Igloofest 2nd Night: Wild Card with Apashe, Marie Davidson, Dileta

by Loic Minty

Marked with wild musical contrasts and daring approaches, this second night of Igloofest is another reminder of Montreal’s vibrant local scene. We once again witnessed the power of breaks and bass in full effect as big name dj’s turned the dial up, and saw the rising starpower of local homegrown harvest legends in a perfect exhibition of dance music.

Headlining the Videotron stage was none other than Marie Davidson. In this dj set, her emblematic synthwave sound revealed its origins in a steady stream of late night analog techno crowned with some of her own tracks like “Work it” which had the crowd losing its mind. Marie Davidson showed us a guideline into her musical genius and as in her live shows, the wide-eyed presence and honest spoken word effortlessly enticed the crowd into her unapologetically bold aura.

Matching this energy, Honeydripp proved once again to be the queen of kinetic sounds as she liquefied genres into her own spaced out mix of breaks, bass and a groovy remix of Fergalicious. Playing with silence and space, her rhythms teased the line of recognisable patterns, occasionally broken by bassy dub influenced sections which shook the stage.

Ending on a high note with chopped breaks going in and out of time, homegrown harvest’s reputation for long nights dancing was not let down. As Dileta put us in a time warp of progressively rich drum patterns and acid bass sequences to tear the roof off, the crowd quickly understood this was an experience like no other. Dileta’s vast selection of dark leftfield tracks, seamless transitions and sharp accents of retro samples had people young and old grooving from side to side in unisson.

Meanwhile on the Sapporo stage we witnessed an ascent into craze as Jeska displayed a virtuoso performance of drum and bass, accelerating from a wide sound with minutely precise breaks into head banging, hard style territory. Imanu had no problem keeping this energy up with his feel good, synthpop textures and kept the crowd bouncing to classic pop samples mixed between densely energetic house.

It seemed the night would go on in this boundary breaking succession of increasingly ecstatic sounds until in a sudden turn of events, classical music from Apashe’s repertoire transformed the entire festival into a scene from Dante’s inferno.

As the haze from the river gradually blanketed the fluorescent lights, people started slowing down, almost expecting a ballerina to come out in “pas chassé”. But this was all part of Apashe’s master plan. After a solid 20 minutes, a manifesto appeared on the screen and in an instant the scene was flooded with strobes. The rest of the night belonged to Apashe’s, and with his artistic conception of EDM combined with the stadium scale scenography and sound, it will be one to remember. Notable to his “majestic” style was the display of cinematic visuals paired in synchronicity with transitions and instruments that created a mesmerizing audiovisual experience. After an emotionally evoking set, Apashe leaves us once again with the soft sounds of an orchestra walking us out into the streets. The buzz of the crowd turns into screams and we all know what we just witnessed. Igloofest is living up to the hype.

First Igloofest Evening: DJ Minx on the Techno Side

by Loic Minty

With smoke blowing over the turntables, DJ Minx appeals to the spirit of electronic music with his infectious presence.

As a pioneer of Detroit techno, it’s more than appropriate that she’s playing on this first night of Igloo Fest, and it’s easy to see why. She performs with ease and joy, but it’s her approach that makes her shine. People arriving from Sapporo, approach in disbelief to this intimate space where the crowd dances in trance in front of the 4 subwoofers. Classic Detroit-style soul and disco samples fill the imagination with lyrical excerpts, and the bass thrills the whole body. She ends her performance on a fiery track that Felix Patry masters and relaunches with a breakbeat to kick off her eclectic set at high speed. Navigating with ease between a panoply of styles such as Baltimore club and Euro-dance, her carefree presence doesn’t do justice to the people who jump up and down in delirium until the very end, losing their clothes in the process. This slim glimpse of the Homeby6 collective and the Igloo Fest festival gives a thirst for nightlife that will have to be continued another time. Fortunately, this is just the beginning.

