Category: Canadian Music

Browsing: Canadian Music

Isabelle David and Auguste Descarries: Family Connections

By Arnaud G. Veydarier on 3 June 2022 Canadian Music, Piano

Following five years of research dedicated to French-Canadian composer and pianist Auguste Descarries, pianist Isabelle David’s hard work paid off with the launch of the album Souvenirs d’Auguste Descarries (2022) on May 27. This is her first solo album produced under the Leaf Music label. Of the 14 piano pieces, eight have been recorded for the first time. The album sheds light on Descarries’s unfamiliar works composed in the first half of the 20th century. Resurrected Works The Auguste Descarries journey began when David was pursuing her doctoral studies with pianist and pedagogue Jean Saulnier at Université de Montréal in…

CD Review: Mistress Moon: Canadian Edition (Leaf music, 2022)

By Justin Bernard on 3 April 2022 Canadian Music, CD and Book Reviews

Mistress Moon: Canadian Edition Jennifer King, piano Leaf music, 2022 Jennifer King loves to introduce us to Canadian gems. For her latest project, she has chosen solo piano works by eight Canadian composers including Kevin Lau, Sandy Moore, Richard Gibson, Amy Brandon and Jean Coulthard. These names may not mean much to you yet, but here the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. As its name suggests, Mistress Moon takes as its theme the moon, the starry night and the space beyond. It invites us to rethink our relationship with nature, to rediscover a form of ancestral…

Walter Joachim & Lotte Brott (Mid-1950s)

Lotte Brott – A Tribute (Part 1)

By Boris Brott on 8 February 2022 Classical Music, Quebec Music

By Boris Brott Feb. 8, 2022 will mark the 100th birthday of my late mother, Lotte Brott, nee Goetzel. The Orchestre Classique de Montréal (OCM) has chosen to dedicate its 2021-22 season to Women of Distinction. La Scena Musicale and I have chosen to remember her as a cellist, co-founder of the orchestra, and principal administrator for its first 59 years. Tha baton of the of the OCM was passed to me in 2000 (my father remained Artistic Director sharing concerts with me until he passed in 2005 at 90 years old), I have a unique perspective etc… on this…

The SMCQ Pays Tribute to a Generation

By Arnaud G. Veydarier on 3 February 2022 Canadian Music, Classical Music, Contemporary

In celebration of the musical legacy of six essential figures in Quebec contemporary music, the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec has launched a series of concerts. Entitled Portrait, the series pays tribute to a generation of composers who have had a profound influence on the Quebec musical landscape. The next three concerts will be devoted to Michel Longtin, Jean Lesage and Linda Bouchard. Kata : san shi ryu, Portrait of Michel Longtin Sunday, February 27, 2022 Salle Pierre-Mercure – Centre Pierre-Péladeau Having trained under André Prévost and Serge Garant, Michel Longtin began composing electronic music, before tearing down genre divisions to…

Flute in the Wild (Centredisques, 2021)

By Justin Bernard on 24 December 2021 Canadian Music, CD and Book Reviews, Contemporary, Indigenous

Flute in the Wild Jaye Marsh, flutes; Heidi Elise Bearcroft, harp; Darren Hicks, bassoon; Andrew Morris, percussion; John Rice, storyteller; Christina Marie Faye and Richard Herriott, piano Label: Centrediscs, 2021 The album lives up to its name. Flute in the Wild, the flute in nature. Initiated by the flautist Jaye Marsh, this new release of Centredisques indeed immerses us in a rural universe, sometimes peaceful, sometimes intriguing, even scary. No need to know the music of Diane Berry, Elizabeth Raum, Richard Mascall and Richard Herriot to appreciate them as they awaken in us an imagination of…

New Releases – November 2021

By La Scena Musicale Team on 22 November 2021 Baroque and Early, Canadian Music, Chamber Music, Classical, Classical Music, Piano

Mystic Giorgia Fumanti, soprano Velenosi entertainment VEGA2CD-2942 Release: Aug. 20 Giorgia Fumanti has established herself as one of the top female classical crossover singers in the world, having performed in five continents and in some of the most prestigious and iconic venues. Fumanti’s 12th album, Mystic, is a follow-up to her No. 1 best-selling album Amour and her No. 3 best-selling album Aimons-Nous on Canada’s ADISQ charts. (Her albums have also appeared on Billboard’s Crossover Chart.) This collection includes classical hits by Ravel (Bolero), Verdi (“Va, Pensiero”), Puccini (“Nessun Dorma”), Orff (“O Fortuna”) Albinoni (Adagio), Piazzolla (Libertango), Gino Vannelli, Michel…

SMCQ 1970

SMCQ: From Celebration to Utopias

By Arnaud G. Veydarier on 15 November 2021 Canadian Music, Chamber Music, Classical, Contemporary

The Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ), a pillar in the Canadian contemporary music scène, will celebrate its 55th year with Merveilleuses utopies and Célébration! on Dec. 14 and 15 in Salle Pierre-Mercure. Turning toward both the past and the future, the SMCQ will pay tribute to the musical legacy of the artists who marked the history of the organization while inviting the public to discover some of the new faces of contemporary creation. In Merveilleuses utopies, presented in a diptych format, the Orchestre philharmonique des musiciens de Montréal (OPMEM) will perform some daring pieces for large ensemble by…

Giorgia Fumanti Mystic

Giorgia Fumanti: A Break And a New Start

By Marie-Claire Fafard-Blais on 15 November 2021 Canadian Music, Classical, Contemporary, Vocal

This post is originally from the source

Giorgia Fumanti released her 12th album, Mystic, on Aug. 22. It was recorded during the pandemic, during which her father died. The music reflects her loss. “It was a big shock when the pandemic began,” she says. “My parents live in Italy, and I followed it from there to its arrival in Quebec. The beginning of 2020 had me worried, and then it was Quebec’s turn. It was a major break in my career, with no concerts or travelling.” However, as soon as she could, the singer returned to the studio to create Mystic. “The album is a gift. Music…

Photo: Marc Giguère

Upcoming concerts (November-January): Montreal

By Justin Bernard on 14 November 2021 Baroque and Early, Canadian Music, Indigenous, Opera, Orchestral, Piano

27th JAL Gala After the 2020 edition was cancelled because of the pandemic, the 27th Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques Gala is back in full force this year with no less than 30 singers. For the occasion, two dancers will accompany them in arias and ensemble numbers from the great operatic repertoire. Among the works on the programme, the public will find excerpts from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Puccini’s La Bohème, Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Verdi’s La Traviata and Rigoletto. In order to reach a larger audience, ticket prices have been reduced compared to previous editions ($12 for students and $35 for the…

Upcoming concerts (November-January): Toronto

By Justin Bernard on 14 November 2021 Canadian Music, Choral

Soundstreams: Love Songs Three major productions are in the works for 2022, two in the spring and one in the winter, at Toronto’s Soundstreams. In the meantime, fans of contemporary music can look forward to a concert on Nov. 19. It is an online-only event entitled Love Songs, named after the eponymous work by Quebec composer Claude Vivier. Vivier will be honoured by Soundstreams with a second work, Hymnen an die Nacht. A work by Christopher Mayo, Oceano Nox, commissioned with the support of the Ontario Arts Council, completes the programme. Performers include David Fallis, who will lead a vocal…