The electro symphony of Ariane Moffatt

The Montreal Symphony Orchestra continues this evening and tomorrow its flirtation with the world of pop. La Presse attended the first rehearsal of the singer Ariane Moffatt and her guests Marie-Pierre Arthur and Alexandre Désilets on stage at the Maison symphonique.

The voices of Ariane Moffatt and Alexandre Désilets resonated in harmony on the symphonic arrangements of Space Oddity by David Bowie concocted by the conductor Simon Leclerc when we arrived at the Symphony. And the two performers on stage seemed equally impressed by the end result.

It was indeed the first time that Ariane Moffatt and her guests were physically accompanied by the musicians of the OSM.

“I had the arrangements that Simon sent me two months ago, but the sound quality, the amplitude and the dynamics are totally different when we are on stage with the orchestra,” explained from the outset Ariane Moffatt.

The singer-songwriter had never attempted the symphonic adventure in more than 15 years. And she admits that her biggest challenge has been to let go of the game so that she can find time in space.

“Physically, there is a lot of distance between the violin section and the double bass section. If your mind focuses on an element, you’re a little fucked up. What I understood is that it takes a lot of abandonment: I’m not following all the musicians, but I have to be accompanied. I try to be in a position of listening together, as if I were in the room, “she explained to La Presse as she left the stage.

Tribute to the great people of pop

Simon Leclerc has rearranged the symphonic version of the songs such as Debout , Je veux tout or Le coeur dans la tête , but also classics Of the pop that the singer wanted to interpret in symphonic version.

“I wanted to pay tribute to some of the great pop musicians, some of them missing, like David Bowie, Michael Jackson and Leonard Cohen. Rearranging great songs like these is a pleasure! ”

The singer has also been able to rediscover certain songs from her own repertoire through this experience. “There’s this song, I keep you with me , from my first album, Aquanaute , which I have not sung for more than 10 years. Simon gave her a color of repetitive serial music completely bewitching, “she said.

Accompanied on stage by her faithful friend Marie-Pierre Arthur, Ariane Moffatt will sing for the first time with Alexandre Désilets. “He has an absolutely incredible voice,” she exclaims. The two guest interpreters will each offer three symphonic versions of their respective songs.

An electro touch

For the first time since the beginning of the OSM Pop series, conductor Simon Leclerc has deviated from his own rule by asking Ariane Moffatt to bring an electro touch to his symphonic arrangements.

“He told me that it would be fun to have a little beat box that I will use on I want everything . It is a little playful, with the orchestra that accompanies me on this little rhythm. I was a good student, but he added a layer by telling me that he had another idea for some plays. So we’re going to experiment this afternoon, “Ariane Moffatt, excited, pointed to her sampler posed on stage.

“It allows me to record the microphones that are above the orchestra and record a sequence and then put it back into the arrangement. I’m going to play with the orchestra, but we’ll see if it holds up! “She explained.

To come up

The symphonic adventure of Ariane Moffatt will continue at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC) as part of the exhibition Leonard Cohen – A Breach in Everything / A Crack in Everything, presented from 9 November.

“They ordered me a song from Cohen, Famous Blue Raincoat , which I’m going to play tonight and that the MSO allowed me to record for use in my arrangement for MAC,” says Ariane Moffatt.

Currently between two albums, the singer-songwriter says she wants to devote herself to studio creation and experimentation in the coming months. “My studio is just above my sons daycare. I’m almost there all the time and I’ve started to make realizations for other artists