First Night of Igloofest 2025: Tali Rose and Michael Bibi’s Party

by Félicité Couëlle-Brunet

It’s 8:30 p.m. and everyone is eagerly awaiting the London producer and DJ at the Sapporo Stage. Joy and good humor reign over a rhythmic beat brought to us by our entourage dressed in matching winter suits for an evening of festivities.

We’ve been bopping along to Tali Rose’s melodious indie-house beats for a while now. The rhythm is good, the dance is organic and the house is progressive. Little by little, people start to go into a trance as the Montreal DJ gradually increases the frequencies of her melodies, until we’re dancing to an almost tribal tune to set the scene for her colleague’s entrance.

Michael Bibi is quick to introduce an assertive house dimension to the evening, bringing the crowd to its feet. It’s from this point on that you feel like you’ve travelled back to the 2010s dance-pop style, thanks to a crowd of upbeat dancers on up-beat melodies. Bibi regularly emphasizes his lifelong love of the blues and jazz scene, and this is evident in his samples of songs remixed with tech-house. At the end of three hours of excitement in the snow, the evening comes to a close with the electro deep-house classic “Pump Up The Jam”, which breathes new energy into the very end of the evening. The good energy stays with us – the first night of Igloofest 2025 has been one of celebration.

Classical / Classical Singing / orchestre / période moderne / période romantique

OSM | Mahler, Payare and The OSM: Between Inner Turmoil, Light and Fatality, a Powerful Evening.

by Hélène Archambault

The OSM has made an enlightened choice to present the works of Alma Mahler and those of her husband, Gustav, in the same concert to inaugurate 2025. The performance of Alma’s works alongside those of her illustrious husband is a contemporary nod to a time when many female musicians are giving up their careers to support those of their husbands.

At the age of twenty-three, Alma, née Schindler, frequented the Viennese artistic scene, composing lieder and insisting on her artistic and intellectual independence. She met Gustav Mahler in November 1901. Twenty years her senior, he made a deal with her: to become his wife, she had to give up her aspirations as a composer. Passionately in love, she accepted, and the marriage was celebrated on March 9, 1902.

Despite this “ban” on composing, Gustav suggested that Alma rework the lieder and have them published (in the program notes, Catherine Harrison-Boisvert notes that “Gustav seems to have wanted to make amends”). It is fortunate that Alma’s Lieder have been rescued from anonymity in this way. Their performance is a first for the OSM. With these 5 lieder, the orchestra offers a sensitive listening experience, and, in my case, one of discovery. In meins Vaters Garten (In my father’s garden) is particularly touching. Mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor’s deep, radiant voice is enhanced by the composer’s expressive writing. My only downside? The orchestration by Colin and David Matthews. A slight mismatch between the two scores is unfortunately to the detriment of the voice.

Of the Sixth Symphony, called “Tragic”, Alma writes that it is her husband’s most personal work, the one that sprang most directly from his heart. She also reports that in writing the Sixth Symphony, Gustav anticipated his own life in music. Three blows of fate, symbolized by as many hammer blows in the finale – only two of which are retained – also befell him: the loss of their daughter Maria to scarlet fever, a diagnosis of incurable heart disease, and the loss of his position at the Vienna Opera. As Mahler’s Sixth was written before these events, this interpretation is debatable. But the story is worth telling, if only to stir the imagination! And perhaps also a little to allow ordinary people to become a little more attached to the composer?

Speaking of attachment, the OSM and Payare, in their interpretation, go the right way. From the very first bar, the tempo is energetic without being frantic. The tone is set. The first movement unfolds between the military and the evocation of Alma, embodied by the strings. The orchestra alternates between rumble and light. Payare seems to play with rhythm. Though regulated like a metronome, time with him seems more supple, more alive. The beautiful pages of the second movement feature a dialogue between woodwinds and brass, in which the orchestra’s playing is limpid. The third movement, almost dreamlike, and the finale follow one another without a break. This sequence seems to allow the orchestra to bewitch us, before plunging us into an emotional stampede in the style of “being Gustav Mahler” right to the end. Just writing it makes me breathless – the energy deployed by the conductor must be the envy of the greatest sportsmen and women. Tragic” symphony, you say? Between enchantment, sweetness and tragedy, one does not leave the symphonic house completely unscathed.

