Saint François d'Assise

Messaien opera concert performance sung in French

Performers David Wilson-Johnson (St François); Heidi Grant Murphy (L'Ange); Toby Spence (Frère Massée); Christopher Maltman (Frère Léon); Stuart Kale (Le lépreux); James Gilchrist (Frère Elie); Frédéric Caton (Frère Bernard); Ivor Klayman (Frère Sylvestre); Peter Cannell (Frère Rufin); Valérie Hartmann-Claverie, Dominique Kim, Pascale Rousse-Lacordaire (ondes Martenot); (Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Reinbert de Leeuw (conductor); Edinburgh Festival Chorus, David Jones (chorus master)
Venue Usher Hall
Address Lothian Road, Edinburgh
Reviewer Pat Napier

This was a night to remember, one to join the pantheon of the "Did you go to..." when looking back at the unmissable performances of past Festivals. The five minute standing ovation proved I wasn't alone in thinking this.

David Wilson-Johnson

The performance was dedicated to Messaien's sister-in-law Jeanne Loriod who died on 3 August this year and who was to have played the ondes Martenot.

Without exception, the soloists were faultless. David Wilson-Johnson's role as the Saint was a demanding, sustained part, being on stage for the entire 4 hours. He was always immersed in the music and in the action, going from the sure support of the frightened, timid Brother Leo, to the somewhat pedantic teacher, then to ecstatic visionary talking to God and the Angel as if alone.

Heidi Grant Murphy

Heidi Grant Murphy, singing the Angel, perched high up in the organ gallery - right in front of the organ pipes - sang the most entracing , ethereal music so movingly as to transport us all up to heaven. I swear that the pipes resonated in sympathy at times. Once again, the 'home team' the Edinburgh Festival Chorus (who have worked so hard this year) rose to new musical heights, while also contributing the redoubtable and popular Ivor Klayman and Peter Cannell as named soloists.

Messaien never did anything by half and Saint François d'Assise, his only opera runs true to form, needing an orchestra of 120 and a chorus of 150, though the forces were smaller for this concert, the last in a series of concert performances. He is a kaleidoscopical composer, mixing and matching snatches of melody and motifs, contrasting chords and harmony, juxtaposing voice and orchestra to make mystical, powerful images all set in a sound world entirely his own. He saw music in colour and assigned specific colours to the worlds he created.

Christopher Maltman

Messaien's mystical, deeply religious nature responded to the story of St Francis, taking some nine years to craft eight tableaux based on the saint's own writings and highly selected aspects of his life. His inspiration also drew on the Umbrian landscape and birds, and early paintings of St Francis. But he also included bird life from far away from Italy.

The sound world of this opera is firmly rooted in strange, unique, sometimes home-made instruments, with the huge percussion section taking centre stage and the strings mostly reduced to playing the supporting cast to give atomspere and deep, rich sounds in support of xylophones, gongs, tubular bells, a wind machine, a sandbox, three exotic ondes Martenots and much more besides. Difficult music illuminated by intervals of glorious singing.

There were many highlights for me: the Leper's conversion to hope and belief; the sustained high of the transcendential dialogue with the angel-musician in Tableau 5, containing rapturous music and tantalising, fleeting references to Turangalila; the sermon to the birds; the Chorus speaking as Christ the Lord in words and sibilant sounds; the intensely moving stigmata scene telling of spiritual ecstasy. In Tableau 8, St Francis' death and transition to his New Life was Giotto's famous fresco set to music, highlighted by the plainchant passage.

Most of all, the inspired lighting of the stage, complementing the various tableaux added another, very appropriate and effective, dimension. However, I'm sure the low auditorium lighting level frustrated many who wanted to participate fully by following the libretto. But, in the end, who will forget the overpoweringly wonderful "de la gloire, de la joie" final sunburst of music as the lights were steadily turned up to fullest brilliance to reach the highest peak together?

© Pat Napier. 1 September 2001