Country : Canada Label : Leaf Genres and styles : Contemporary Year : 2024

Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra Sinfonia/Mark Fewer – Alikeness

· by Frédéric Cardin

It is with great pleasure, I must confess, that I bring to your attention an album featuring the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra. Recordings of this ensemble, and of almost anything from this province, are rather rare. All the more reason to mention this one, as it features some fine tracks. 

Most of the five works on the program are Canadian. Angmalukissa is a word that means “round” or “circle” in Inuktitut. It is a cycle of four songs evoking different iterations of circles: ripples in water, concentric circles inside a tree, circular waves of sound, the spiral structure of an igloo. Composer Deantha Edmunds, also a soprano (and the first Inuk classical singer), creates placid, meditative atmospheres in a tonal writing where the strings serve as a generous cushion for the voice (herself). Her rather effusive vibrato may put some off, but she knows how to convey the tenderness and poetry inherent in the texts. Edmunds has won several awards in Newfoundland and Labrador, and sang in front of Pope Francis in 2022, when he officially asked forgiveness on behalf of the Church for the wrongs done to the Inuit in residential schools. 

Quebec-born Serge Arcuri, who passed away last June 27, is beautifully represented by Episodes for violin and small orchestra, a spellbinding score that takes the structure of the Baroque concerto grosso and infuses it with modern dramatic tension. A fine reading by Mark Fewer on violin, who also conducts the orchestra. 

Robert Carli is best known for his work in television and film, but he also dabbles in contemporary, concert-style music. He has written B-A-C-H, a suite in four movements, each of which is obviously tonally based on the corresponding letter of the famous composer’s name. Only the 3rd movement (C) is played here. In addition to the tonal reference (but treated in an expanded way), Carli blends thematic elements from Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. Fewer is again the soloist for a gentle score, a kind of introspective elegy in which the violin hovers delicately above an almost motionless, impassive orchestra. Very nice.

Matt Brubeck is an American, Dave’s youngest son. The jazzy The Simple Life is played in an Andrew Downing arrangement by Fewer, who swings gently over the orchestral strings. A pleasant, refined change of mood from the rest of the program.

Jaroslaw Kapuściński is a Pole who lived in Montreal some time and who composed the album’s title track, Alikeness, in 2015 for the St Lawrence Quartet and percussionist Aiyun Huang. The latter is back in action in this expanded arrangement for string orchestra by Yoshiaki Onishi. Alikeness was inspired by Henri Matisse’s series of cut-out papers entitled Jazz. Although the title suggests it, there are very few genuine jazz inflections in the music. Rather, it’s a delicate interplay of contrasts between Huang’s percussion and the strings. Evocative of settings that are by turns mysterious, disquieting, amusing or meditative, the score deserves the attention of music lovers. Once again, the strings of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra Sinfonia are in top form, in a repertoire that is generally undemanding in terms of technique, I have to say. Nevertheless, this is a welcome recording in the panorama of music made by and for Canadians.

Bravo to the Leaf label for daring to take on this kind of project.

Latest 360 Content

Transforming Hiroshima mon amour into contemporary opera: Christian Lapointe and Rosa Lind tell the story

Transforming Hiroshima mon amour into contemporary opera: Christian Lapointe and Rosa Lind tell the story

Sparks – MAD!

Sparks – MAD!

“Hiroshima, mon amour”: An Evening to Remember

“Hiroshima, mon amour”: An Evening to Remember

Peter Murphy – Silver Shade

Peter Murphy – Silver Shade

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

Festival des Saveurs | Closing With Reggae

Festival des Saveurs | Closing With Reggae

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

Subscribe to our newsletter