Photo Credit: Gabriel Fournier

Fresh Finds at Bar Le Ritz

by Vanessa Barron

I wound up at Bar le Ritz last Saturday night to catch a showcase of five mostly local bands, ranging from power-pop and jazz-punk to emo and noise. Throughout the course of the night, I found friends, familiar faces, and most importantly, some new favorite bands. Here are the highlights.

Photos by Amir Bakarov

Fresh Wax

The standout act of the evening was Fresh Wax, a bass guitar-and-drum duo who showed up with sick sunglasses and a blasting energy that shook the paint off those primary-coloured planks on the Le Ritz walls. They ripped the wildest riffs in left-field time signatures and took turns on vocals, shouting punchy lines that I didn’t understand and honestly, didn’t need to. The chops of both of these guys were up there with professional jazz musician levels of technique and fervour. I‘ve heard their shows get even wilder at smaller venues, so I will 100% be seeing them again.

Gondola

Gondola was a pleasure as always, as I must confess I’ve seen them at least five other times this year. This four-piece indie-pop group delivered a full range of dynamics and complementary solo moments, maintaining a tight cohesion balanced by moments of unrestrained jamming. Lyle on lead vocals was really sending it on this particular evening. His booming baritone carried melancholic lyrics with full force, evoking the bitterness of heartbreak with an edge of defiance. My favourite of the night was a newer song inspired by the reality show MILF Manor, entitled “Moment I’d Like to Forget.” I have yet to analyze these lyrics from a Freudian perspective, but boy, is it a catchy melody!

Wakelee

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really vibed with Wakelee’s set. Generally, I’m skeptical of Brooklyn-made emo music in the year 2024 (if they were from a cultural hotbed like Central Pennsylvania or Ohio, perhaps I’d be less prejudiced…), but this set was tight, well-balanced, and totally won me over. I particularly loved how the backup vocals from the bass guitarist weaved into the main melody. These two-part vocals and the singer’s unmistakable emo affectation reminded me of the classic Blink-182 ballad “I Miss You.” I have since re-listened to their single “mildlyinteresting,” which succinctly captures the pathos of asking for advice on Reddit, confessing in its catchy refrain that “every question I have, I post on the Internet.”

Room

I wish I had caught more of the opening band, Room, which had all the powerhouse belting and radiant bubblegum rock energy of groups like Beach Bunny and Remember Sports. I caught two of their songs, probably the happiest music in an otherwise doomer-toned lineup.

Lastly, I’ve gotta give some credit to the headliner Evergreen. Noise-punk is not my specialty, and my ears couldn’t quite pick up on chords, melodies, or lyrics to comment on. I did, however, see moshers at the front having a great time, and that’s what counts.

classique persan

Centre des musiciens du monde: Persian delight with Kayhan Kalhor

by Frédéric Cardin

Last night at the Centre des musiciens du monde in Montreal, we heard almost 90 uninterrupted minutes of sublime music performed by one of the world’s greatest musicians, Kayhan Kalhor, master of the kamancheh. I’m not just talking about his status in Persian classical music, for which he is certainly THE musician of his time, and perhaps of all times, but about his genius as a musical artist in all genres. Kalhor is a virtuoso and performer in a class of his own.

Yesterday, he was on stage to give the final concert of an extensive tour for the Chants d’espoir (Songs of Hope) programme. He was joined by Montrealers Kiya Tabassian on setar and Hamin Honari on tombak, as well as his compatriot Hadi Hosseini on vocals.

