Africa / Flamenco / West African traditional music

Malasartes | Noubi and His Melting Pot of Sounds

by Sandra Gasana

Accompanied by flamenco composer and guitarist Caroline Planté and Venezuelan Héctor Alvarado Pérez on bass, it did not take too long for Noubi to invite Argentine saxophonist Damian Nisenson on stage. The latter, who had introduced the evening a few minutes earlier, is the man behind Malasartes, the creation and production company behind this series of autumn concerts.

Noubi’s themes range from youth issues, politics and individualism in Western societies, to denouncing violence in all its forms, as he does in the track Nanela. It was during this track that the audience began to dance, unable to sit still any longer, as Noubi got the audience involved in the chorus in Wolof.

He takes the time to thank his audience after each track, in French and in Wolof, his mother tongue. Indeed, this native of Saint-Louis in Senegal is very attached to his language, since all his tracks are in his native tongue, to which he adds a few French lyrics here and there. Caroline and Héctor also sing backing vocals in Wolof on some tracks, adding an extra element of surprise to the show. Mainly on his cajon, he plays guitar once or twice, complementing his musicians. The strong complicity, especially with Damian, was felt throughout the show, the two having worked together for several years since his debut in Montreal, as part of Diversité artistique Montréal’s mentoring program.

Noubi also pays tribute to his mom on Légui, “thanking the woman who made him the man he is today”, he confides. He also shares his collaborations with great artists such as Brazil’s Bia Krieger and Mexico’s Mamselle Ruiz, on the track Sourire, both of whom are unfortunately absent.

In the track Autrement, he invites the audience to take “a new look at the world, a new look at life”, between the jerky rhythms of the cajon and the flamenco guitar, which merge perfectly. I was surprised to see how well the rhythms of Mbalax went with the flamenco style, an original combination. And that’s exactly what came out of this concert: Noubi’s openness to others, to other rhythms from Latin America and elsewhere, all with originality, while inviting the audience into his Senegalese-Quebecois universe. A true melting pot of sounds.

Classical / période romantique

OSL | Rencontre(s) au sommet with Antoine Bareil and Adam Johnson

by Alexandre Villemaire

The theme of encounters punctuated the Orchestre symphonique de Laval’s first concert of the 2024-2025 season on October 30.

The headliner was Antoine Bareil, OSL concertmaster, in Felix Mendelssohn’s masterful Violin Concerto No. 2 in E minor. But, more broadly, what emerged throughout the evening were encounters: encounters between the Mendelssohn sister and brother, encounters between guest conductor Adam Johnson and the orchestra, encounters as we strolled between different musical tableaux, but above all an encounter between the orchestra and its audience. A faithful audience, who turned out in large numbers to fill almost the entire Salle André-Mathieu. Just over 500 people, we were told.

Programming the two child prodigies of the Mendelssohn family as the opening act gave Adam Johnson – whose interventions to introduce each of the evening’s works were pertinent – the opportunity to highlight the undoubted talent of Fanny and Felix, linked by blood but separated by the conventions of their time. The concert began with Fanny Hensel Mendelssohn’s Overture in C major. A rarely performed work and the composer’s only piece for orchestra, it features a conventional structure and clear, vital writing divided into three parts: a noble introduction supported by a bass of winds, over which the strings weave delicate motifs; a second, more animated section where an interplay between two contrasting themes emerges between woodwinds and strings; and a festive, trumpeting finale. In each of these passages, conductor Johnson brings about changes in dynamics and textures with fluidity and precision. The woodwinds were particularly strong, complementing the virtuoso string lines of the fast part.

Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto No^. 2, one of the best-known and most important in the repertoire, plunges us into an entirely different character, between drama and lyricism. Antoine Bareil, the orchestra’s concertmaster, was giving his first performance of the work, and to say the least, he rose to the challenge with brio. Right from the first movement’s appassionato theme, Bareil sets the tone with an energetic, embodied opening. In the cadenza, the soloist makes his instrument sing, showcasing its full range. His work is a true masterpiece, meticulously sculpting each sound with precise attack and great agility. The second movement, attacca,offers a lyrical, languorous theme in which Johsnon highlights the orchestra’s timbre, while leaving the necessary space for Antoine Bareil to unfold his playing. Communication was visible and symbiotic between the two partners, despite certain moments when it seemed that the tempo was pressing a little. Concluding with a virtuosic third movement tinged with an almost humorous veneer, this was a captivating performance that kept the audience on the edge of their seats right up to the last note.

