Performances of Handel’s Messiah at Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica had been an annual tradition of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra up until about 12 years ago when its artistic director Kent Nagano did away with Handel in favour of Bach. Orchestre Métropolitain (OM)’s artistic director Yannick Nézet-Séguin grew up with this tradition as he announced before the concert from the stage, and this is the second year in a row that OM has presented Messiah at the Basilica to a full house. Nézet-Séguin hinted that this will become a tradition, so hopefully, it will be an annual event.
What you missed?
Dec. 9th’s performance presented an almost-complete Messiah leaving out only numbers 44 and 45 of the 47 movement, three-section edition based on the Bärenreiter score which Nézet-Séguin fully annotated in 2017 when he and OM performed Messiah for the first time together. With the intermission after Part I, the concert lasted about three hours.
Nézet-Séguin led OM and a chorus of 40 professional singers in a spirited performance transitioning from one movement to another without pause. Starting with the opening overture to the concluding “Amen” chorus, the conductor held the audience’s attention. All the choruses were moving, with perfect text painting (soft passages were soft and loud passages were loud) and the choir projected well in the large venue. The audience stood for the “Hallelujah” chorus as per English tradition. There were less than 10 new singers in the chorus compared to last year’s ensemble and the experience showed in the execution.
OM Messiah. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, OM Chorus, Frédéric Antoun. Photo: François Goupil – Orchestre Métropolitain
OM assembled four top Canadian soloists. The discovery of the evening was Geoffroy Salvas, an unannounced replacement for an indisposed Jonathon Adams listed in the program. Salvas projected a warm clear baritone which filled the hall beginning with his opening recitatives and followed by the aria “The people that walked in darkness.” He was a bit thrown off by Nézet-Séguin’s rapid tempo for “The trumpet shall sound.”
OM Messiah. Geoffroy Salvas. Photo: François Goupil – Orchestre Métropolitain
Soprano Anna-Sophie Neher projected a clear soprano which was used to great effect in her solos, especially the show stopper “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” Tenor Frédéric Antoun started the concert with a good performance of “Comfort ye” and “Ev’ry valley” and was consistent throughout. The weak link this evening was mezzo Emily D’Angelo, whose throaty chest tones in the first Alto solos were vulgar, but she lightened up her tone in Part II with “He was despised and rejected.”
OM Messiah. Emily D’Angelo, Anna-Sophie Neher, Geoffroy Salvas, Frédéric Antoun. Photo: François Goupil – Orchestre Métropolitain
Gripes
Every movement of Messiah are veritable gems and Nézet-Séguin didn’t disappoint. His only missed opportunity was to do something more musical of the 12th movement Pastoral Symphony. Years ago, I heard the potential of this movement in a dress rehearsal that felt like the pastoral in Berlioz’s Symphonique Fantastique; it was moving and contemplative. Unfortunately, here it was treated like an interlude and came off like a yawn.
OM is commended for giving a 20-page printed program to the audience. The side-by-side English and French texts were laid out nicely. Unfortunately, they should have added 4 more pages to include the performers’ biographies as the QR code they provided linked to a site that was not up-to-date. Also missing from the program was the edition used in the performance.
The Orchestre Métropolitain’s performances of Handel’s Messiah conclude on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 7:30, Notre-Dame Basilica. www.orchestremetropolitain.com
Rating:
- Conductor: 9/10
- Orchestra: 9/10
- Chorus: 9/10
- Soloists: 9/10
More Messiahs in Montreal
- Dec. 11: St. Lawrence Choir, Singing-along Messiah, Westmount Baptist Church
- Dec. 12: Orchestre classique de Montréal, Crypte de l’Oratoire Saint-Joseph
- Dec. 14: Les Violons du Roy, Maison Symphonique
- Dec. 14: Sing-along Messiah, Christ Church Cathedral
- Dec. 22: ArtChoral, Maison Symphonique0
Editor’s Note: this post was updated with new information.
