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One of the most exciting things the founding figures of Bourgie Hall—Bernard Lamarre, former chairman of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and Pierre Bourgie, a Quebec benefactor and art collector—conceived of was the novel idea of a concert hall in a museum. Since its inauguration in September 2011, Bourgie Hall has become a home for early music in Canada.
Space, Sound & Instruments
In 2008, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts obtained possession of the Erskine and American United Church across the street. “At the time, there was a need in Montreal to have a hall for Baroque music, and also for recital and chamber music,” says Bourgie Hall Artistic Director Olivier Godin. “Most of the halls were either too big or too small. This was the perfect size to have intimacy, but also great acoustics.”
Pierre Bourgie financed the construction of the hall—equipped with state-of-the-art acoustics—within the church. The hall is linked to the Claire and Marc Bourgie Pavilion of Quebec and Canadian Art, which is in turn connected, via an underground tunnel, to the MMFA across the street.
Former artistic director Isolde Lagacé is responsible for the hall’s collection of historical instruments. During her first year as artistic director, she acquired two harpsichords and two chamber organs, followed by a clavicytherium (a vertically mounted harpsichord), an Erard piano (representative of the Romantic piano used by Schumann and Lizst), and most recently, a fortepiano similar to what Beethoven and Schubert would have used.
“As we are in a museum, we have to document all historical performance,” explains Godin. Not only are these keyboards beautiful, historical artifacts, but they also allow the public to hear 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century repertoire on the instruments for which they were composed.
Ensemble Jupiter directed by lutist Thomas Dunfort, with Lea Desandre, Bourgie Hall, March 15, 2023. Photo: Claudine Jacques
The Ecosystem of Early Music
“Early Music has been in the DNA of the hall since the beginning,” says Godin. “The first reason is that the first artistic and executive director, Isolde Lagacé, comes from a very famous family of Baroque musicians.” Indeed, the Lagacé family is a sort of Early Music dynasty. Her father, Bernard Lagacé, is a reputed organist; her mother Mireille, is a renowned harpsichordist. Isolde’s sister, Geneviève, is a founding member of the Montreal Baroque ensemble Les Idées heureuses.
The Lagacé family was playing concerts in the Erskine and American United Church long before it became a concert hall. “There was already a lot of Baroque music happening in the church in the 1950s-’60s, so it was quite natural to go on with this repertoire,” says Godin.
During her tenure as artistic director, Lagacé oversaw the performance of all of J.S Bach’s more than 200 sacred cantatas. The project, which involved Baroque ensembles from all over the world, was realized between 2014-23. As Bach wrote each cantata for a particular Sunday in the liturgical calendar, Lagacé ensured all the cantatas were performed on the correct Sunday of the year.
This project, a first of its kind in Canada, is emblematic of Bourgie Hall’s deep commitment to Early Music. Godin explains that all the local Baroque orchestras, including Arion Baroque Orchestra, Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, Les Idées heureuses and Quebec City-based ensemble Les Violons du Roy have at least one concert at Bourgie Hall every year.
Arion founder and local harpsichordist Hank Knox remembers what performing in Montreal was like before the opening of Bourgie Hall. His ensemble, he explains, had been concertizing in other venues but was frequently limited by a lack of ushers or box office, inadequate stage lighting, and halls that were too big.
“It was something of a game changer for us when Bourgie Hall opened, and we were among the first groups to hold our series there,” says Knox.
Music for the Spirit
Godin believes that Early Music continues to attract audiences because it serves a deep need in the human heart. “A lot of Baroque music has this descriptive of faith and of beauty that a lot of people really need these days. To me, listening to Baroque music is something that will heal and bring peace to your soul,” he says.
This season, Bourgie Hall offers a huge variety of early-music concerts ranging from Les talens lyriques performing 17th-century French music on Nov. 20 to Les Violons du Roy’s English, French and Italian program on May 16. Full details at www.mbam.qc.ca/en/bourgie-hall/
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