The second part of the evening featured Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, originally composed for piano, but frequently performed by large ensembles with orchestration by Maurice Ravel. Typical of program music, the work presents a succession of pieces inspired by different paintings, with musical interludes (promenades) linking the paintings. Unlike other interpretations, in which the theme of the “Promenade” is played in a tightly bound manner, especially when taken up by the strings, Adam Johnson retains the march-like character introduced by the brass in this section, which accentuates the strolling character between the various tableaux. These were all performed with a commitment and dynamic precision that brought out the full richness of the orchestration. To name but a few, Gnomus, with its unusual character, Il vecchio castello, where the duet between alto saxophone (Ludovik Hinse-Lesage) and bassoon (Michel Bettez) was lyrical, Bydlo with its rumbling double basses and cellos framing the growling euphonium (Sébastien Côté) and the Great Gate of Kiev, which concluded the work in a majestic, triumphal march.

In top form, the Orchestre symphonique de Laval made a strong impression for its season opener. The energy, vigour and musicality that enveloped Salle André-Mathieu bode well for the rest of the season.

Photo Credits: Gabriel Fournier

classique / post-romantique

OSM | Sublime Sibelius !

by Alexis Desrosiers-Michaud

This week sees the return of beloved guest conductor Vasily Petrenko to the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM). The man who was once one of the favorites to replace Kent Nagano shone as usual on Wednesday evening at the Maison symphonique.

The concert opens with Blue Cathedral by American composer Jennifer Higdon. This beautiful, floating work is a tribute to her late brother. Several flute and clarinet solos represent her and her brother. Also symbolizing a celestial journey, the piece comes alive to signify wonder and joy, before ending with percussive resonances and barely audible harmonics. By the way, we could see the other musicians waving haki-sized balls, which stumped many of us as many of us looked at the program afterwards, only to find, alas, no information on the subject.

Then Beethoven’s famous Emperor Concerto kicks off with panache, with Simon Trpčeski at the piano. After an admirable orchestral introduction, the soloist enters the stage, at the last second, as if emerging from the Moon. After some difficulty in maintaining a steady tempo, creating a few small shifts with the orchestra, Trpčeski stops accelerating in his solo excerpts to finally create a whole with the orchestra.

He is very agile with his fingers, but lacks the weight and sound required for a concerto of this magnitude. This style of playing suits him very well in the slow movement, where he blends perfectly with the orchestra. Or it’s the orchestra that envelops him brilliantly.

Anyway, when you ask yourself the question, it means it’s very successful. For the rest, we’ll overlook his head, leg and arm gesticulations (there’s already a conductor to look after the orchestra) to concentrate on his dynamic, excited playing. As encores, we are treated to a short excerpt from a dance in his native Macedonia, followed by the October movement from Tchaikovsky’s Seasons, “for a better world”, resulting in a sensitive and touching performance.
Then comes Jean Sibelius’s very pastoral Fifth Symphony. As in the preceding work, Petrenko’s direction is very clear-cut. His intentions are clear, and nothing is left to chance: nuances, accents, entrances, phrasing and so on. Nothing is forced and played with finesse. I once heard a conductor tell students in a master class that “you have to like to play softly”, and that’s what came to mind on Wednesday evening. The woodwind chorale in the second movement is sublime, accompanied by precise pizzicatos. The last movement is frenetic but not overly so, ending with a repetition of the main theme in the brass, which rings out like bells. Throughout the symphony, one could close one’s eyes and easily imagine oneself at Sibelius’s side, contemplating majestic, bucolic landscapes.

Publicité panam

Modern Classical

Pinnacle of Modern Choral Music at the Azrieli Music Prizes

by Alain Brunet

For the tenth year running, the Azrieli Foundation celebrated the four winning composers of the 2024 Azrieli Music Prizes at the Maison symphonique on Monday, whose beautiful works for choir and instrumental ensemble evoked the Jewish soul and metaphysics in a contemporary context.

Hosted by the foundation’s initiator, singer and generous patron Sharon Azrieli, and former CBC radio host Mario Paquette, the evening showcased the award-winning works, most of which were world premieres. OSM musicians and the OSM Chorus, under the direction of its eminent conductor Andrew Megill, performed some very special choral works.

