Folk - my/maSCENA

Festival de la Voix: A Celebration of Cultural Diversity

By Adrian Rodriguez on 20 March 2025 Arts Industry, Folk, Indigenous, Interviews, Jazz, Montreal, Popular Music, Vocal, World Music

Since its inception, Le Festival de la Voix has been dedicated to showcasing the beauty of the human voice, offering audiences a rich variety of vocal music from classical to jazz, folk, and world music. For its 12th edition, the festival continues to spotlight artistic diversity and meaningful cultural collaborations. One of its highlights is Nikamu Mamuitun (Songs That Unite Us), a project uniting Indigenous and Quebecer singer-songwriters to explore shared histories and musical traditions by blending French and Innu lyrics to reinforce connection and reconciliation. Eight emerging artists will present the results of their work at the Beaconsfield High…

Lebrecht Weekly | Folk Songs: Magdalena Kozena/Simon Rattle (Pentatone)

By Norman Lebrecht on 24 November 2023 Folk, Lebrecht Weekly

Nothing seemed to add up on my first encounter with Magdalena Kozena’s trawl through four sets of folk songs orchestrated by Bela Bartok, Luciano Berio, Maurice Ravel and the Spaniard Xavier Montsalvatge.

Sacré-Cœur de Gilgamesh

Fall Highlights: World music

By Hassan Laghcha on 1 September 2023 Folk, Montreal, Popular Music, Vocal, World Music

Place des Arts This season’s Place des Arts program includes a concert by Italian singer Gigi D’Alessio on Oct. 6 at Théâtre Maisonneuve. On Oct. 8, Iranian pop singer/songwriter Shahram Shabpareh presents The Last Tango at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier. On Nov. 12, the same venue welcomes Iranian artist Alireza Ghorbani, successor to Mohammad Reza Shajarian, the great master of classical Persian singing. Don’t miss the TEMPÉO Danse et Musique festival, on the Esplanade, from Sept. 14-16 and 21-23. Hosted by Philippe Fehmiu, it will consist of six festive evenings of dance, offering an introduction to different dance styles. The Bollywood music…

CD Review | O Sun O Moon (True North Records, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Contemporary, Folk, Strings, Vocal

O Sun O Moon Bruce Cockburn, vocals and guitar True North Records, 2023 O Sun O Moon marks Bruce Cockburn’s 37th album, an incredible feat for any musician. While some of the songs on this new release serve as a reminder of why Cockburn is considered among Canadian folk-music greats, others suggest he is aiming for quantity over quality. The guitar in O Sun O Moon is naturally where his writing shines most. Cockburn turns even the simplest chord progressions and rhythms into wonderfully transfixing experiences, most noticeable in Haiku – Instrumental. He pairs his distinct lyricism with varied vocal…

Shawna Caspi (Photo by Roni Hoffman)

Folk singer Shawna Caspi returns to her roots

By Zenith Wolfe on 17 March 2023 Folk, La Scena Online

Over the last two decades, Shawna Caspi has grown from a local performer to an internationally touring folk musician with five albums and two award nominations. Now, the Ottawa-born singer-songwriter is coming home. She’s performing an acoustic version of her latest album, 2021’s Hurricane Coming, at Westboro Masonic Hall in Ottawa on Mar. 19. She’s accompanied by harmony singer and backup guitarist Sarah Hiltz, with an opening act from Renfrew County’s Khloe B. Caspi’s journey began in early 2000s Ottawa at renowned folk music venue Rasputin’s Folk Cafe. A dedicated singer and guitarist since her high school years, Caspi found…

Andrew Balfour: Storytelling through Music

By Catherine Kustanczy on 6 February 2023 Folk, Indigenous

Medicine is an important element of composer Andrew Balfour’s creative pursuits. “People think of music as a refuge, but music can also be a powerful entry point to healing,” he says. The notion of healing is one close to the Cree composer’s heart. His work is characterized by the combination of polyphony and Indigenous themes related to history and identity. He skilfully pokes holes in the Eurocentric narrative of classical music even as he uses its foundations to explore serious issues. Such a creative instinct has painful roots. As an infant, Balfour was taken away from his Cree mother as…

Sylvain Bergeron. Photo: Guillaume D. Cyr

La Nef presents Per violino e liuto and Long Way Home

By Arnaud G. Veydarier on 1 October 2022 Baroque and Early, Canadian Music, Folk, Violin, World Music

After two years of pandemic, La Nef is taking to the sea again this fall with a very eclectic program, between world and early music. Their 2022-23 season opens in October with Per violino e liuto, an intimate evening of baroque and popular repertoire from the 17th century, followed in November with a program inspired by Nordic and Middle Eastern musical traditions. For violin and lute Presented on Oct. 16 at the Maison de la culture Maisonneuve, Per violino e liuto will feature two of the city’s finest baroque music performers, multi-instrumentalist Sylvain Bergeron and rising violin star Marie Nadeau-Tremblay.…

CD Review | Shanties! Live: La Nef & Chor Leoni (Leaf music, 2022)

By Justin Bernard on 4 June 2022 CD and Book Reviews, Folk, Vocal

Shanties! Live: La Nef & Chor Leoni La Nef, Chor Leoni, vocal ensembles; Seán Dagher and Erik Lichte, artisticc directors Leaf music, 2022 Canada’s motto A mari usque ad mare (From Sea to Sea) would suit this recent Leaf Music release to a T. On Feb. 22, 2020, Vancouver’s Chor Leoni and Montreal’s La Nef joined forces at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts in B.C for a concert of sea shanties, arranged for the occasion by one of the event’s artistic directors, Seán Dagher. Shanties! Live recaptures the magic of that evening. La Nef is well versed in…

CD Review: Baratin d’marins (Socan, 2022)

By Justin Bernard on 31 March 2022 CD and Book Reviews, Folk

Baratin d’marins Seán Dagher, conductor, arranger; Pierre-Alexandre Saint-Yves, Alexander Kehler, Amanda Keesmaat, Kate Bevan-Baker, Éric Breton, Jean-François Daignault, Claire Gignac. Socan, 2022 For its new album, La Nef has put together a repertoire of folksongs dedicated to seafarers. When one considers the numerous ship-related metaphors designating its past projects, it should not be that surprising to see yet another one appear in this offering. The Baratin d’marins, roughly translated as “seaman’s twaddle,” comprises a selection of songs dealing with the hardships of seamen from the north of France and Quebec who are confronted by the harshness of the elements and…

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…

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