Plasson and OSM propose a French toast

Program falls squarely in realm of je ne sais quoi

A man of simple, stereophonic gestures, Plasson strove for a monumental sound.

“Maestro, does the OSM really sound French?”

This was the question I put to Michel Plasson a dozen years ago when this native of Paris was tasked with conducting the orchestra in Carnegie Hall a few months after the resignation of Charles Dutoit.

“Yes,” he replied on Seventh Ave. “Now.”

That memorable riposte seemed to be in the air Thursday as Plasson, 80, returned to Montreal in a program of music mostly from the motherland. Whether it was the vivid but balanced array of sonorities or the steady treatment of rhythm, the sounds filling the Maison symphonique fell squarely in the realm of je-ne-sais-quoi.

Which is not to say they were entirely predictable. The tempo was fast in Debussy’s Nuages. Bravo to Pierre-Vincent Plante for keeping his lyrical cool on the cor anglais. Fêtes followed, with wonderful exuberance, the steady approach of the parade contoured to perfection.

We then got Britten’s Les Illuminations, a setting of Rimbaud that can be classed as French by association. Soprano Karina Gauvin approached the verse with splendid diva attitude while smartly managing the high acrobatics. Words can be hard to resolve at such altitudes. Since lights were dim and the text was small, I have a feeling that some people heard the performance as vocalise.

Strings sounded engaged in the Britten, including a viola section with titled players absent. This was, indeed, a night populated mostly by associate principals, who were in fine form for Fauré’s exquisite (if sometimes soporific) Pelléas et Mélisande suite.

A small orchestra performed this, but all hands were on deck for Chausson’s Symphony in B Flat. A tall man of simple, stereophonic gestures, Plasson strove for a monumental sound. There were heroic climaxes in the outer movements, sustained passages of post-Tristan anguish in the slow movement and rich colours everywhere.

When Plasson led this score in 2002 in Salle Wilfrid Pelletier, I wondered in print whether the music could have moved ahead with more dramatic urgency. Nothing has changed except the acoustic setting.

The crowd was not huge but applause was ample. The magical encore was the Adagietto from Bizet’s L’Arlésienne. The concert is repeated Sunday afternoon. Go to www.osm.ca.