{"id":2959,"date":"2024-12-28T10:48:55","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T10:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opustribune.com\/?p=2959"},"modified":"2024-12-28T10:49:22","modified_gmt":"2024-12-28T10:49:22","slug":"festival-bach-montreal-2024-highlights-surprises-and-reflections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opustribune.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/28\/festival-bach-montreal-2024-highlights-surprises-and-reflections\/","title":{"rendered":"Festival Bach Montr\u00e9al 2024: Highlights, Surprises, and Reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When the Festival Bach Montr\u00e9al 2024<\/a> concluded this December, it left behind a tapestry of sounds and experiences as intricately woven as the composer\u2019s most elaborate fugues. For nearly a month, the city\u2014 and indeed beyond stretching to Qu\u00e9bec and Ottawa\u2014reverberated with the legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach, reimagined through a rich program that mixed time-honored traditions with contemporary approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s edition offered a remarkable journey that began with open-armed accessibility and culminated in moments of shimmering grandeur. The festival, which has become a touchstone for Bach aficionados in North America since its modest six-day inception in 2005, has never been content to present \u201cjust another concert.\u201d Instead, it always proposes a labyrinth of musical paths, each event inviting the listener to navigate the composer\u2019s legacy from a fresh perspective\u2014sometimes playful, often profound, and always anchored in excellence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Bach Festival Montr\u00e9al 2024 unfolded across November and December, it offered far more than a sequence of concerts. It became a journey\u2014one that moved between centuries, continents, and artistic temperaments, challenging audiences to broaden their understanding of Bach\u2019s legacy and the many creative minds it has inspired. By the festival\u2019s conclusion, listeners had been guided through an ambitious itinerary: from celebrations of Bach\u2019s most revered works to revelatory encounters with his contemporaries and heirs, as well as provocative dialogues between Bach\u2019s timeless language and the modern age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Grand Opening with Bach\u2019s Monumental Mass<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u00a9<\/strong> Gabriel Fournier \/ Festival Bach Montr\u00e9al<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Bach Festival 2024 launched in spectacular fashion on Saturday evening, November 23rd at the Maison symphonique, where Leonardo Garc\u00eda Alarc\u00f3n led the Festival Bach Montr\u00e9al Orchestra and Choir in a resounding performance of Bach\u2019s Mass in B Minor. Fresh off an equally successful concert the previous night at Qu\u00e9bec City\u2019s Palais Montcalm\u2014where attendance reportedly doubled compared to last year\u2014the Montr\u00e9al engagement drew such a passionate response that an additional tier of seating had to be opened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the very first \u201cKyrie,\u201d it was evident that Garc\u00eda Alarc\u00f3n\u2019s interpretive flair would highlight the Mass\u2019s dynamic contrasts. The orchestra\u2019s period instruments lent a warm, transparent color to the score, while the well-blended choir underscored both the reverential and jubilant dimensions of Bach\u2019s writing. Soloists Mariana Flores (soprano), Dara Savinova (alto), Nicholas Scott (tenor), and Andreas Wolf (bass) tackled the work\u2019s intricate passages with convincing poise.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u00a9<\/strong> Gabriel Fournier \/ Festival Bach Montr\u00e9al<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

In the closing movements, Garc\u00eda Alarc\u00f3n introduced an unexpected theatrical element that surprised even longtime Bach devotees: rather than remaining behind the orchestra, the choir gently filed offstage and processed down both sides of the parterre\u2014still singing in unison. This moment of immersive staging turned the final section of the Mass into a sweeping surround-sound experience, as the chorus\u2019s voices emerged from across the hall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The result was not only visually striking but also deeply affecting, reminding everyone of the communal nature of sacred music. By the time the final \u201cDona nobis pacem\u201d dissolved into silence, the audience was on its feet, visibly moved by the performance. Garc\u00eda Alarc\u00f3n\u2019s lifelong passion for Bach shone throughout, underscoring why the Mass in B Minor remains one of Western music\u2019s most cherished masterworks\u2014and why this year\u2019s festival opener is likely to be remembered as a resounding success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