Paris concert (without Hadi Hosseini) :

An artistic tour de force in which instrumental improvisation sits naturally alongside classical Persian poetry (that of Saadi, who lived in the 13th century) rendered with brio by Hosseini, one of the most assertive and accomplished voices in classical Persian singing today. Long, skilfully ornamented melodies intermingled with the comments of the instrumentalists, linking contemplative, introspective episodes with others that were more energetic and lively. The tunes, which flowed into one another without pause, were partly drawn from the scholarly repertoire, but mostly from the spontaneity of the musicians on stage, all of whom are remarkable improvisers. It was a sold-out concert, attended in large part by members of the Iranian community, but not exclusively. A very attentive and respectful audience, from which I didn’t hear a single unexpected phone ring! Symphony audiences should learn a few lessons from this…

Concert on December 16 in Montreal :

Montreal can be proud of this kind of event, because it’s partly thanks to this city that it exists. Kiya Tabassian, of the Constantinople ensemble, is a former student of Kalhor, who himself lived close to the metropolis for a time (he has a Canadian passport as well as an Iranian one), and Hamin Honari moved from Vancouver here to Montreal to take advantage of the artistic opportunities offered here. And in the midst of it all, the Centre des musiciens du monde, which continues to impress with the quality of its projects and the growing influence it exerts on the non-Western scholarly music scene, is actively helping to build Montreal’s reputation as one of the best cities for world music in the West, perhaps the best in America.

FROM JANUARY AT THE CENTRE DES MUSICIENS DU MONDE: A NEW SERIES OF INTIMATE CONCERTS, ONE WEDNESDAY A MONTH. DETAILS TO COME ON THE ORGANISATION’S WEBSITE

Contemporary

Émanants (Ensembles ILÉA & Bakarlari) – Composing for space; spatializing with the audience

by Laurent Bellemare

You stroll through the corridors of the Chapelle Cité-des-Hospitalières, between the low-pitched drones of modular synthesizers and the clanging of keys on wind instruments. The performers fully inhabit the space, in motion or perched on the third floor. The acoustic tones of traditional instruments blend perfectly with those of amplified and electronic instruments. Your trajectory completes the spatialization of this full, site-specific sound space. It’s the perfect way to rekindle the flame of happening in contemporary music.

The last in a series of four performances, the Émanants show presented by the ILÉA and Bakarlari ensembles, in partnership with Innovations en concert, elegantly exemplified the kind of proposition that can only be captured in a live setting. These two seasoned improvising ensembles put together a program lasting around 1h15, in which spontaneous collective playing and solo pieces followed one another in a coherent progression. For the most part, these transitions were very fluid, blurring the beginnings and ends of the pieces.

At its best, this fluidity created a real continuum of sound, particularly striking between the fifth improvisation and the piece Une musique soluble dans l’air, performed on organ by Gabrielle Harnois-Blouin.
This haunting composition by Kevin Gironnay built, varied and then deconstructed beautiful static harmonies reminiscent of the music of Ellen Arkbro.It was also in such stasis that many of the compositions imagined for the venue unfolded. Think of Corps suspendu / Ballet for Past Skin by Kim Farris-Manning, performed by bass clarinettist Charlotte Layec. This work used loops activated by a looper, over which counter-melodies produced a lamenting effect. At times, what seemed to be a renewed amplification and distortion of the instrument enriched the palette of timbres, as did the sung and declamatory interventions.

In contrast, a work like Ruderalia, written by Olivier St-Pierre for trumpeter Émilie Fortin, was much more sparse in its articulations and made good use of silence. The piece also exhibited a number of extended techniques, performed with dynamism and virtuosity. Andrew Noseworthy’s Insightful, Instructive, Geometrically Satisfying! was a massive rumble of low frequencies.

Performed on modular synthesizers by Pierre-Luc Lecours, this piece immediately had the audience on the move to receive the full force of these vibrations from various listening points. While this piece got the whole chapel vibrating, its transition to the following improvisation fell a little flat. Later, a “Remix” of the same work set up a dialogue between trombonist Kalun Leung and the natural resonances of the chapel, in a language that moved easily from roughness to lyricism.