Light to My Path, a choral fantasy for mixed choir, saxophone, percussion and piano, by Israeli composer Josef Bardanashvili. Each of the piece’s five movements combines different ensemble configurations: a cappella men’s choir, a cappella women’s choir, mixed choirs with musicians, a cappella mixed choir. Non-Jews must discover this brilliant choral approach, inspired by the sacred writings, as the vocal inclinations are unique – for example, Leonard Cohen’s album You Want It Darker , which featured some very inspired choristers.

In Light To My Path, for example, the composer maintains the sacred link , with tremendous call-and-response, canons, ornamental whistling and other compelling effects. Vocal technique is distinctly Baroque or Renaissance but also very modern at the same time. The difference with the well-known sacred songs of the Jewish tradition lies here in the modern harmonizations and instrumental accompaniment.

Secondly, composer Yair Klartag saw The Parable of the Palace,his work for choir and four double basses, as a further update on the notion of spirituality. The composer’s penchant for contemporary music, given the instrumentation chosen and the harmonization of the voices, contrasts with the primary inspiration for this Azrieli Foundation award-winning work: the parable of the palace taken from the Guide for the Perplexed by the Talmudic philosopher Moshe ben Maimon, known as Maimonides, who lived in the 12th century and spoke in the now extinct Judeo-Arabic language. Passages from this metaphysical writing attempt to draw that thin line between reason and irrationality, and would have influenced the composer’s search for universal notions in today’s context, starting with the insatiable human desire “to get closer to the divine without ever understanding it”. Notions that are nonetheless mystical, deeply traditional and clearly identity-based.

The third work on the program, Symetrias Prehispanicas, was by Mexican-American Juan Trigos, inspired by Aztec cosmology, with projected images (by brother Luciano Trigos), and 15th-century Aztec poets, both known and unknown. The songs are in Spanish and Nahuati. Here, tonality, modality and atonality cohabit even more closely, and the cross-hatching and clashing of voices and instruments is even stronger. A cantata-oratorio for mixed choir and ensemble, the work unfolds over 11 tableaux grouped into 4 distinct parts, a non-linear narrative illustrating Aztec thinking of the world before the Spanish conquistadors forcibly obliterated it, as we know. This is certainly the most up-to-date work on the program.

Last but not least, Kanata for SATB a cappella voices, composed by Canadian Jordan Nobles, was the shortest and most singular work on the Azrieli 2024 Prize program. Linear, horizontal and texturally wonderful, with subtle rhythmic shifts in the vocal motifs, this work is a “sonic meditation on notions of place, landscape and home”. A cross-Canada train journey is said to have inspired the composer to create this succinct and so original choral gem.

Hip Hop / Moyen-Orient / Levant / Maghreb / rap

Arab World Festival of Montreal | Narcy and Omar Offendum: Two Decades of Friendship in Artistry

by Sandra Gasana

A sword in the shape of Palestine. Here’s what catches the eye right away, in addition to the Arabian-inspired living room that decorates the National’s stage. With red-patterned cushions, a few books and some coffee, it really feels like an evening with friends, featuring art in all its forms.

First, Omar Offendum takes the stage, while Narcy sits in the living room with his guests, including two members of the iconic Montreal hip-hop group Nomadic Massive, Tali and Meryem Saci.

Under a spotlight, cane in hand (his signature), dressed in traditional attire and his black Fez hat, Offendum wields the Arabic and English languages, juggling these two worlds, sometimes mixing them. Narcy serves him coffee from time to time, exchanging anecdotes and teasing each other about Syrian and Iraqi rivalries. An excellent storyteller, he alternates between poetry, storytelling and rapping, all with incredible ease. Building on a twenty-year friendship, Narcy contributes to some of Offendum’s songs, sometimes in English, sometimes in Arabic, and vice-versa. “It’s rare to have an artist friend who still challenges you, even after 20 years,” he says, addressing Narcy. Indeed, you could feel their complicity on stage.

Omar got the room involved with his track I love you, a hymn to love, with old romantic films in the background. The transitions were sometimes rough, juxtaposing classical Arab songs with modern beats. Palestine was in the spotlight during both parts of the show, but also Lebanon, which has been in the headlines in recent weeks. We also learned about important figures in Middle Eastern history such as Nizar Qabbani, a Syrian poet, and Mahmoud Darwish, a Palestinian poet and author who passed away in 2008. He ended with his biggest hit, God is Love, which my neighbors seemed to particularly enjoy, but my favorite was Close My Eyes , a tribute to his father. “I dedicate this song to all those who have lost a loved one,” he shared with us as the video was playing in the background.

