Country : Canada (Quebec) Label : Malasartes Genres and styles : classique / Jazz / Musiques du Monde Year : 2024

Cordâme – Déesses mythiques

· by Frédéric Cardin

After a long series devoted to classical composers (Ravel, Debussy, Satie), to which we can add an album on Da Vinci, it is no exaggeration to say that the Cordâme ensemble (a play on words in French between cordes (strings) and âme (soul)) is currently in a ‘feminist’ cycle. Following on from 2023’s very fine Fabula femina, here is Déesses mythiques (Mythical Goddesses), an opus featuring eleven portraits of Greek goddesses, from Aphrodite to Artemis, including Demeter, Athena, Hera, Thalia…

The ensemble’s leader and double bassist Jean-Félix Mailloux is surrounded by faithful musicians : Marie Neige Lavigne on violin, Sheila Hannigan on cello, Guillaume Martineau on piano, Éveline Grégoire-Rousseau on harp and Mark Nelson on percussion. Everyone gets on famously, musically speaking (and in life, too, I imagine), and the product is running like clockwork.

There’s nothing to say about the pretty arrangements and melodies – the usual quality is there. There are discreet modal intonations and percussive colours that are clearly reminiscent of ancient Greece (or so what we imagine of it). That said, compared with previous albums such as Fabula femina and the masterly Da Vinci Inventions, which featured the magical voice of Coral Egan, I wonder why this one, devoted to women, divine at that, doesn’t have a vocal section. I find myself missing Mailloux’s excellent vocal writing in these two previous opus numbers. It seems to me that the match would have been perfect. Descriptions of the various goddesses would also have been useful, to make the connection with the music easier to feel.

CORDÂME’S BANDCAMP PAGE

We quibble, we quibble, but Déesses mythiques remains a highly enjoyable album and another happy cross between classical, jazz and a few subtle ‘world’ pigments from this unique ensemble, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2024.

Latest 360 Content

Ken Pomeroy – Cruel World

Ken Pomeroy – Cruel World

Art of the Line: Klangkarussell’s Euro Vision at SAT

Art of the Line: Klangkarussell’s Euro Vision at SAT

Centroamérica – a powerful docu-play about truth and connection in an age of distance and denial

Centroamérica – a powerful docu-play about truth and connection in an age of distance and denial

Lido Pimienta – La Belleza

Lido Pimienta – La Belleza

Tamir Barzilay – Phosphene Journal

Tamir Barzilay – Phosphene Journal

The best ‘’Candlelight concert‘’ ever.

The best ‘’Candlelight concert‘’ ever.

Men I Trust – Equus Caballus

Men I Trust – Equus Caballus

The Halluci Nation – Path of the Baby Face

The Halluci Nation – Path of the Baby Face

A lap steel guitar choir and an angel to end the Innovations en concert 24-25 season

A lap steel guitar choir and an angel to end the Innovations en concert 24-25 season

The OSM and Abel Selaocoe: Evenings When You’d Like to Stop Time

The OSM and Abel Selaocoe: Evenings When You’d Like to Stop Time

Reaching for the sky: Francis Choinière’s challenge to end his OPCM’s 10th season

Reaching for the sky: Francis Choinière’s challenge to end his OPCM’s 10th season

Piknic 3: A Little Bit of Everything Under the Sun

Piknic 3: A Little Bit of Everything Under the Sun

Cazzu – Latinaje

Cazzu – Latinaje

Stereolab – Instant Holograms On Metal Film

Stereolab – Instant Holograms On Metal Film

SMCQ | In memoriam Jocelyn Morlock

SMCQ | In memoriam Jocelyn Morlock

Abbey Road at Festival Classica

Abbey Road at Festival Classica

Mira Choquette – Hier encore

Mira Choquette – Hier encore

Jared Dunn; Anna Gorecka – Gorecki’s World of the Piano

Jared Dunn; Anna Gorecka – Gorecki’s World of the Piano

Cyrille Dubois; Tristan Raës – Dupont : The Complete Songs

Cyrille Dubois; Tristan Raës – Dupont : The Complete Songs

Nic Ferron Trio – Multiverse

Nic Ferron Trio – Multiverse

Hayti Lives by Vox Sambou, “Duty to Reflect His Times”.

Hayti Lives by Vox Sambou, “Duty to Reflect His Times”.

Subscribe to our newsletter