For their part, the seven improvisations captured attention in one way or another. Between the spectral qualities of the fourth segment, which could have been mistaken for a work by Gérard Grisey or Tristan Murail, and Bakarlari’s luminous harmonies on the fifth, most of the textures one might have wished from such contemplative music were exploited. We were also treated to a gradual rise in intensity in the second improvisation, as everyone moved from a certain quietude to more howling instrumental sounds. The concert also ended with a moment of spontaneous creation, in a sort of energy transfer from one performer to the next, re-exposing the soloist qualities of each one one last time before fading out on a vocal improvisation that we would have liked to have lasted longer.

While classical decorum and disjointed programs are de facto accepted in the world of new music, it’s an event like Émanants, entirely sculpted for a place and according to a thoughtful expressive narrative, that really justifies going out of one’s way to hear live contemporary music.

Classical

Justin Saulnier Wins The 2024-2025 Golden Violin Award

by Alexandre Villemaire

After a tough competition, Ottawa violinist Justin Saulnier won the 2024-2025 Golden Violin Award. The nineteen-year-old will receive a cash prize of $30,000, as well as a concert performance as part of the Schulich@Good Shepherd series, to be held on February 26, 2025 at the Canadian Centre for Architecture. Second prize went to Joey Machin, who was awarded a $15,000 bursary. Jueun Lee rounded off this year’s edition of the Prix du violon d’or with a cash prize of $5,000.

In front of a packed Tanna Schulich Hall, Justin Saulnier delivered a technically skilful program imbued with flawless musicality. His program opened with Robert Schumann’s Three Romances. In each of the pieces, he deftly infused a different character, while in Ysaÿe’s Sonata for solo violin, he illustrated his technical mastery in a virtuoso display of precise violin lines.

But the central portion of his program dedicated to Alfred Schnittke’s Violin Sonata No. 1, a complex work featuring a multitude of playing techniques on both violin and piano, was the highlight of his performance. This work was a judicious choice, and to her advantage. Like his semi-final program, Saulnier was the only one to offer a work firmly rooted in 20th-century language – the other exception being Ellen Taafe Zwilich’s Fantasy for solo violin, performed by Jueun Lee. This change of character was more than welcome in an evening program that was otherwise steeped in the tonal universe of the 19th century. Compared to his colleagues, Saulnier presented the most varied and versatile program in terms of style and technique.

Jueun Lee took to the stage with Zwilich’s Fantaisie, Fauré’s Violin Sonata No. 1 and Ravel’s Tzigane. Lee presented her repertoire with the same vigor that characterized her semi-final appearance. She displayed virtuoso aplomb in many respects, particularly in the works by Zwilich and Ravel. At times, however, the intensity of her interpretations took precedence over her virtuosity. The play of timbre and texture, as well as the display of idiomatic traits present in Ravel’s piece, were well present, but uneven, particularly in the extremely velocity passages or in the changes of playing technique. The main instrumental work on his program, the Fauré sonata, which oscillated between melancholy and intensity, was executed with zeal, but lacked sparkle in the expression of this curious harmonic language.

Succeeding Jueun Lee, Joey Machin performed Prokofiev’s Five Melodies, Henryk Wieiniawsky’s Souvenir de Moscou and the third and fourth of César Franck’s Violin Sonata. He, too, maintained a certain continuity with his semi-final program, offering a refined, clear performance. Prokofiev’s melodies were presented with an even, stable sound, as was Franck’s sonata. His playing and mastery of dynamics were demonstrated in the Wieiniawsky piece, where he brought out the folk elements running through the work with great accuracy and style. A performance that was nevertheless marred by a few minor hiccups at the end in the high-pitched passages marked più vivo.

Andrée Azar, Carole Sirois, Joshua Peters, David Stewart and Jonathan Crow acted as judges for the semi-final and final rounds. Professor André Roy acted as non-voting chairman. The finalists were accompanied on piano by Gaspard Tanguay-Labrosse, Itamar Prag, Félix Marquis and Veola Sun respectively.

