Les Idées heureuses: Graupner’s Good Friday cantatas

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As part of its Passion Concert series, Les Idées heureuses will present Christoph Graupner’s Good Friday cantatas at Bourgie Hall on April 3. This fourth Graupner concert, out of six planned, will feature three cantatas by this German baroque composer: GWV 1126/16, GWV 1127/29 and GWV 1127/46.

Renowned harpsichordist Geneviève Soly, the ensemble’s founder, continues to develop the international musical project which she launched in 2001 with the aim of rehabilitating Graupner’s work, a contemporary of J.S. Bach. She is delighted with the fruits of her efforts in Quebec and Europe, notably the international dissemination of Graupner’s harpsichord works. Her recordings of the composer’s partitas have been praised by international critics and been awarded several prizes.

For Soly, the collaboration with Salle Bourgie has given the project a new dimension. Since 2023, in collaboration with the venue, she and the ensemble have been performing the complete cantatas composed by Graupner specifically for Good Friday. This has allowed audiences to rediscover a fascinating corner of baroque music.

Paul Creston Award

“I never lost hope that this great composer would regain his rightful place among his eminent contemporaries,” says the musicologist. She emphasizes the importance of the concert series programmed at Salle Bourgie, which highlights the strong links between Graupner and several illustrious composers: Bach, Monteverdi, Mozart, and Couperin. Graupner’s work has always been central to the mission of Les Idées heureuses and has greatly contributed to its international renown and to the reputation of Montreal in the field of baroque and early music.

“Montreal has the greatest expertise in baroque music interpretation in North America,” says Soly. She eagerly awaits the forthcoming publication of her book on Graupner’s harpsichord works in Germany by Breitkopf und Härtel, one of the world’s five largest music publishers. In 2024, her dedication and perseverance with her life’s work earned her the Paul Creston Award in New York.