As soprano Béatrice Gobin began to sing Schubert’s Ave Maria, it seemed that we felt the sweetness of her voice before we actually heard it. Like a fine-tuned audio dimmer being slowly turned on, her song melted into the grand cathedral emerging from the seamless sync with the small string orchestra behind her.
This exquisitely pleasing moment was in the second part of the evening’s program, after a Pachabel intro and performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. If somehow our attention had wandered from the magnificence of the grand Église Saint-Paul - Saint Louis setting, Gobin’s voice again compelled us to savor the acoustics and visual splendor around us. We see the many sculptures of Maria, in particular, as she sings her intro song.
Église Saint-Paul - Saint Louis Splendor Is the Main Show
Here we are, Americans in Paris, listening to this music as it had first been heard— not with ear buds or other modern artifice. Like royal patrons of the 18th Century, we hear Gobin and the string performers of the evening in the perfect acoustics of the grand cathedral. They perform as daylight dims and the many low hanging chandeliers take over. Some might feel the sightline is slightly marred by missing stained glass windows here and there, and a scaffolding beside it. This reviewer instead found this evidence of active preservation underway to serve as exclamation marks for the many artistic treasures mingling with the music.
We learn from Erwann Aguer, Alegria Music’s Production Director who was the driving force to found the series, that all the performers come from one of the main orchestras in Paris, France — Paris Opera Orchestra, French National Orchestra, Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra.
Aguer, who says he is especially fond of the Marais area where the church is located, approached the priest about staging concerts in the church in 2012, when the church exterior was restored. The concerts have been ongoing since. This year, there has been a concert every Saturday since April 20, and one planned until July 13. Additionally there was a performance of the Bach Cello Suites in April. There will be a break during the Olympics when the city’s focus is expected to instead to be on sports, but they will resume in the fall and then also include special holiday performances.
There may be last minute substitutes at a performance you attend, but in this reviewer’s opinion it doesn’t matter much. The setting of the performance is what makes this a standout.
In a word, exalting…
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Photos: Slider photos of performance by Peter Kachergis. All other images courtesy of Alegria Music, unless otherwise indicated.
Performers:
Violin Solo : Jean-Philippe Kuzma (Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France)
1st Violin : Ana Millet (Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France)
2nd Violin Ghislaine Benabdallah (Orchestre National de France)
Alto : Fanny Coupé (Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France)
Cello : Paul-Marie Kuzma (Orchestre de Paris)
Bass : Etienne Durantel (Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France)
Soprano : Béatrice Gobin
About the Author: Amy Munice
Amy Munice is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of Picture This Post. She covers books, dance, film, theater, music, museums and travel. Prior to founding Picture This Post, Amy was a freelance writer and global PR specialist for decades—writing and ghostwriting thousands of articles and promotional communications on a wide range of technical and not-so-technical topics.