Photo Credit : Tam Lan Truong

Baroque / Choral Music / Classical / Classical Singing

Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec | Brilliant Messiah!

by Mona Boulay

QUÉBEC–

To commemorate their fortieth anniversary, Les Violons du Roy are offering a series of exceptional concerts, including the following: Handel’s Messiah with Bernard Labadie.

First of all, the visual impact of such an ensemble on the stage of the Palais Montcalm cannot be overstated: a baroque chamber orchestra with an eye-catching theorbo in the center, behind which the soloists perform and wait, all overlooked by the choir of La Chapelle de Québec, thirty singers harmoniously arranged in a semicircle around the stage. The view is grandiose, worthy of the famous oratorio we’re about to hear.

Conductor Bernard Labadie, founder of Les Violons du Roy, returns to take his place for the duration of the concert, a chair he has left since 2014 to Jonathan Cohen. It’s under his guidance that our concert begins, with a perfectly executed instrumental overture. We continue immediately with the first soloist, tenor Andrew Haji, who captivates us from the very first notes of “Comfort Ye”. The singer handles nuances with great virtuosity and never tries to overdo it: his notes held without vibrato are a real treat for our ears, as are his perfectly mastered melismas. The choir then makes its first appearance with “And the glory of the Lord”, and its power is striking: what an impact! The group seems to form a single angelic voice, the purity of the sopranos mingled with the depth of the basses, the blend of timbres total. And already we hear “Thus saith the Lord”, the first solo by bass William Thomas, a young British singer with a great future ahead of him. This is contrasted by countertenor Iestyn Davies’s “But who made abide”, an impressive performance supported by the chamber orchestra, particularly with its velocity and precision of prestissimo. As the oratorio continues, we finally hear Liv Redpath, soprano. Her entrance is perhaps less remarkable at first than that of the other soloists, with a play in nuances that at first seems restricted, despite impressive vocal precision. The first interventions seem to lack a little life.

Messiah unfolds throughout the evening, punctuated by strong moments (how could one not shudder during the “Hallelujah” closing the second part?), but also occasionally by a few long stretches. A case in point is “He was despised”, a long countertenor solo that never ends. Whether Handel’s hand was too heavy, or the interpretation lacked direction, I couldn’t say, but time seemed to run longer during this aria). It ends beautifully with the perfectly executed “Amen”, a profusion of intense joy.

The concert is made brilliant by the instrumental ensemble, which has had the opportunity throughout to demonstrate its great capacity for contrast, always handled with the elegance and purity typical of Baroque music. Not once is a note overemphasized, not once does it fall into the realm of excess. For once, Les Violons du Roy excel in subtlety. The soloists are each outstanding, despite the criticisms set out above, one is aware of hearing a certain elite of lyrical singing. The choir of La Chapelle de Québec is excellent in its role, and doesn’t disappoint us once: its interventions are always a moment of great pleasure. All in all, a successful evening, and a brilliant one at that.

Photo Credit : David Mendoza Hélaine

Handel’s Messiah with Les Violons du Roy and Bernard Labadie will be presented at the Maison symphonique de Montréal on Saturday, December 14 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available here.

Classical

Prix du violon d’or 2024-2025 | Finalists Announced

by Alexandre Villemaire

As rain, wind and cold descended on the evening of December 11, a small crowd gathered, braving the inclement weather to hear and see the instrumental playing of the six semi-finalists in this year’s Prix du violon d’or.

At the end of the semi-final round, violinists Jueun Lee, Joey Manchin and Justin Saulnier were recommended by the jury to move on to the final round on Friday, December 13.

Their performances respectively highlighted qualities of playing, interpretation and technical mastery in diverse programs of contrasting dynamics. South Korean-born Jueun Lee, accompanied on piano by Itamar Prag, drew the audience into the sparkling world of Mozart with the Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 22, and into the folkloric world of Edvard Grieg with the Violin Sonata No. 2 in G major. In addition to her clear sound and precise articulation, it was the young performer’s stage presence and energy, as well as her apparent complicity with her pianist, that captured the audience’s attention.

