Take Handel’s most famous orators, twelve soloists from different Canadian communities and a film crew. The entire film resulted in an 80-minute musical, a bold ode to the diversity of the lyrical world and to the memory of Canada’s indigenous people.
Just imagine: a multilingual version of Handel’s most famous speeches, performed by soloists from different communities in Canada …
In this movie, we see and hear a dozen soloists … Inuit miso-soprano from the Yukon, a wilderness region in the north of the country, sings the musical notes not in English, but in her native language, Inuktitut. She is photographed walking in the snow wearing traditional deer shoes. We also have a gay tenor, of Chinese origins, Handel sings on the streets of Vancouver, dressed in classic outfits and wearing high heels 15 cm high … Soprano is from one of the oldest Indian tribes in the country whose share in the language of her ancestors and another Mizu, from Quebec descent Tunisian this time, singing in Arabic, wearing a scarf. The original Christ booklet has been translated into six languages in total!
It is an understatement to say: This is not a traditional Christian, but a free and rebellious adaptation, specially designed for the screen and renamed “Messiah / the Congregation,” which is what we owe to the singing company. ” Opposite the grain theater , Headquartered in Toronto, which has partnered with the City Symphony Orchestra. The result has been restated and texted without shame for rendering A succession of highly personal musical stories, Which mixes the sacred and the profane while preserving the central themes of Handel’s biblical work: suffering, hope, and redemption.
This movie, shot in the midst of a pandemic and at the height of the “Black Lives Matter” demonstrations this summer, does not leave us indifferent: it is available on the company’s website and on Youtube until January 7th and has really caused a reaction. Netizens: Some cry blasphemy, others clap. The critical reception across the Atlantic was enthusiastic and applauded the boldness of the initiative.
An initiative that is, moreover, a great musical resonance for the Canadian government project: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already made reconciliation with the indigenous people a priority …