Quebec harpist Valérie Milot presented Nebulae on Tuesday evening at Salle Bourgie — her new recital-show, a format she has been refining for several years. This astronomically and philosophically inflected opus charts new territory with considerable success.

Valérie Milot seeks to reimagine the concert ritual through productions that integrate a dramaturgist, a narrative, a scenic design, and video elements. With Nebulae, she aims to unite music and philosophical reflection inspired by space exploration in what she calls “a musical and astronomical adventure.”

“For me, music is a refuge and a means of exploring profound questions and bringing a little light into uncertainty. Through this show, I wish to offer a poetic interlude — one in which the harp becomes a vector for reflection on our relationship with the Universe and the evolution of our humanity.” — Valérie Milot

As in the previous project Transfiguration — created with cellist Stéphane Tétreault — the musical thread weaves together familiar works such as Debussy’s Clair de lune, Gluck’s Dance of the Blessed Spirits, and Schubert’s Du bist die Ruh, alongside compositions and sounds of our time: Amélie Fortin’s Lux, William Bolcom’s Graceful Ghost Rag, and Denis Gougeon’s Au cœur de l’étoile. These are notable musical contributions to the evening. Gougeon’s work is a gem, and Milot’s light-touch interpretation of Bolcom is masterful.

An arrangement of Arvo Pärt’s Fratres was cut during a tightening of the program following the premiere at Festival Classica last June.

Harpist and Performer

Compared to Transfiguration, the new show relies less on staging through visual elements and performer movement. Nebulae is a one-woman-show, and as such it is the spoken texts — within a technologically apt and effective framework — that give the evening its flavour.

Valérie Milot comes across as a cool and thoughtful artist who, rather than simply presenting works, weaves them naturally into the flow of reflections on life and the history of science.

This relaxed persona — sensitive, witty, self-deprecating — is embodied with naturalness and conviction. Were it to seem rehearsed or forced, the whole thing would fall apart. In short, everything that went so wrong at the Lanaudière 2024 opening concert centred on Farah Alibay is here done perfectly — resulting in an evening that is poetic, sensitive, and funny, brimming with joyful erudition.