and eye how insanity can be translated into a musical score.

The opening of the concert had slow-moving zombies wearing white masks onto the stage. An incredibly large improvised instrument with a myriad of strings tightly taught to a middle spoke ushered in sounds of horror and melancholy as actor, François Papineau took the stage ranting as a mad man. While he acted out his madness, André Pappathomas (the gifted leader of these “zombies” – the singers are actually the choir of Mruta Mertsi) played the huge stringed instrument that stood like a huge door. His fingers nimbly traveled al over the strings that looked like a spider web in terms of their placing on the spoke. His fingers became spindly-type spiders traveled all over the “web’. It was amazing to watch and listen to.

In my mind, the evening belonged to Alan Lefèvre and his partner on the other piano, Matthieu Fortin and of course to Mr. Boudreau who sat slightly in front of the two pianos as he conducted the two awesome artists.

It was an evening where geniuses unite. Is it possible that genius is synonymous with madness? In the case of Soirée à L’asile, it certainly was.

What an astounding concert!

I, DANIEL BLAKE (Directed by Ken Loach) ***** plus

Widower Daniel Blake, (Dave Johns) a 59-year-

old joiner living in Newcastle, has had a heart attack at work. Though his cardiologist has advised him not to return to work, Daniel is deemed fit to do so after a work assessment interview. He is frustrated to learn that his doctor was not contacted about the decision, and applies for an appeal, a process he finds difficult because he is not a computer man. So many attempts are foiled for him.

Daniel befriends a single mother, Katie, (Haley Squires) after she is sanctioned for arriving late for a job centre appointment.

Katie and her children have moved to Newcastle from a homeless hostel in London.  Daniel helps the family by repairing objects, teaching them how to heat rooms without electricity, and crafting wooden toys for the children. Katie is overcome by hunger and breaks down. After she is caught shoplifting, a security guard offers her work as an escort. Daniel surprises her at the brothel, where he begs her to give up the job, but she tearfully insists she has no choice to feed her children.

As a condition for receiving job seekers allowance for work, he must attend a resume workshop, pound the pavements and provide proof of it all. estate. He is offered a job in a scrap yard, but has to turn it down for health reasons. When Daniel's work coach tells him he must work harder to find a job, Daniel spraypaints "I, Daniel Blake, demand my appeal date before I starve" on the building. He earns the support of passersby, including other benefits’ claimants, but is arrested and given a police warning. Daniel sells most of his belongings and becomes withdrawn.

On the day of Daniel's appeal, Katie accompanies him to court. A welfare adviser tells Daniel that his case looks sound.  He will win. The ending is tragic. This amazing well acted film is a cry against the British financial support system for those in need. It kills its applicants slowly but surely.

No sentimentality, just decency and heart from the characters. The acting is exquisite. This is this century's most important film.

Alain Lefèvre and Walter Boudreau Shake the Earth



A performance of indescribable brilliance  

                                            Maison Symphonique de Montréal, January 15^{th, 2013}

Alain Lefèvre

                                                             

On Tuesday evening January 15^th, pianist Alain Lefèvre performed the astonishing Concerto “l’Asile (Création Mondiale) with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under the baton of Ludovic Morlot. It was composed by Walter Boudreau. The unforgettable concert took place inside the gloriously new Maison Symphonique de Montréal. 

Geniuses – mad geniuses – that is what this concert was about. It took Mr. Boudreau about three years to compose the work whose three movements embody the tortuous life of the late Claude Gavreau, a visionary who inspired the creation of Mr. Boudreau’s concerto. Collaborating intensively with Mr. Lefèvre on the superhuman endeavour, Mr. Boudreau knew that it would take one of the world’s greatest pianists - also a world-class composer - to achieve the final rendering and performance of his massively difficult masterpiece. He knew he wanted to create alongside Alain Lefèvre.

Walter Boudreau

 Mr. Boudreau wrote the work in four years “in and out” as a tribute to the avant-garde Quebec poet and author Claude Gauvreau (1925-1971). 

Claude Gauvreau

During his short life the poet experimented heavily with LSD, modified the French language turning into a new form of incomprehensible poetic communication. He never achieved the recognition or the support which he so wished for. This tragic figure may have ended his life, but his ideas lived on - championed by another mad genius, Mr. Boudreau who is very much alive; he is also the director and conductor of the SMCQ. 