After a short intermission, Narcy took Omar’s place and took over, opening with one of his greatest hits, P.H.A.T.W.A, with Al-Jazeera footage and personal archives in the background. Dressed entirely in black leather and a white shirt, he performed other highlights of his 20-year career, including Hamdulillah, featured on the 2009 album The Narcicyst , a collaboration with Shadia Mansour. He invited a number of female collaborators on stage, those he calls “sisters” such as Meryem Saci, with whom he recorded the track 7araga, the Palestian poet Farah, who shared a poem in homage to her native land, and Tali, who opted for a poignant text for the occasion.

To close, he offered us Free, a tribute to children from the World War Free Now album , in collaboration with Ian Kamau, as well as Time, written as a tribute to his grandfather. And what better way to end than with the most recent track, Sword, the proceeds from which will go to Palestinian children. As well as having a strong sense of friendship, family is equally important to Narcy. He invited his family on stage at the end of the concert to greet the audience, inviting them to visit his Maktaba bookshop/library in Montreal’s Old Port.

Baroque / classique

Violons du Roy | Richness and Vocal Splendor of the Divine Handel

by Mona Boulay

Les Violons du Roy welcomed soprano Karina Gauvin and contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux for the second of nine evenings to celebrate their fortieth anniversary. This Wednesday, October 23, at Palais Montcalm, we were treated to an evening devoted to Handel’s oratorios, with a rich program featuring excerpts from six of them: Joshua, Theodora, Solomon, among others.

The concert opens with an elegant French-style overture to Judas Maccabaeus, heralding the first duet for our From this dread scene singers. We are immediately struck by the contrasting stage personalities of the two singers. While the contralto is very theatrical, one might almost say exuberant, giving a very playful aspect to her performance, the soprano is more discreet and sometimes loses our attention by looking too hard at her score, despite her obvious vocal qualities.

The concert continues with the Sinfonia from the piece Alexander Balus, featuring the wind section (two oboes and bassoon). The wind section’s melodic knitting is very well executed, as is Les Violons du Roy’s overall work. Indeed, throughout the concert, despite being a chamber music ensemble, the group reveals a multitude of different colors, thanks to conductor Jonathan Cohen’s meticulous attention to nuance, slowing down and ornamentation in Baroque music. All the codes are respected, with a charming taste for subtlety: we are not faced with the spectacular, which might displease some, but with meticulousness and attention to detail.

A few songs later, we are treated to the duet Welcome as the Dawn of Day from the oratorio Solomon, sumptuously interpreted by the two soloists, a demonstrative declaration of love between Solomon and his wife. Marie-Nicole Lemieux’s emotional force transports us, and it’s refreshing to hear this love duet sung by two women. One might wonder, however, about the choice of program order, which places this declaration of love in the second part of the oratorio after an aria in the third part.

The final highlights of the concert were the excerpts from Theodora, starting with theOuverture by the chamber orchestra, which is highly impactful and offers us a range of forte tones hitherto little exploited; then with the duet To thee, thou glorious son of worth, which at last allows us to discover the most beautiful aspects of Karina Gauvin’s voice – beautiful, pure high notes, initially devoid of vibrato, which then burst into flames to our delight. While the solo pieces by the singers are very well executed, it’s really the chemistry in the duets that gives this concert its richness.

Quatuor Molinari | Guido Molinari’s Major Inspiration, 20 Years After His Death

by Alain Brunet

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of the painter Guido Molinari, to whom the Molinari Quartet owes its name and the unfailing support of its foundation, an ambitious program was presented at Salle Bourgie on Tuesday, October 22. A fitting choice, given that the hall is welded to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Thus, several of the painter’s works were synchronized with the performance of works that have been played by the ensemble over the years.

First, a work by Montreal composer Ana Sokolović , conceived early in her career. At the time, the Quartet’s commission was accompanied by a requirement: to be inspired by the visual universe of the famous Montreal painter. Already, the musician’s signature could be identified in this work divided into 8 movements imagined in the form of themes and variations: Mutation I – Tension- – Space / asymmetrical – Black diagonal – Mutation II / triangle – Dominant white – Coda / continuum. Each movement involves distinct writing techniques – use of spectacular glissandos, eloquent pizzicatos, crumpled motifs, harmonic spirals, string rubs and squeaks, rhythmic cross-hatching and more. In short, a singular and complete work, foreshadowing the great career and fully-deserved international reputation of Ana Sokolović, whose work will stand the test of time.

