Orchestre de l'Agora - Nicolas Ellis
AP446 - 1CD - 68' - Sep 25, 2026
At night, a woman wanders through the streets of Montreal. Her thoughts turn to her sister, Lucille, to their childhood together, and to her death. Drawing on the poetry of Émile Nelligan, composer Ian Cusson traces, in Le Récital des anges, a contemplative journey into the intimate experience of loss and grief. Performed by soprano Elisabeth St Gelais, this new work forms the centerpiece of a nocturnal programme devoted to wandering, poised between dream and nightmare.
It is paired with Ian Cusson’s own orchestrations of Schubert’s lieder, performed by mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska, including Erlkönig in Berlioz’s French adaptation. Under the direction of its founder and conductor Nicolas Ellis, the Orchestre de l’Agora thus reaffirms its Montreal roots, drawing on a city that has become a particularly vibrant hub for contemporary creation, while asserting its own distinctive artistic identity.
Franz Schubert
with Ema Nikolovska mezzo-soprano
1. Erlkönig D 328 3’35
2. An den Mond D 193 [1] orch. Ian Cusson 3’16
3. Symphony no. 8 ‘Unfinished’ D 759 | Allegro moderato [2] 11’
4. Der Zwerg D 771 orch. Ian Cusson 5’21
5. Der Blumen Schmerz D 731 orch. Ian Cusson 3’59
6. Symphony no. 5 D 485 | Allegro 6’50
7. Frühlingstraum D 911 orch. Ian Cusson 3’29
8. Le Roi des Aulnes [3] orch. Berlioz 3’39
9. Die Nacht D 983c string arr. Nicolas Ellis 3’25
Ian Cusson
Le Récital des anges
with Elisabeth St-Gelais soprano
10. Devant mon berceau 3’20
11. Le regret des joujoux 3’13
12. La sorella dell’amore 2’57
13. Banquet macabre 2’14
14. Confession nocturne 3’42
15. Communion pascale 4’38
Richard Wagner
with Elisabeth St-Gelais soprano
16. Wesendonck Lieder | Der Engel [4] orch. Felix Mottl 3’14
[1] Dedicated to François Schubert, patron and dedicatee of the arrangements
commissioned from Ian Cusson
[2] Dedicated to Roger Dubois
[3] Dedicated to Jacques Marchand
[4] Dedicated to Elizabeth Wirth