November 29 at \u00c9glise St. Georges<\/strong> – An Immersive Reading of Bach\u2019s Motets<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On November 29 at \u00c9glise St. Georges, the British ensemble Solomon\u2019s Knot offered an illuminating exploration of Bach\u2019s grand motets, transforming what might have felt like an austere choral tradition into a vivid, immediate experience. Performing without a conventional conductor, the singers and instrumentalists navigated the motets\u2019 intricate polyphony with remarkable cohesion, giving each phrase a crisp vitality. Their \u201cJesu, meine Freude\u201d was particularly striking, as the group\u2019s transparency and subtle dynamic shifts underscored the text\u2019s emotional core. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interspersed with works by Johann Christoph Bach, the concert also highlighted lesser-known gems, weaving a nuanced tapestry that connected the broader Bach family legacy. The setting of \u00c9glise St. Georges, with its warm acoustics, further enhanced the ensemble\u2019s radiant blending of voices, making for a memorable evening that reaffirmed the timeless appeal of Bach\u2019s choral artistry<\/p>\n\n\n\n

November 30: Telemann\u2019s Hidden Facets<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Early november, the Akademie f\u00fcr Alte Musik Berlin (Akamus) offered a nuanced exploration of Georg Philipp Telemann, a figure who often stands in Bach\u2019s shadow. Rather than present the composer\u2019s most familiar pieces, Akamus dug deeper, showcasing an array of works that highlighted Telemann\u2019s stylistic breadth, from unusual key selections to lively \u201cPolish\u201d rhythms reflecting the cultural encounters of his early career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the intimate surroundings of \u00c9glise St. Georges, Telemann\u2019s music emerged as witty, exploratory, and refreshingly unpredictable. By shaping an evening that alternated between rich instrumental textures and daring harmonic shifts, Akamus proved how much vitality this repertoire can still hold. Their performance, meticulously balanced and historically informed, served as a timely reminder that Bach\u2019s world was never a solitary fortress but a vibrant landscape shared with equally inventive creators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 2: From Bach to Penderecki<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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\u00a9<\/strong> Antoine Saito \/ Festival Bach Montr\u00e9al<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

On December 2 at the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, Luka Coetzee filled in for the previously announced cellist Bruno Philippe, offering a recital aptly titled \u201cDe Bach \u00e0 Penderecki.\u201d Despite the limited time to prepare, she presented a cohesive journey through modern and baroque repertoire, opening with the stark, texturally intricate \u201cPreludio\u201d from Penderecki\u2019s Cello Suite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her program then moved into Bach\u2019s Suite no. 6 in D major, highlighting the composer\u2019s freer, more ornamented idiom, and continued with Ligeti\u2019s two-movement Sonata, which introduced the audience to contemporary folk-inspired motifs and edgy harmonic twists. After the intermission, a brief but focused reading of Dall\u2019Abaco\u2019s Caprice no. 2 paved the way for Bach\u2019s luminous Suite no. 3, culminating in Cassad\u00f3\u2019s colorful, Catalan-inflected Suite. Although the circumstances of her appearance were unplanned, Coetzee performed with steady assurance, leaving a clear sense that she had embraced the spirit of each work on the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 4 at Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours: A Rethinking of \u2018L\u2019offrande Musicale\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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\u00a9<\/strong> Antoine Saito \/ Festival Bach Montr\u00e9al<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

