At this time of year Sky Arts 2 shows a series of ‘seasonal’ concerts from around Europe’s major cities. The most recent of these is “From Vienna to Broadway” in which Daniele Gatti supposedly conducts the Orchestre National de France and Swedish soprano Ida Falk Winland performs a concert of Christmas melodies and songs from Broadway musicals at the Cirque d'hiver in Paris. The programme includes Sleigh Ride, Winter Wonderland, Deck the Halls and Santa Claus is Coming to Town, as well as numbers from West Side Story, Girl Crazy and Candide. Mostly stock Christmas fare, you might think, But - and oddly even - the Sky listings omit two crucial pieces of information: the conductor, far from being the Italian Daniele Gatti is actually the extraordinarily talented (Swedish) Sofi Jeannin. and the children’s choir she runs, La Maîtrise de Radio France.
Children’s choirs are ten a penny at Christmas, and most are characterised by being charming, slightly off-key and single gender - usually male. La Maîtrise de Radio France is, however, rather different. It’s a mixed choir school, founded in 1946, taking children from 8 - 16, and it’s the best children’s choir you’re ever likely to hear. The eighty-odd members are selected on their ability to make a single, pure and flawless sound, and they’re trained relentlessly (it’s a boarding school) to a peak of perfection rarely experienced outside of the King’s College Choral scholars. Add to this the sublime arrangements - complex, subtle, interweaving monuments of polyphony and the result is supremely beautiful.
Sofi Jeannin’s command of the podium is also impressive. Rarely for a conductor, she is explicit about what the orchestra and choir should do, when to do it and how, and her relationship with the choir is the best I’ve ever seen. She’s outstanding in every respect and this programme is one I defy anyone not to enjoy.
The orchestra made only a couple of timing errors, and were generally pretty good, but are in danger of being merged, as the political forces in France have determined they lack an appropriate ‘French’ identity. Since their remit was originally to embrace an international body of work, this seems not only rather short-sighted, but also smacks of a certain French arrogance, which is a shame, considering their outstanding choir were singing in four different languages during the concert and were totally indistinguishable from British children when singing in English.
All in all, however, a superb concert which I heartily recommend to anyone who enjoys orchestral music.
