By Séverine Garnier
Monteverdi’s “Les Vêpres” opens the festival with the Pygmalion Ensemble at Notre-Dame de Bordeaux church. Concert given again this Thursday, July 1st
When some go to the Notre-Dame church to the opening of Pulsations, the others come back from the restaurant. The concerts of the new music festival begin at 10 pm, an ideal time to hear Monteverdi’s “Vespers”, with vespers denoting the evening Christian service.
The Pygmalion ensemble and its conductor, Raphaël Pichon, know the score well. They gave it in Bordeaux in 2019 in an icy Saint-Seurin church! Notre-Dame is warm, its baroque aesthetic in keeping with this music of 1610 but its treacherous acoustics: in the building, the choir does not manage to make us hear the eye-catching details of Monteverdi.
Sensational male threesome
When they move to the side of the narthex, the effects are more precise. The soloists also sail in the church, undoubtedly too rarely. They even sing perched in the passageways, offering a sensational male trio. Music-loving lighting designer Bertrand Couderc underlines in blue or orange the meditation and divine strength. “If it is not the Lord who guards the city, say these Vespers, in vain the guard watches / In vain you get up before dawn, in vain you go to bed late. “
Concert given again this Thursday 1is July.
–
