EIF 26: Voices of Canada

Usher Hall, Edinburgh - 20/08/26

Orchestra Symphonique de Montréal with Rafael Payare (conductor), Elisabeth St-Gelais (soprano), Emma Pennell (soprano), Alisa Weilerstein (cello).

In their second concert at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival, the Orchesta Symphonique de Montréal, under the baton of Rafael Payare, presented a programme that exuded an intoxicating combination of emotion, quality, innovation, diversity and artistic coherence. Precisely what EIF intends to be about.

The first half opened with sopranos Emma Pennell and Elisabeth St-Gelais joining the orchestra for two new vocal works confronting history, memory and the lived experience of indigenous communities in Canada today. ‘You Can Die Properly Now’ was sung in Mi’kmaq with English surtitles. Pennell, also a noted librettist, has controlled power and range. She evoked the tragi-beauty of this short, captivating piece by Ana Sokolović and Michelle Sylliboy with real presence.

Ian Cusson and Natasha Kanapé-Fontaine’s ‘Un cri s’élève en moi’ (‘A cry rises in me and transfigures me’) was full of suspense, texture and contrasting bright lights. In just over ten minutes the song presents a suspenseful life-cycle. Elisabeth St-Gelais delivered its emotional range with convincing delicacy. “The poem is the movement that fertilises.”

As for Gabriela Ortiz’s nearly half-hour cello concerto, ‘Dzonot’, commissioned and premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2024 – well, it is an revelation. Perhaps one of the standout orchestral works of the first quarter of the twenty-first century. Like many great works, it generates its own language out of a varied musical landscape, taking you on a journey of surprising delights and landing you somewhere you never quite expected to be. It also tests the soloist (the superb Alisa Weilerstein, for whom it was written) to the limits – but to deliver substance, not showiness.

‘Dzonot’ was inspired by the underground rivers, caves, cenotes and fragile ecosystem of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. It is structured by four vivid movements that draw upon Maya mythology, local fauna and a range of indigenous musical cultures, all weaved into a colourful, dense orchestral tapestry. Spellbinding.

Last but not least, what can we say about Richard Strauss’s sumptuous tone poem ‘Ein Heldenleben?’ The piece runs continuously across six distinct but connected sections, outlining the life, battles, and final peace of the protagonist – almost certainly the composer, though he always denied it.

What a fascinating choice this was for the second half. It once more showcased the considerable talents of the Orchesta Symphonique de Montréal, with Rafael Payare balletically navigating its tongue-in-cheek epic grandeur and many moments of sublime beauty.

Combining this monumental staple of the late Romantic period with a ground-breaking contemporary cello concert from an entirely different sound world, plus two powerful songs drawing deeply on the pain and resilience of indigenous communities in Canada – while doing them all justice – looks to be a daunting task. Payare, the orchestra and three world class guest soloists pulled it off superbly.