Since 1956, Les Concerts Couperin has been presenting chamber music by renowned musicians, and for several years now, by up-and-coming young chamber musicians and soloists, in a setting that facilitates close contact between audience and artists. Initially dedicated to the performance of French Baroque music, the Concerts Couperin have gradually broadened the scope of the repertoire presented, giving pride of place to contemporary Canadian creation.
With over 275 concerts to its credit, this non-profit organization has given Quebec City residents the opportunity to hear some of the world’s greatest performers, including Jeanne Landry, Pierre Boutet, the duo Victor Bouchard and Renée Morisset, Jacqueline Martel, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Bruno Laplante, Alexandre Lagoya and Catherine Eisenhoffer, Raoul Sosa, Scott Ross, André Laplante, Michel Ducharme, harpsichordist Richard Paré, pianist Monique De Margerie, baritone Robert Huard, Quatuor Arthur Leblanc, mezzo-soprano Claudine Ledoux, Hugo Laporte, Marie-Andrée Mathieu, as well as musicians with the renowned Violons du Roy and L’Orchestre symphonique de Québec. More recently, Concerts Couperin has had the privilege of welcoming a new generation of musicians: violinist Marie Bégin, pianists Jean-Michel Dubé and Rosemarie Duval-Laplante, the Xu brothers, the Carrier family, Samuel Gagnon-Blanchette, Louis-Charles Gagnon, Bruce Gaulin, Anne-Sophie Paquet, Carmen Bruno, Bruce Gaulin, Mélissa Tremblay, Lauréanne Houde, William Foy, Simon Desbiens, Marie-Andrée Mathieu, and others.
The Concerts Couperin also aim to be an active and accessible musical memory. In keeping with the musical initiatives of the organization’s founders, the Concerts Couperin actively contribute to enriching the musical landscape of Quebec City, through the renewal of their musical seasons and the diversity of their guest artists. From the outset, the Concerts Couperin’s main concern has been to support the Capitale-Nationale’s up-and-coming classical musicians by offering them a privileged showcase, outside educational institutions.
photo : David Ohmer
PROGRAMMING
Ravel meets Gershwin
Holy Trinity Cathedral, 31 des Jardins Street
Rosemarie Duval-Laplante and Jean-Michel Dubé join forces with 4 hands to present Ravel and Gershwin: two continents, two cultures, two geniuses! Discover their worlds of impressionist colors and jazz rhythms in works written for 4 hands and arrangements with Ravelian sonorities. Travel from Paris to New York in the first half of the 20th century in the company of these mutually admired composers, who, coincidentally, died in the same year.
This concert features commentary to guide the listener through the music of Ravel (France) and Gershwin (USA). These explanations help us to understand their influences, their creative processes in the context of the times, and the impact of their works on each other. For example, Ravel incorporated jazz into his music, while Gershwin admired Ravel to the point of asking him for composition lessons. The works presented are written or arranged for 4-hand piano.
Guest artist: Samuel Blanchette-Gagnon, solo piano
General Admission : $31,75 | Students : $16,75 | Free for children under 12 years old
Romantic
Holy Trinity Cathedral, 31 des Jardins Street
Juan Gonzalo Jimenez Echeverri, piano
Guest: Rose Lebeau-Sabourin, soprano
Presentation: France Ducasse, writer
In collaboration with the poets of French America
The guest Rose Lebeau Sabourin will sing six melodies by Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelsshon. She has received several awards and distinctions, including the Concours d’Art Lyrique de la Relève Musicale, the NATS Student Auditions and the Kiwanis Music Festival in Ottawa. Finally, she is a scholarship holder of the Académie du domaine Forget de Charlevoix at the 2024 National Capital Music Competition. The guest pianist Laurent Porter will play a Prelude and Fugue by Bach and a Sonata by Scarlatti.
General Admission : $31,75 | Students : $16,75 | Free for children under 12 years old
Puisque tout passe
Holy Trinity Cathedral, 31 des Jardins Street
Meslanges, a capella quartet
Renaissance and 20th century music
Guest: Evan Shi, violin
Works by Lassus, Costeley, Goudumel, Jannequin, Hindemith, Ravel, Saint-Saëns, Debussy, Poulenc, et al.
An assortment of polyphonic a cappella songs from the Renaissance and the 20th century on the theme of nature set to music by the great French poets.
General Admission : $31,75 | Students : $16,75 | Free for children under 12 years old
Charles Gagnon encounters Bach and Mozart
Holy Trinity Cathedral, 31 des Jardins Street
With Brett Molzan, violin 1; Catherine Mailloux, violin 2, William Foy, viola; Simon Desbiens, cello; Nathalie Tremblay, piano
Guest: Arthur McNabney, pianist
Presentation: Louise Pelland, multidisciplinary artist
Works by Bach, Mozart and a quintet creation by Charles Gagnon.
In collaboration with the Conservatoire de musique de Québec
An initiatory meeting. Bach, Mozart! And Charles Gagnon among us. A Bach concerto and a string quartet by Mozart under the direction of violinist Brett Molzan, and a creation by Charles Gagnon inspired by poems by Guy Cloutier, writer.
General Admission : $31,75 | Students : $16,75 | Free for children under 12 years old
Gallery
