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| Daniel Lavoie sings La Licorne Captive, Festival Classica, St-Lambert, May 29 2015 |
La licorne captive at the Festival Classica in St-Lambert on May 29 was an event as beautiful as it was rare. After all that was indeed the only chance to date to see this show in North America (the Europeans had already had several opportunities to see it in France). I've been under the spell of the original album (Le chant du monde, 2014) for over a year now (here is why), and finally the fortune smiled on me, so last Friday I found myself inside a very full house in the Catholic Church of St-Lambert, located on one of the quiet streets of this nice suburb of Montreal. Voilà, La licorne captive in Quebec.
The general impression: the show is exquisite, it leaves you with a feeling of having been given a precious gift. The haunting melodies, the rich musical texture, the guitars and the rototom (by the musical superpower and the chef d'orchestre Laurent Guardo) keeping the intriguing dialog going with the 3 violas da gamba (Betsy MacMillan, Marie-Laurence Primeau and Mélisande Corriveau) and the viola d'amore (Olivier Brault's solo at the end of Le Sang was one of the evening's highlights), the poignant back vocals by soprano Marie-Lou Gauthier, and of course, Daniel Lavoie as the group's most precious musical instrument, the soul of the evening and the surprisingly down-to-earth guide to the enchanting and often macabre world of Laurent Guardo's untamed fantasy - all this in one place, perfectly synced, offering a listening experience that's fresh and deep at the same time. The program flows easy as an exhale.
Speaking of Daniel Lavoie, this part lion in winter and part rock star carries the golden weight of the baroque with an amazing ease. His talent combines depth and lightness and both of these qualities seem to me essential in a show like La licorne. And by the way, his monologs and comments, his humor offsetting the Gothic ambiance of the music, his reading of his own philosophical poems to the background of violas or percussion, and finally his proverbial charisma that simply doesn't quit, are all extras that one doesn't get on the disc. This artist's stage presence is so strong La licorne captive could've easily become his own show, but Lavoie knows how to fill out the stage and at the same time to let his stage partners shine - how he does it is a mystery to me, but it's one of his most charming and consistent qualities.
A noble and elegant gem. That's the impression from La licorne captive show that I have carried home with me 300 miles away from Montreal.
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