"While its artistic director, François Delagoutte, has announced his departure—prompting heartfelt tributes—Les Métaboles’ residency at the Cité de la Voix has just been renewed for three years. It is therefore only natural that the Saturday evening concert of the Rencontres Musicales de Vézelay has been entrusted to them, featuring a demanding program, created especially for the occasion, full of grace and simplicity.
From the very opening of Poulenc’s *Litanies à la Vierge noire*, the women’s voices—crystal clear—rise in an a cappella passage that immediately captivates: “Lord, have mercy.” Simplicity defines the interpretation of this work, with understated phrasing that follows the sinuous contours of the vocal line. […]
Throughout the concert, the choir deliberately limits its use of color, seeking a timbre that might be described as ecclesiastical—rather bright, almost youthful—which underscores the sincerity of the invocation. This in no way precludes the interplay of textures, in which the men’s voices shine brilliantly in “Tu es le fils éternel du père / Tu patris sempiternus es Filius.” Nor does it preclude the beautiful nuances from piano to forte that punctuate the text like so many stations along a path of faith. What could be more fitting for this work, which represents the Estonian musician’s (re)discovery of the Creed—music “of the origins” composed after eight years of studying Gregorian chant? This Gregorian precision permeates the entire performance, in which there is no affectation, no ostentatious coquetry. Integrity, simplicity, and service to the text guide the performance under Léo Warynski’s extremely sober and precise direction: what we are offered here is music stripped to its very essence, with voices treated instrumentally to create a sonic immersion that is itself an expression of mercy."