Additional Information
As part of the Concerts aux Îles du Bic series, composer, sound artist, and videographer Pierre-Luc Lecours will present two unique projects: a reinterpretation of Chopin’s Preludes alongside Daniel Áñez on the ondes Martenot and Chloé Dumoulin on piano, followed by a performance of Terry Riley’s seminal work *In C*, reimagined on a modular synthesizer.
Pierre-Luc Lecours, who holds a Ph.D. in music, has been working for several years at the intersection of contemporary electronic music, digital arts, and audiovisual creation. His projects, presented both in Canada and internationally, explore the connections between sound, image, and real-time performance, while seeking to make the modular synthesizer more accessible through extensive research and educational efforts.
Just a few days before his performance at Le Bic, he gives us a glimpse into this instrument—as fascinating as it is elusive—explains why *In C* finds an ideal playground in the world of modular synthesis, and invites the audience to experience this music in a different way: not by trying to figure out where it’s going, but by simply letting themselves be carried away by the moment.
PAN M 360: You are a composer, sound artist, and video artist based in Montreal. How would you describe your artistic approach?
Pierre-Luc Lecours : I’m primarily active in the contemporary electronic music scene. Over the past few years, I’ve been very involved in digital arts networks in Canada, Europe, and Asia, particularly at festivals like MUTEK and Elektra, where electronic music constantly interacts with visuals.
My projects take various forms: audiovisual performances, installations, or works in which sound and image are generated in real time. In particular, I’m currently working on a very active project with baritone saxophonist and composer Ida Toninato, titled *Homeostasis*. In this project, I play a modular synthesizer while the video reacts directly to the sounds produced on stage.
At the same time, I also write for instrumentalists in contemporary music contexts. I recently completed a doctoral dissertation on the performance and notation of the modular synthesizer. This instrument can take so many different forms that I asked myself: How is it performed? How do you write music for it? What can actually be notated? This research led to the creation of the Ensemble Modulaire, with which I will present the Festival’s concerts.
PAN M 360: Your Homeostasis project has been quite a success, by the way.
Pierre-Luc Lecours : Yes, we’ve been performing it since 2023. We’ve performed it more than twenty times in Canada, Europe, Asia, and South America. Our next Montreal show will take place at the SAT in October, before a new tour that will take us to the United Kingdom and Finland, among other places. At the same time, we’re already developing our next project, scheduled for 2027.
PAN M 360: I have a very traditional musical background, and before preparing for this interview, I knew very little about modular synthesizers. How would you define this instrument?
Pierre-Luc Lecours : It is a non-standardized instrument. Unlike a violin or a piano, every modular synthesizer is different because the musician chooses which modules make it up.
I like to draw a parallel with percussionists. A percussionist learns to play several very different instruments. A modular synthesizer works in much the same way: it can produce melodies, rhythms, textures, drones, or even sounds very similar to electronic music. It all depends on how it’s built.
Each module has a specific function, and they are all connected to one another by cables. This allows you to build an instrument that is fully tailored to your musical style.
PAN M 360: Despite all this technical mastery, is this an instrument that still surprises you?
Pierre-Luc Lecours : Yes, all the time. Even when I play a piece I know very well, new possibilities emerge.
All sound settings are always accessible. Sometimes all it takes is a different combination of two modules to discover a new sound.
That’s what makes the instrument so exciting, but also so challenging. Since it’s analog, it never reacts exactly the same way twice. It almost has a personality of its own.
PAN M 360: You also explained that sometimes it needs to be retuned during a concert.
Pierre-Luc Lecours : Yes. Analog oscillators are sensitive to temperature changes, much like stringed instruments. During the concerts on the Îles du Bic, we play with an A at 442 Hz. So sometimes I have to retune my instrument right in the middle of a performance.
PAN M 360: One of the works you’ll be performing is Terry Riley’s *In C*. Why did you choose it?
Pierre-Luc Lecours : Because this piece translates remarkably well to the modular synthesizer. *In C* is built from fifty-three musical cells that the performers repeat before deciding for themselves when to move on to the next one.
The modular synthesizer, however, already works naturally with repetitive sequences. This gives us a great deal of freedom to transform the timbre in real time.
We can move from a very harmonic world to something that almost evokes German minimal techno, all while playing exactly the same musical material. It’s a piece that seems to have been written for this instrument.
PAN M 360: So you follow the score while still maintaining a great deal of freedom of interpretation.
Pierre-Luc Lecours : Exactly. *In C* is an open work. The pitches can shift by an octave, the tempo can vary, and the instrumentation is never fixed.
The entire transformation of the timbres is up to us. Over the course of our rehearsals, we’ve developed a genuine expressive vocabulary that isn’t written anywhere in the score.
At times, we completely transform a rhythmic cell using reverb or granulation. The rhythm disappears, becomes a mass of sound, and then gradually reappears. That’s where our creative input comes in.
PAN M 360: You said something that really struck me: at some point, you stop thinking about technique.
Pierre-Luc Lecours : I think that’s when we truly transcend the piece. When the technical movements become second nature, we can finally be fully present in the sound, listen to our partner, react to what’s happening, and simply experience the music.
It’s in those moments that we stop thinking about the instrument and become completely connected to the sound itself.
PAN M 360: For a listener experiencing *In C* for the first time, what would you advise them to focus on?
Pierre-Luc Lecours : I would tell him not to try to figure out where the music is going. Minimalism is music of the moment. You have to be willing to embark on the journey, observe the variations, the contrasts, and the way the forms gradually emerge.
At the Îles du Bic, the audience will be seated all around us, and a lighting design will accompany the music. We designed this lighting to highlight certain rhythmic structures and create a truly immersive experience.
PAN M 360: What challenges lie ahead for you?
Pierre-Luc Lecours : Several projects will come to fruition in 2027. We’re developing a new show with Ida Toninato, still centered around the modular synthesizer and the baritone saxophone, but in a completely new setting.
With the Ensemble Modulaire, we also hope to return to works more deeply rooted in contemporary electronic music. Finally, I’m working on an audiovisual project with Julien Robert of Vidéophase, which will feature multiple screens, instruments, and a large-scale visual installation.
Through both his research and his compositions, Pierre-Luc Lecours demonstrates that the modular synthesizer is much more than just an electronic tool. A living, unpredictable, and deeply expressive instrument, it becomes a true creative partner in his hands. With *In C*, the audience at the Concerts aux Îles du Bic is invited not only to discover a seminal work of minimalism, but above all to enjoy a listening experience where time, light, and sound become one.