The twelve-tone composition he composed demanded the most prolific piano playing through the 45 minute-long work. Mr. Lefèvre’s herculean technique combined with his immeasurable passion was breathtaking. Hands crossing over hands, non-stop lightning speed cadenzas up and down the keys, octaves, and trills and syncopated lines whose first beats had to join up with the  percussive section, then the flutes, sometimes the horns and strings. Nothing seemed or was written to magically connect together, and yet it all did, in a way that was more fantastic than one could believe possible. In fact, Mr.Boudreau explained that he created this work so that the piano – represented the poet Gauvreau who was off on its own trying to connect to the orchestra which more or less represented the indifference of society. Rhythmically unpredictable is the composition; both protagonists (piano and orchestra symbolizing Gauvreau and society respectively) seemed to embody the pain and punishment endured by Gauvreau himself. Orchestra and piano had a challenging task keeping up with the other. In fact, six minutes into the work, Maestro   Morlot stopped it all, and started the performance again – having left out an entire page! Was it any wonder Mr. Lefèvre kept a handkerchief atop the piano. 

I felt Mr.Lefèvre carried the lion’s share of élan for the entire performance. His extraordinary understanding of the concerto combined with his earth-shattering technique marvelously communicated the dramatic intensity in this exciting work. 

I began to feel that he knew the night had to lie with him. At times, the percussion was a nano-second off the timing of the piano punctuating entrances and final notes, but it was explained to me, that orchestra and pianist had four hours of rehearsal to pull it all together. 

As for the composition itself, the first movement burst into our ears like a tsunami. It rarely let up. The second movement resembled a slow macabre dance. There were heart-breaking moments of utter beauty in melody line but that did not last for long. A sudden interjection of horn would break it all and then the intentional chaos would once again commence. Prokofiev, Schoenberg and Rachmaninov rolled into one is what I could hear; Scriabin, Stravinsky and Liszt as well. Now take the hardest most prodigiously taxing bars to play in all these composers and know that such rigorous demands constitute the entire concerto. Rarely was Mr. Lefèvre allowed to rest. Like the tormented soul of Mr. Gauvreau himself, this great pianist – a world treasure - personified this poet’s genius. He did so with relentless passion and pianistic perfection. This trio of mad geniuses enthralled me! 

This concert was recorded by Radio-Canada’s Espace Musique and will be broadcast coast to coast next January 22^nd at the “Soirees Classiques” hosted by Mario Paquet. Alain will present the Concerto de l’Asile again this Season with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and its conductor Fabien Gabel on 
May 29^th and 30^th.

 CD now on Anelekta Label.

JAZZ FEST NEWS: THE PERFORMANCE WORLD GETS BIGGER

        

The Run-down on the Montreal International Jazz Festival

This year (2017) marks this world's most iconic jazz festival's 38^th year... and with it, 17 countries  beyond North America are now added to the rostrum of iconic artists performing at this year’s extraordinary Équipe Spectra event (presented by TD Bank Group in collaboration with Rio Tinto). These additional countries include: Norway, Brazil, Armenia and New Zealand. Now that’s exciting – as is the world-class line-up of the tried and true:  Bob Dylan, King Crimson, The O’Jays, The Four Tops, Melissa Etheridge, Pink Martini and so many more 'gotta-see-greats' are performing. The festival is proudly international; the music composed by virtuoso instrumentalists and vocal artists embraces all genres and sounds: acoustic folk, classical, gospel, old world, classic moods and Caribbean rhythms. You’re going to discover a  planet of new musicians: solo artists, duos, trios, bands and spectacular shows at 11 venues. And don’t forget those free outdoor concerts too. Visit the website at montrealjazz.com. Book your tickets; they go on sale April 28^th. The festival runs from June 28^th to July 8th. 

 

Photos taken at press conference, April 25th at L'Astral
top photo: Festival Co-founder and Artistic Director, André Ménard announcing Bob Dylan
photos 2 - 4: Festival programmers, Laurnen Saulnier &  Maurin Auxéméry