Joey Manchin offered a heartfelt, polished interpretation of the second movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Paul Hindemith’s Sonata for Solo Violin No. 2 and the first two movements of César Franck’s Sonata in A major. The intimate dialogue between piano and violin in Beethoven’s work highlighted the purity of sound and clarity of lines exchanged between the two instrumentalists. Plunging the audience into a completely different aesthetic, Hindemith’s sonata was packed with chromatic lines and different playing techniques, which Manchin was able to demonstrate. In Franck’s sonata, accompanied by Veola Sun, he expressed in the work’s vaporous sonorities a frank control of the different dynamics, moving from languorous lines to lively, animated passages.

Justin Saulnier shone with pure lines and limpid musical discourse in Schubert’s Sonatina in D major, while Paganini’s short Caprice No. 17 in E flat major, with its velocity of violin lines, showcased his technical mastery. He was also the only semi-finalist to include two pieces by contemporary composers in his program: Ana Sokolovic’s Chant and the third of the Sonata for violin and piano by composer and conductor Dinuk Wijeratne. The presentation of this type of repertoire, the antithesis of the majority of the works we heard during the evening, provided a welcome dose of variety, and demonstrated Saulnier’s abilities in this type of musical language and discourse, where he was supported by Gaspard Tanguay-Labrosse.

The three competitors who didn’t make the cut have nothing to be ashamed of. Violist Alexander Beggs impressed us with his warm, woody and stable sound. His program, consisting of Franz Joseph Haydn’s Divertimento in D major – in an arrangement by Gregor Piatigorsky – and Rebecca Clarke’s Sonata for Viola and Piano, was the most aesthetically introspective. This enhanced her musicality, but perhaps did her virtuosity and contrasts a disservice. American-Japanese violinist Satoka Abo opted for a program in which technical virtuosity took precedence. Her performances of Brahms’ Sonatensatz and Franz Waxman’s Carmen-Fantaisie were high-flying moments, but lacked precision in places. The sparkling first movement of Mozart’s Sonata in B flat major and Amy Beach’s warm Romance brought contrasts and calm to his explosive program. Finally, cellist François Lamontagne offered a contrasting performance with an excerpt from Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No. 3 and Gaspar Cassado’s Suite for Solo Cello, which was beautifully intense but could have been more danceable.

The final of the Prix du violon d’or 2024-2025 will take place on Friday December 13 at 7pm in the Tanna Schulich Hall.

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Lost in the Labyrinth at the Yoo Doo Right + Victime Album Launch with We Owe

by Lyle Hendriks

There’s no party like a Mothland party. With a sea of concertgoers dressed in black, shitty beer freely flowing, and an industrial buzz all around, it’s a familiar scene as we step into Théâtre Plaza for the double album release of Victime and Yoo Doo Right.

First though, we witnessed the first-ever show from We Owe, the solo project of Christopher Pravdica (Swans, Xiu Xiu). Armed with his bass and backed up by Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) on drums, Pravdica launched into a trance-inducing medley of industrial noise that lurched forth like heavy excavating equipment turned over for the first time in decades.

With some kind of effect that doubled his bass, We Owe sounds like the work of far more than a duo, both of whom skillfully wield their instrument with a satisfyingly playful ease. Each grinding virtuoso seemed to have more composite parts than the last, like an ever-taller sonic Jenga tower that, against all odds, was still standing tall by the end. For fans of adventurous, hypnotic instrumentals, We Owe’s second show (whenever that will be) is sure to please.

Sandwiched in the bill was Victime, who debuted their latest release En conversation avec (2024). There’s an urgency to this post-everything power-rock trio that borders on pained at times, with lead vocalist Laurence Gauthier-Brown often doubled over as she delivered growling proclamations and catalytic climaxes. Freeform, aggressive, and impossibly abstract, Victime’s sound crawls down your spine with its doom-bringing bass, screeching guitars, and frenetic, unpredictable percussion. It’s a sound that denies the convenience of drama, insisting on its own complicated tapestry of influence that feels impossible to parse. If it seems like I’m reaching in my attempts to explain Victime’s sound, it’s because I am. If you like it rough, Victime is more than happy to oblige.