The second work on the program, Maxime McKinley’s Espaces fictifs is also inspired by works by Guido Molinari, and by high-profile exchanges with Fernande Saint-Martin (1927-2019), the eminent art theorist who was his wife. In an extract from the Vidéothèque québécoise Quatuor Molinari, the composer explains that he explored “reversibility, juxtapositions and superpositions of simple motifs that are constantly reconfigured, as well as the notion of rhythmic interval as the distance or gap, greater or lesser, that separates an element from its recurrence.

The piece also relies on the “dynamism of sharp contrasts or, on the contrary, extremely subtle transformations; horizontal, vertical or diagonal orientations; kaleidoscopic continuums playing on the mobility of back-, middle- and foregrounds; as well as the vibrations, mutations and energy of colors.”

Add to this eloquent explanation the Molinari Quartet’s coherent and diligent execution. The work is received as a dynamic spiral of short tableaux and motifs, culminating in intensity, increasing string volume and accelerating tempo, before losing altitude and settling down in a twirl.

The next performance was of the String Quartet Op.28 by Austrian composer Anton Webern, one of the pioneers of twelve-tone music, mistakenly executed by an American sniper at the end of the Second World War. A reminder of the foundations of the dodecaphonic revolution.

After the break, it’s time for the main course, R. Murray Schafer’s String Quartet no. 7 with “obligatory soprano”. The Molinari is known for its mastery of the late great Canadian composer’s quartets, but 7 stands out from the rest for its spatialization and theatricality. Giant paper airplanes in different colors are arranged on stage, and other paintings that inspired the work’s creator are projected onto a giant screen, while the performers wander around the stage and the aisles of the hall, playing their parts. Played solo, in duet, trio or quartet, accompanied by schizoid and no less flamboyant interventions from soprano Odile Portugais, the components of this innovative work at the time of its conception produce the desired effect: delight, amusement, elevation.

Avant-Garde / Avant-Pop / Experimental Rock / Noise-Pop / Post-Punk

I can’t stop thinking about the Xiu Xiu show in Montreal

by Vanessa Barron

Xiu Xiu was unlike any live act I’ve seen in recent memory. Hosted at the intimate Theatre Fairmount, their Friday night performance was unnerving and enthralling— leaning more towards performance art than your typical concert. Armed with only a vague knowledge of their music beforehand, I truthfully found it abrasive enough to leave the concert early, yet perplexing and captivating enough to remain at the constant forefront of my mind for days afterward.

Eerie violin and piano hummed through the venue’s speakers as a crowd of mostly Mile End-looking guys and cool goth girls assembled in a hushed murmur. A projection of the band’s latest album cover, 13” Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips, illuminated the stage with gasoline-puddle-rainbow hues while an increasingly bizarre mix of cymbals and percussive instruments materialized, followed by the poised members of the LA-based band themselves.

Kicking things off with “The Silver Platter,” Xiu Xiu surprised me with the sheer ferocity and precision of their gothic, industrial, art rock, noisy sound. Perfectly timed, frantic cymbal crashes punctuated the lyrics of Jamie Stewart’s powerful warbling, piercing his lines like a stab in the gut. Both live and in recordings, Sterwart’s distinctive vocals are ghoulish, with a Dracula-esque articulation that ranges from a dying whisper to full-throated shrieking. His energy in the first three songs was really something else, doing literal handstands and pantomiming while singing, playing guitar, and whacking gongs.

Angela Seo had some stellar moments of her own, particularly her delivery of the sinister monologue from “Wig Master,” which started in a mumble and accumulated into a frenzied repetition of shouts. Another song featured a duet with Angela groan-shouting and Jamie wailing through a whistle-kazoo instrument, sounding like a newborn baby. Coupled with cymbals of every size and other curious percussive instruments, the wall of sound was overwhelming.

Yet I can’t stress enough just how deathly quiet the audience was between songs, with minutes of complete silence as the band would set up for the next track. I think Stewart even joked at one point, “You’re too loud, I can hear you talking” to an audience member halfway through the show. I have no clue if this is normal for a Xiu Xiu show or if Montreal had a particularly reverent crowd that night.

I left with even more questions and curiosity about the band than when I entered, and I genuinely haven’t stopped thinking about it since—their 16 studio albums and interviews from the last 20 years have proven to be a fun rabbit hole to dive down. And their albums sound completely different from their live show. I think that’s sufficient evidence to say that I found it to be an impactful performance to say the least.

