Paris Fall 2018 - Past and Present - Part 2

And then there was music.   We heard a wonderful orchestral concert at the French Radio.  They have a beautiful new concert hall, with wood on all the walls and a marvelous and clear acoustic.  (I'm not going to bother comparing this with the state of music at the national radio of Canada.)   The program began with Debussy's "Jeux", a ballet score from 1913 which is in its own way just as radical as Stravinsky's Rite of Spring; except it's not so noisy about it.   Ravel's jazz-inspired piano concerto followed, followed by Henri Dutilleiux's second symphony, a fascinating work that I would love to hear again.  And the concert ended with a repeat of "Jeux"; a wonderful programming idea.  It was a brilliantly conceived and performed program; I wish all orchestra programmers would be this inspired.

The hall:

We also went to two operas.  The first was a world premiere by the Swiss composer Michael Jarrell, with a libretto based on Racine's classic play "Berenice".  Jarrell is a definite modernist of IRCAM pedigree; the opera was dramatically compelling and made me want to hear it again.   Of course, it helped that the starring role was written for and sung by the extraordinary Barbara Hannigan.   I can't take my ears or eyes off her when she is on stage.  The opera was performed in the splendid old Palais Garner, with its totally over the top grand salons. Once again I had forgotten how small and intimate the auditorium itself is; it must be half the size of the Metropolitan Opera.

We had seats in a side box literally right above the orchestra, with the partial view of the stage.

And the box had this feature:

I wondered what use might have been made of this feature in the past, besides the obvious one for naps during those long grand operas.

We went with our friends David and Sylvia to hear Meyerbeer's grand opera "Les Huguenots" at the much larger Opera Bastille.  I approached this opera with some trepidation; it started at 6 PM and lasted until after 11 PM, and I am not exactly a fan of grand romantic operas.   But actually I liked it, and it was very compelling in many parts.   Meyerbeer was some kind of genius, and the opera is filled with dramatic moments and inspired choral writing.  He is also very inventive in his use of the orchestra, using instruments like the viola d'amore and the bass clarinet.   The opera has been performed more times at the Paris Opera than any other opera, and yet they have not done it since the 1930's.



I also visited of lot of churches.   I always go to Notre Dame because it is still astonishing every time I go.  That this building built in medieval times continues to exist in the heart of 21st century Paris is extraordinary.   And the experience of architecture is one that you can't really have without being there; whereas you can look at a reasonable facsimile of a painting or listen to a recording of music, the only way to experience architecture is to be there.   I also ventured into a number of churches that I have walked by many times.   I went into St. Sulpice and was lucky enough to hear an organist practicing; like architecture, large organs like the one in St Sulpice need to be heard live.   The sound was amazing.  I also went to St. Chapelle, which I haven't been to in a long time.   Yes, the stained glass windows..

Besides the windows, the rest of the interior is decorated as well.

     A discovery for me was the church at St. Germain, which I probably have been inside at some point.  The church, which had its origins around the year 543 and was more or less destroyed in the French Revolution (it was used as a gunpowder factory) was "restored" in the 19th century.   And now those restorations are now being restored, and what was until recently a dark and grimy interior is now brightly colorful.  It looks like some of the churches we saw in Hungary.   And like many Italian churches, it is a conglomeration of elements from many different periods.

The afternoon light coming through the windows was beautiful.

This is what the unrestored part looks like:

And I like the train stations in Paris, especially the old train sheds.  Here are some photos from the Gare du Lyon.

The Gare du Lyon is famous for its restaurant, Le Train Bleu, with its spectacularly ornate interior.   I was intrigued, peering in, to see both the exterior world and the train shed reflected in the windows.

And a few miscellaneous photos from walking around.

Speaking of refections, seen while sitting in cafes.

And in a cafe, a urinal seemingly made out of a beer keg.  French logic at its best; consumed beer returning to its source.

The shops windows in the fancy galleries show objects of every possible kind.
"Objets de Collection" indeed:

This is some kind of antique diving helmet:

A cane store:

Medical objects:

A vertigo inducing stairwell:

Chocolates and macarons on the theme of Autumn in Canada:

Some doorways in the Montparnasse district:

Fondation Cartier, with it glass wall in front:

And, on a very warm and sunny day, I walked through the Place de la Concorde and the Tuileries:

Competing monuments:

And one final note.  In Paris, we use the metro constantly; it really is a wonderfully convenient way to get around.  You can't help but notice that the government of France puts a lot of money into making the whole thing work well (although it's not perfect), and then reflect on the way in which North American governments are unwilling to make substantial investments in public transportation systems that benefit all the people.  (And during the next part of our trip, I found out that all of the excellent Dutch train network runs on wind power.  Amazing!)