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Jean Lesage: Modern-age composer-philosopher

By Justin Bernard on 9 March 2022 Baroque and Early, Contemporary, Interviews

The Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, as part of its series of portraits of composers, focused on Jean Lesage in a presentation scheduled for the Salle Pierre-Mercure last month (March 27). The composer’s world, at once musical and philosophical, is at the intersection of several arts, as he himself has claimed: “I believe a composer should be open to all the great trends which characterize an epoch’s culture. They need feelers to sense the signs of the time, the zeitgeist, whether it’s through philosophy, literature, painting or the visual arts.” Many stylistic influences Surrealism continues to feed Jean Lesage’s…

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…

Oktoecho: Transcestral (2021)

By Justin Bernard on 16 January 2022 CD and Book Reviews, Contemporary, Indigenous, Vocal, World Music

Katia Makdissi-Warren, musical and electronic arrangements; Joséphine Bacon, Innu poet; Nina Segalowitz, Inuit throat singer; Hélène Martel, vocals. The blending of styles and cultures is a topic that comes up a lot when we talk about world music. The approach of Katia Makdissi-Warren and the Oktoecho team, followed by a host of musicians, is somewhat different. Their Transcestral project is, rather, the meeting of two world cultures, Sufism, on the one hand, and that of the First Nations, on the other hand, which is put forward with the notable contribution of Western styles. Needless to say,…

Amanda Keesmaat, violoncelle; Pierre-Alexandre Saint-Yves, flûtes, chalumeaux, cornemuse, voix; Patrick Graham, percussions; Seán Dagher, direction musicale, cistre, voix; Alex Kehler, violon, nyckelharpa.

La Nef: Styles and fields come together

By Justin Bernard on 12 January 2022 Baroque and Early, Contemporary, Folk, Interviews, Multimedia, World Music

La Nef is continuing its 30th anniversary celebrations under the general and artistic leadership of Claire Gignac. Though La Nef will present many concerts featuring various musical styles this season, it is currently being noted for its disc production at the start of a new year. On February 5, a concert will take the form of an album presentation, featuring Long Way Home by Andrew Wells-Oberegger, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Six musicians will join him at Montreal’s Maison de la culture Ahuntsic in the Concerts au bout du monde series. On March 10, another production will be led by Artistic Codirector…

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…

Photo: Courtesy of the Royal Conservatory's Koerner Hall

Kronos Quartet: Time and Time Again

By Charles Geyer on 15 November 2021 Chamber Music, Contemporary, Toronto

Can there be anyone even casually aware of contemporary serious music who hasn’t encountered the Kronos Quartet? For 48 years, their sounds have resonated outward, along with the sonority of that mythic-sounding moniker that seems to evoke titanic energies, even the mystery of time itself. And while their music was suspended by COVID-19’s near universal freezing-over of time, a rising thaw now brings Kronos-redivivus – active again, alive as ever. Origins The Kronos origin story dates to 1972, with an adventitious encounter between a young musician named David Harrington and a certain provocative piece of music. “I heard this music…

Tara-Louise Montour and the OCM: the beauty of the revived tradition

By Nathalie de Han on 15 November 2021 Chamber Music, Contemporary, Indigenous, Violin

Have you heard Régent Levasseur’s enchanting Farewell to the Warriors? The Orchestre classique de Montréal (OCM) presents it as part of its 82nd season, titled Women of Distinction, with the remarkable 18-minute concerto for string orchestra, harp and drum, in an orchestration by the versatile melodist. Tara-Louise Montour recorded the piece with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and the work earned the ensemble a Juno nomination (2005). “I am delighted that the OCM invited me into the program of Tales and Melodies, the first concert of its season, and I think that Farewell to the Warriors will fit in perfectly, firstly because of…

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…

Photo: beethovenx-ai.com

Artificial Intelligence And Music: The State Of The Art

By Andréanne Venne on 15 November 2021 Classical Music, Contemporary, Musique actuelle, Technology

In 2019, the film composer Lucas Cantor completed Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 (“Unfinished”), dating from 1822, using artificial intelligence, a technology that uses computer algorithms to reproduce cognitive skills. Last year, “Beethoven X – The AI Project,” piloted by a group of music historians, musicologists, composers and computer scientists, created Beethoven’s Symphony No. 10 from fragmentary sketches left by the composer, which had been partially assembled by Barry Cooper in 1988. youtu.be/RESb0QVkLcM Developments in artificial intelligence in recent years have greatly advanced the practice of musical composition by artificial intelligence. The fledgling company Aiva Technologies in 2019 introduced the…

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…

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