Jean-Michel Blais enriches his musical repertoire with this brand new album, Mirador. Beyond the piano, of course, he has surrounded himself with a string quartet, a choir, and Andean instruments (the charango guitar, the quena and zampoña flutes). The result immerses our ears, and we must admit our feelings too, in a cinema that is both panoramic and intimate.
Blais tells us that the watchtower (mirador, in French) is an allegory of the underground in which he would, paradoxically, observe and discover other worlds (with reading, cinema, and music) in his somewhat solitary youth.
In Mirador, there are of course still those arpeggios associated with contemporary neoclassical pianism, but they take on another colour, another dimension with the touching, sometimes poignant melodies of the choir, which uses only vocalisations.
It seems that the artist is increasingly leaning towards complete constructions, with counterpoint and harmonisations, favoured by more extensive orchestrations. Even though these techniques remain relatively simple, Blais infuses them with his melodic magic. A magic that rises solidly above the average of artists in this trendy genre, some of whom could easily be labelled as “piano players,” and who essentially, let’s say, copy post-Philip Glass Minimalism. Not at all, as far as the Quebecois is concerned. He offers his compositions an added value that knows how to capture attention. A few personal favourites: Pavane and its character of homage to ancient classical music, Carvalito and its dotted undulations on the piano and its Latin colours
Let us note that he also delicately, impressionistically, distils Andean colours with the charango, quena, and zampoña. For Blais, these sounds are filled with warm and beneficial memories. Like echoes of youthful joys resurfacing sparingly, these textures occasionally appear. A melody by Beethoven is even played by one of these instruments (in Laulasmaa). I invite you to discover the behind-the-scenes and the memories associated with the album Mirador by consulting the interview he granted me:
INTERVIEW WITH JEAN-MICHEL BLAIS ABOUT MIRADOR
I would have personally liked the sound recording to be more generous with the voices, whose texture is sometimes a bit thin. Nevertheless, I take great pleasure in putting this music back in my headphones. By the way, I’m going back to it…