Photos by Amir Bakarov

OM Beethoven Marathon, Day 3 | The Finale saves the concert at the finish line

by Alexis Desrosiers-Michaud

For the final part of the Beethoven Marathon, only the two extremities of the symphonic corpus remained to be presented, with Marie-Pierre Brasset’s Amor Fati as a prelude.

Using the opening bars of Beethoven’s First, Brasset changes the ending to move towards her own musical language. Her piece is a slow progression towards an element, which doesn’t come to fruition and leaves us wanting more. It’s a pity, because the end is rather neat, as if five extra minutes had been needed to complete the piece.

The First is very well executed, with lightness and simplicity. In every movement, every detail is emphasized, but the second was the best. The various string entries are all homogeneous in style and articulation, and you can feel the movement running through the phrase. Everything remains elegant, even in the forte. It should also be noted that in the Scherzo Trio, the wind interventions are not identical the first and second times certain phrases are played.

The first movement of the Ninth is well played. The nuances are there and the musicians play with intensity. This is good, but not good enough, especially when tackling an archaic and monumental work such as this. The segues between sections lack fluidity, and there’s not enough depth in the bass. As in the First symphony, the second movement is the most successful. The sharp timpani stands out from the rest of the group in its solo interventions. Very demanding for the woodwinds, due to the many accented notes played in a fast tempo, fatigue is discernible in some of them, as evidenced by the few “ creaks ” discernible among the orchestral ensemble.

As for the following slow movement, unfortunately it quickly falls flat. The result is that one is easily distracted, for all the wrong reasons. The musical movement is very static and does not move forward; the long notes lack (enough) life and there is not (enough) relief in the whole. Although marked cantabile, we don’t get the impression that the musicians are singing the music. Then comes the famous last movement. What a Finale it was! From the first notes of the Ode to Joy theme in the lower strings, you know that what’s coming is going to be spectacular. Starting from almost nothing, this architectural construction only leads us to a glorious, liberating tutti before the entrance of the chorus. Speaking of the choir, they are vocally very diligent, despite a few inaudible consonants. The last few miles of this marathon make for an absolutely magical moment, because it’s all there: incredible soloists, nuances, accents, phrasing, power (what a long Gott [God] before the fanfare!), but above all dedication and emotion. The urge to leap to one’s feet at the very end is irresistible, but one can’t help wondering why we weren’t treated to this in everything that came before.

photo: François Goupil

OM Beethoven Marathon, Day 3 | Symphonic Buffet at Sunday Brunch

by Alexis Desrosiers-Michaud

The third of four programs in the OM Beethoven Marathon took place at 11 a.m. Sunday morning, with the presentation of the Eighth, Fourth and Fifth symphonies. Given Beethoven’s reputation for selling out, it was surprising to find that the Maison symphonique’s parterre was sparse and the boxes downright empty, despite the presence of the Fifth on the program.

The first movement of the Eighth is uneven from the outset. Articulations are not homogeneous in the different sections of the orchestra. In the strings, the staccatos are very short, but in the winds, they are more elongated, especially the resonance of the timpani. Phrasing quickly falls flat, and the forte soon reaches a plateau. The second movement is much better.

Very humorous, the incessantly repeated notes lead the rest in lightness. Punctuated by sforzandos, the effect of surprise is successful. The third movement, Tempo di menuetto, has only the tempo of a minuet, as there is no room for dancing. The third beats don’t go far enough towards the following first beats, and the latter are pressed too hard. The rest of the piece is fairly similar, i.e. faultless but lacking in sparkle.

In the Fourth, surprise! We’re treated to just the opposite.

The sound balance between sections is well adjusted, especially in the slow introduction to the first movement. This mysterious, soaring introduction leads us step by step to the festive, energetic Allegro. Honorable mention to the winds and timpani for their precision. The second movement is impeccably lyrical and soothing, with phrases that breathe and settle. The scherzo that follows surprises with mischievous attacks, and the musicians play well with the syncopations that punctuate the phrases. The final movement is very light, with Yannick dancing on the podium.

After the break, it was Fifth ‘s turn to be heard. Before getting to the heart of the matter, an explanation is in order. The program states that Beethoven was the first composer to include metronomic measures in his scores, thus clarifying the rather vague speed indications, such as Adagio or Allegro , that are still used today.

Before getting to the heart of the matter, an explanation is in order. The program states that Beethoven was the first composer to include metronomic measures in his scores, thus clarifying the rather vague speed indications, such as Adagio or Allegro, that we still use today.

