Stephen: it seems that contrast is something that he wants?

Garrett, sorry, I have no idea. But there

If I remember rightly, I have read that the original 19th century 'Grotesques' are in fact based on 'modern' proportions such as Didot and Bodoni. The progression was first to thick unbracketed serifs of 'Egyptians', and then these had the serifs cut off & voila.

Britannic has always struck me as being one of the most successful high-contrast sans serif faces.
However, it has the full curves of a grotesque, not the more geometric, neoclassical shapes of Bodoni-era "moderns".

The over-extension and turning back of the curved terminals in "c", for instance, provide the opportunity for a purposeful end to the stroke, not just snipping it off, which would be the minimal, pure-didone logic.

So, it would make a good pairing not with the original moderns, but with more contemporary (ie c.1900) moderns such as, ahem, Monotype Modern 2, or De Vinne.

For a 3some, add Grot. #9.

If in doubt for matching faces, make them from the same era.

This is completely unhelpful to you, but here's a typeface
that preserves the proportions of Bodoni, minus the stroke
modulation and with slab serifs: Bodoni Egyptian. You
could chop off the serifs, but I'm not sure how good
the results would be.