Handel’s Messiah: Les Violons du Roy, Labadie at Carnegie Hall

To celebrate their 25th anniversary, the Quebec City-based chamber orchestra, Les Violons du Roy, took their renowned interpretation of Handel’s Messiah on the road for a North American tour. CBC/Radio-Canada recorded their December 11 appearance at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, which was an unqualified triumph.

New York Times music critic James Oestreich wrote: « This Messiah [...] was, for the combined excellence of the choral singing and the orchestral playing, the best I’ve heard in years. » The 31 voices of La Chapelle de Québec bring an extraordinary level of technical precision and expressiveness to the choruses, and conductor Bernard Labadie breathes new life into this well known classic, which he has now performed 50 times with Les Violons du Roy.

I was lucky enough to cover this concert for Radio Canada, Espace Musique a week ago. A great experience I’d like to share with you.

More on cbc.ca