As the calendar turned to December, the festival delved into Bach\u2019s own monumental creations. On December 4, at the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, flutist Fran\u00e7ois Lazarevitch and his fellow musicians\u2014Josef Zak (violin), Lucile Boulanger (viola da gamba), and Maude Gratton (harpsichord)\u2014presented Bach\u2019s \u201cL\u2019offrande Musicale\u201d (BWV 1079) in a way that felt both intimate and contemplative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of following the order laid out in the program, the ensemble gently reordered the Ricercares, Canons, and the Trio Sonata. This subtle reshuffling encouraged the audience to let go of expectations and simply trust the music\u2019s internal logic. The result was a performance that felt more like a quiet exploration than a formal recital. Each movement emerged as if discovered anew, each transition as a whispered conversation among instruments rather than a grand pronouncement…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 5 at Salle Bourgie: Bach and Shostakovich in Resonance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The following night offered yet another shift in perspective. At Salle Bourgie on December 5, pianists Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy assembled a program intertwining preludes and fugues by Bach with those of Dmitri Shostakovich. Rather than a simple \u201ccompare and contrast,\u201d their performance felt like a dialogue stretched across the centuries. Bach\u2019s crystalline structures seemed to open portals in time, allowing Shostakovich\u2019s mid-20th-century to flow back and forth, illuminating new facets of both composers\u2019 work.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u00a9<\/strong> Antoine Saito \/ Festival Bach Montr\u00e9al<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The pianists treated this pairing as a kind of ritual, allowing each piece\u2019s character to inform the next. Bach\u2019s lines might be shaped with a subtle elasticity that one wouldn\u2019t expect from a strictly \u201cBaroque\u201d approach, but here it kind of made sense, especially when juxtaposed with Shostakovich\u2019s raw immediacy. The interplay suggested that music, regardless of its era, continually poses profound questions about existence, beauty, and meaning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In hearing these pieces side by side, the audience was invited to contemplate the timelessness of human expression, amidst a breathtaking setting, where yin and yang coexisted in perfect harmony, the Festival Bach Montr\u00e9al\u2019s timeless scenography completed the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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December 8 at Notre-Dame Basilica: A Festival\u2019s Reflective Close<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u00a9<\/strong> Antoine Saito \/ Festival Bach Montr\u00e9al<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The festival\u2019s concluding concert on December 8 at Notre-Dame Basilica aimed to bring all these threads together. Under conductor Clemens Schuldt, the Festival Orchestra and the Ch\u0153ur Les \u00c9l\u00e9ments offered a program encompassing Bach\u2019s own cantatas, a Brandenburg concerto, selections from Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach\u2019s Magnificat, and Haydn\u2019s \u201cLa reine\u201d Symphony. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the basilica\u2019s acoustic environment presented challenges persistent, low background hum that was hardly ideal for refined listening\u2014the musicians brought a spirit of invention and adaptability to the occasion. Schuldt\u2019s approach to Haydn, for instance, revealed witty turns of phrase and an exuberant palette of dynamic contrasts, providing a luminous counterpart to the evening\u2019s Bach selections. The choir delivered clear, resonant lines that fit neatly within the festival\u2019s overarching narrative of exploring a continuum of musical thought rather than a static canon, as demonstrated during this year\u2019s overture. Even last-minute cast changes among the vocal soloists were handled gracefully, adding a human touch to this grand finale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That evening also brought news that next year\u2019s edition will be called the \u201cFestival International Bach Montr\u00e9al,\u201d a fitting evolution for an event that now regularly attracts audiences and artists from around the globe. With over 17,000 spectators attending this year, the festival made clear that authenticity, intellectual curiosity, and unwavering artistic standards can draw crowds eager to engage deeply with the music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Festival\u2019s Enduring Legacy and Its International Horizon<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Walking out of each venue\u2014be it the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours after the delicately reassembled \u201cOffrande musicale\u201d or the bustling Salle Bourgie following Kolesnikov and Tsoy\u2019s tonal dialogues\u2014one sensed that listeners had been changed by the experience. The overheard exchanges in hallways, the hushed discussions at the Festival\u2019s Bistro or during the Off-Bach week, and the enthusiastic whispers from seasoned connoisseurs mingling with first-time festival-goers all bore witness to the festival\u2019s impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, these concerts emphasized how Bach\u2019s music can serve as a springboard for understanding broader questions: what does it mean to be modern while honoring tradition? How can performances of centuries-old compositions feel as urgent and meaningful as any new creation? The festival\u2019s programming\u2014neither pandering to easy populism nor trapped in academic rigor\u2014offered a balanced answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision to rename the event the \u201cFestival International Bach Montr\u00e9al\u201d in 2025 signals the organizers\u2019 ambition and confidence. The festival\u2019s roots have always been cosmopolitan, drawing artists and audiences from multiple continents, nurturing young talent, and inspiring established masters to experiment. Now, with a global title reflecting its global reach, the festival is poised to become not just a North American reference but a worldwide beacon for Bach interpretation. We can anticipate that future editions will continue this trajectory, forging new connections, discovering lesser-known repertoire, and finding fresh angles on familiar masterpieces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the Festival Bach Montr\u00e9al 2024 concluded this December, it left behind a tapestry of sounds and experiences as intricately woven as the composer\u2019s most elaborate fugues. For nearly a month, the city\u2014 and indeed beyond stretching to Qu\u00e9bec and Ottawa\u2014reverberated with the legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach, reimagined through a rich program that mixed … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2961,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,22],"tags":[112,111,38,40,110,113,42],"class_list":["post-2959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-reviews","tag-bach","tag-canada","tag-classical","tag-critics","tag-festival","tag-montreal","tag-news","infinite-scroll-item"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opustribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opustribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opustribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opustribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opustribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2959"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/opustribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3017,"href":"https:\/\/opustribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2959\/revisions\/3017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opustribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opustribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opustribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opustribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}