France Handel, Messiah (abridged): Marie Lys (soprano), Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian (countertenor), Stuart Jackson (tenor), Alex Rosen (bass), accentus, Insula Orchestra / Laurence Equilbey (conductor). Auditorium Patrick Devedjian, La Seine Musicale, Paris, 5.12.2023. (CC)
This considerably abridged Messiah – one interval, 2 hours 20 minutes roughly – supplied a refreshing tackle a piece that has lengthy been a seasonal favorite in the UK. With the certain, clear traces of accentus (most not too long ago heard in Sky Burial on the Barbican: evaluation right here), supreme readability from the instrumental ensemble and an general conception that introduced this work collectively as hardly ever earlier than, this was a terrific night.
The streamlined model did imply some somewhat massive cuts from the second half (plus some omissions from the flanking components additionally), however the consequence was eminently satisfying musically.
Sadly, the scheduled soprano soloist, Sandine Piau, cancelled on the eleventh hour – it was good luck, although that Marie Lys was obtainable at such quick discover. As not too long ago as this summer season I reported on Lys with Christophe Rousset and his Les Talens Lyriques within the very good Ave Maris Stella programme at Baroque Itinéraire. She is an up-and-coming singer who has already made her mark internationally, together with Clorinda in Rossini’s La Cenerentola in Switzerland. She sings with a freshness and purity that’s exceptional. Many, myself amongst them, may need come for Piau, however there was no retrospective musical disappointment in any way. Lys was like a ray of sunshine within the duet in direction of the tip of Half One (‘Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened …’). Her ‘I do know that my Redeemer liveth’ (from the third and remaining half) was gloriously pure and heartfelt. Insula’s phrasing on this final was filled with grace – the proper partnership.
Countertenor Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian has a novel, darkish, fruity sound however there appears to be one thing of a break in his voice that makes the intense lowest finish of the countertenor register timbrally disjunct from the remaining. He took ‘However who might abide’ on this efficiency (it may be sung additionally by soprano or bass), however he appeared much less refined in supply than his soloistic companions there and general.
Tenor Stuart Jackson took an virtually operatic view of his solos, filled with drama and, certainly, gesture. Alex Rosen is a positive, clear bass of wonderful pitching and assault, simply missing within the final iota of character that, say, Ashley Riches (a stalwart of this half); ‘Why do the nations so furiously rage collectively’.
The readability of accentus is exceptional, their sound infinitely malleable. How brilliant the choir sounded whereas delivering ‘For unto us a toddler is born’ with pinpoint accuracy after the palpable shadows of Rosen’s ‘The people who walked in darkness’. On the different finish of the size, their ‘Since by man got here demise’ was a second of darkish stillness (with little accent on the phrase ‘Demise’) – a plateau of sound that contrasted maximally to the Corinthians-derived textual content ‘even so in Christ shall all be made alive’.
However for all of the excellence of the person soloists and the trivialities of element and stability, the only most notable aspect of this efficiency was Laurence Equilbey’s conception. There was a markedly completely different emotional territory for every half, with the second solid in significantly darkish hues. The ultimate refrain, ‘Worthy is the Lamb’ carried a lot pomp, but it surely was the fugal ‘Amen’ that topped the efficiency completely, shorn of any pointless heaviness, glowing brightly.
A malleable continuo group helped in that shading, with significantly clever use product of the lute (André Henrich). And it could be unattainable to conclude with no point out of the trumpet solo, carried out by Serge Tizac, who supplied a extra nuanced view of the half than that supplied, in my expertise, the UK’s omnipresent David Blackadder.
This was an impressive night. A pity many of the row in entrance of me took it upon themselves to file huge chunks of the primary half regardless of a transparent announcement on the contrary; all credit score to the usher who, upon prompting, sorted this out firmly and successfully. And thank goodness bottoms remained resolutely glued to seats throughout the ‘Hallelujah’ refrain – the outdated, interruptive follow of standing in UK performances does extra hurt than good.
Insula triumphs once more, then. The New Yr brings a return of Yoann Bourgeois’s imagining of the Mozart Requiem (my 2019 evaluation right here) and – the one that basically piques curiosity – Schubert’s Fourth Symphony (one of many composer’s less-performed symphonies) and Emilie Mayer’s Symphony No.1. A good quantity of Meyer’s music has been recorded by the cpo label, together with a disc of her first two symphonies, and the recordings point out loads to look ahead to.
Colin Clarke