A surprising start, the tempo is very fast for the 1st movement. There are pros and cons to rushing it like this. By taking the metronomic speed indicated, Yannick and the orchestra express the composer’s sense of panic in the face of his own deafness and fatality.

But he doesn’t use the high points that punctuate this movement, and goes straight to where the tension can, or should, be heightened. Thus, the construction of certain phrases is rushed, as is the oboe cadenza, which is brought in abruptly. We eventually get used to this speed and this way of seeing this famous page, which nonetheless gives us momentum, even though we come out breathless.

The second movement is equally rushed and unsinging. The tempo still passes in the first two variations, but when the low strings arrive in the triple eighth notes, everything becomes blurred, so much so that the “dolce” indication becomes difficult to respect. It’s one thing to respect metronomic measures, but perhaps not to the detriment of the music, which needs to breathe.

The third movement is the most interesting, played with vigor and mystery. The call of the horns in crescendo, rather than subito forte as written, is debatable, as this is the main theme. Everything is excellent, with biting strings, except when we get to the coda, which is played on tiptoe. There’s an alternation between string pizzicatos and woodwinds on the main rhythmic motif. The woodwinds play the long notes, which is a great contrast. Nowhere else is this long motif played, so why here?

Moreover, the transition to the final movement is led by a particular instrument that we don’t hear enough of: the timpani. While the strings hold a 12-bar long note and then slowly build the melodic line, the timpani is alone in its corner, setting the rhythm and pulling the orchestra and the crescendo towards the apotheosis of the final movement, which will leave a prominent place for the piccolo, whose Fifth marks the instrument’s debut in the orchestra.

This concert is the longest on paper of the four, with 96 minutes of music. Online, it’s announced at 1:56, including the intermission, but it ends 2:15 after the start. Will OM and their leader hit the famous 30-kilometre wall that marathon runners talk about? The danger is there, as the next concert is only 1h45 away.To begin with, the premiere of Cristina García Islas’ Ré_Silience was very interesting in terms of discourse, but slightly questionable in terms of context. The work is brilliantly structured, but sounded more like a tribute to Shostakovich, so strong were the brass and abundant the percussion. Not to mention the long phrases held by the violins in the high register, doubled by the flutes, against a background of bass pedals. In fact, the basses, placed on the left, were often lost in the collective sound. To pay homage to Beethoven, in addition to quoting the second movement of the Eighth, she adds two off-set metronomes in the percussion section. Hats off to the musicians for keeping up the tempo despite those clicks!

Electroacoustic / Electronic / expérimental / contemporain

Akousma | Hamelin, Présences imaginées, Uppender

by Laurent Bellemare

Science-fiction twilight, biomechanical arthropods, urban landscape, horror film, canine memories, naturalistic fascination… all these associations were likely to be made during the closing night of Akousma, Friday evening at Usine C.

The common thread running through Friday evening’s program seemed to be a compositional approach borrowing heavily from music to image… cinema for the ear, as composer and teacher Michel Tétreault would say.

What we gain in immersion, however, we lose in the sense of musical development. In a world beset by screens, this is surely not surprising. Unless it’s us, the audience, who are now incapable of dissociating our listening from these images…

Whatever the case, every year Akousma succeeds in offering a fine sample of the state of the art in digital music. Even if electroacoustic music still belongs to the academic world, today it is a source of increasingly diverse aesthetics, and all the better for it. Here, then, is Akousma’s final right, the last of the 6 blocks on the program.

Julien Racine

Hamelin

Julien Racine built his Hamelin piece with dense yet harmonic textures. The most striking element of the piece was the sonorities that hinted at technological malfunctions. In particular, many of the voices were filtered, granulated or pitch-shifted, sounding as if they had come straight out of an old communication device trying to listen to a lost transmission.

After this highly successful section, the piece evolved into something more dissonant. First, a texture of steadily rising pitches seemed to spin over our heads. Then, this tableau took on nightmarish twists and turns, echoing distant cries, laughter and complaints. With no program notes, it wasn’t easy to sort out this chain of events. Especially when it came to the barking heard around three-quarters of the way through the piece!

Olivier Alary

Présences imaginées

Olivier Alary’s Présences imaginées also gave us the impression of a nightmarish sound design. Voices and screams could be heard in the thickness of the sound mass. But in addition to these recognizable elements, there was a striking abstraction throughout most of the piece. One texture metamorphosed into another, and we moved easily from extreme density to sparse granules.

