Colour Play

Green cello, blue bassoon, yellow piccolo—the vibrant hues of French music unfold like a painting by Monet or Gauguin, capturing fleeting moments of magic, conjuring fairytale worlds and whisking us away to distant lands. Ravel’s Ma Mère l’Oye contains five movements inspired by well-known fairy tales, while Mel Bonis evokes a sensual, dreamlike world in her Rêve de Cléopâtre. Fauré, the master of French melody, then immerses us in the spellbinding tale of Pelléas et Mélisande, followed by the youthful brilliance of Bizet’s very first symphony with all the grace, passion and clarity that define his later works. Adding a distinctly modern and local touch to the program is Jacques Hétu, one of Quebec’s greatest composers. His Triple Concerto* was written in 2001 for our guests, the Trio Hochelaga.