Finally, it was time for Montreal darlings Yoo Doo Right, whose sound was pre-empted by their utterly ridiculous stage set-up of towering amp stacks. As I watched each cab get switched on, I pushed my earplugs in and braced myself for the noise. Yoo Doo Right’s new album, From the Heights of Our Pastureland is utterly anxiety-inducing—panicky, shallow breaths that never reach the bottoms of your lungs, leaving your shoulders heaving and your heart racing. They stride through change upon change, never staying in the same place long enough to let you get your footing. The album’s cover art (a diabolically apocalyptic-looking tornado) couldn’t be more appropriate for the music. It’s a hellish maelstrom, debris, and dust whizzing by faster than you can identify it, all while a low, dreadful roar fills your body beyond its limits.

Fortunately for me, there was a welcome reprieve near the end of this set as the band got stuck into their the track “Lost in the Overcast,” featuring a sombre but beautiful section from two guest trumpet players (who were utterly drowned out by a wall of bass for the rest of the performance). This track feels as though the clouds are parting, as rays of sunshine cautiously reach out and kiss the scars the storm left behind. It’s gorgeous, complex, and contemplative, and was the highlight of their set. After this, we were treated to a few older cuts from just the original trio, who seemed completely intent on inflicting severe hearing damage to as much of the world as possible. Despite my ringing ears, it was a pleasure to watch Yoo Doo Right do right by their fans.

Baroque / classique / Sacred Music

OM and YNS Choose Messiah’s Immersion at Notre-Dame Basilica

by Alain Brunet

Notre-Dame Basilica played host on Monday to the first of two concerts of Handel’s classic Messiah by the Orchestre Métropolitain (OM), its Chorus and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, back home for the holiday season.

Attending Handel’s Messiah in such a Catholic temple is in itself an immersive experience, characterized by special acoustics: more reverberation than in a hall designed for music, less intelligibility as the distance between the stage and the pew increases; as you move beyond half the floor towards the back, clarity declines. The perception of sound is therefore different depending on the position of the seat – but then, it’s also a great way to reflect on the holiday season and enjoy the ambience inherent in Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin has perfectly grasped this acoustic challenge and created a Messiah for this venue, performed with gentleness, sobriety, contemplation and precision. The curve of dramatic intensity was also well planned by the Quebec conductor, with a pastoral and comforting first part (prophecies and Nativity), the second part (passion, resurrection and ascension of Christ) culminating at the 39th station with the famous Alleluia of the resurrection sung by the choir, followed by a shorter and more abstract third part, Handel’s compositional meditation on Christian redemption.

Of the cast of soloists, mezzo Emily D’Angelo’s circumspect contribution is the most noteworthy, as she repeatedly achieves the ideal balance between the fervent expressivity of the religious text and the mystical state perceptible in the roundness of her voice, a state intrinsic to the interpretation of sacred song.

Tenor Frédéric Antoun was also eloquent and solid in context, though it would be interesting to hear more from him about his assumption of slight asperities in timbre in certain passages.

Soprano Anna-Sophie Neher also shone with sobriety, purity and power, and the OM cast also proved highly relevant in this respect, in her 9 interventions over the course of Messiah’s 47 stations.

Baritone Geoffroy Salvas brilliantly replaced his colleague Jonathon Adams.

The snow and cold of that Monday evening provided the perfect backdrop for walking the streets and taking refuge from the warmth of such a program in downtown Montreal’s most substantial of Christian temples. An experience of tradition and spirituality on the winter solstice, whatever our beliefs or skepticism about the afterlife.

Photo Credit: François Goupil

LE MESSIE IS PLAYED AGAIN BY L’OM AT THE BASILIQUE NOTRE-DAME DE MONTREL, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11. TICKETS HERE