It’s only at the end that birdsong suddenly transforms this abstruse scene into a much more mundane affair. That and the sounds of waves buried beneath the texture in the opening minutes. The immersion was again very successful, but the compositional coherence was a little less so, in my opinion.

Felisha Ledesma

Uppender

After a quickly solved technical problem, American-Swedish Felisha Ledesma broadcast her piece ‘Uppender’, a very ambient track, much more hushed than the others. The equalization work made the sound layers soft and warm, traits amplified by the abundant use of reverb. The work also gradually became more harmonic, accentuating its bewitching aspect.

Although there were a few moments when muffled jerky sounds interrupted, the piece almost always retained its lightness, as if everything were weightless. Here too, the formal development was disappointing, something that a small peak of intensity towards the end failed to rescue.

Photo Credit: Caroline Campeau

Electroacoustic / Electronic / expérimental / contemporain

Akousma | Solace all in Drone, Complex Path, Familiar Gardens

by Laurent Bellemare

A dark, silent room, with a subtle play of subdued lights, which intervene from time to time to support the music. On stage: nobody (or almost nobody). The artists are behind the console, broadcasting a fully-worked-out piece through some forty loudspeakers, immersing the audience in the sound. Beware of anyone who drops their water bottle or forgets to turn off their cell phone. This unconventional concert situation is far from new for lovers of electroacoustic and digital music.

Now in its twentieth year, Akousma has once again put its speaker orchestra at the service of local and international artists. On Friday, October 18, 2024, we were treated to three European and three Quebec artists. All offered highly varied aesthetics, but almost always evoked a cinematic experience. The sense of musical form, however, was less obvious.

Marie Anne

Solace

The only artist of the evening to actually “take the stage”, Marie Anne grabbed her controller and developed a rather drone-like, slowly developing musical style on Solace. At first, the piece was built around breakthroughs of held sounds, which created intervals that were entirely consonant. An initial wave-like rise sounded like pentatonism in the play of pitches, while a second shot brought out a minor harmony.

For most of the work, you could have sworn you were hearing nothing but synthesized sounds. There were even, intentionally or not, vague echoes of Vangelis’ synthesizers in the Blade Runner soundtrack. This impression gradually changed, however, as an inharmonic crackling sound reminiscent of waterfalls crept in. Or was it white noise? Whatever it was, the referential aspect of the sound material was confirmed towards the end, when cricket chirps took over and brought the whole thing to a close.

Although massive, the music heard struggled to be fully immersive. In particular, the possibilities of the acousmonium were under-exploited. With richer spatialization, the audience could undoubtedly enter more deeply into the sound and better appreciate its progressive densification.

Atte Elias Kantonen

a path with a name

Finnish artist Atte Elias Kantonen’s sound is closer to classical electroacoustics, with a profusion of micromontage and sounds moving through space. From the outset, his work a path with a name (a reimagined reprise) installed a rather distinctive texture, both liquid and industrial. The sound universe was familiar, but parallel, like an algorithmic abstraction of real soundscapes.

For a long time, we heard movements going from right to left and vice versa, a bit like a page being torn. But the timbre of this tear had something viscous and metallic about it. Biomechanical centipedes running through sewer pipes? The subjective value of such associations is well known. However, there was something that was a science fiction sound design in this case. Of all the works presented, it was the one that presented the most complex articulations. For a long time, you could hear movements going from right to left and vice versa, a bit like a page being torn. But the timbre of this tear had something viscous and metallic about it. Biomechanical centipedes running through sewer pipes? The subjective value of such associations is well known. However, there was something that was a science fiction sound design in this case. Of all the works presented, it was the one that presented the most complex articulations.

Ludwig Berger

Garden of Ediacara

On Garden of Ediacara, the German Ludwig Berger unveiled sweet tableaux composed of synthesized sounds and processed voices. The whole thing was, at all times, very harmonious and de facto flashy. The voices, intensely filtered, gave an urban and dehumanized look to the music, which did not prevent it from never ceasing to captivate attention.

The disembodied voices, pulsating rhythms and accessible sounds were sometimes reminiscent of the deconstructed club genre, this experimental reappropriation of the dance aesthetic. On the other hand, there were not many involved articulations, or even formal developments. Rather, we were immersed in familiar harmonies orchestrated with minimalism. Although the work left something to be desired in terms of its progression over time, it must be recognized that its aesthetic was very successful and pleasant to listen to. One can imagine the reactions that such a work would have aroused if it had been presented at the same festival when it debuted.

Photo Credits: Caroline Campeau