This is a second album for the Montreal baritone sax/viola duo of Ida Toninato and Jennifer Thiessen. The first one (The Space Between Us – 2018) had left a mark on us with its unique acoustic imprint. This Dream of Heat, Schubertian in its allegory of death through the figure of winter, effectively immerses us in an enchanting twilight, made up of slow and beautiful lines from the two main instruments, but also, for the first time, of synthesisers that are sometimes ethereal, sometimes pulsating and airy (with Jason Sharp’s support). The voices of the ladies, rather whispers, sometimes cries, are added to create desolate, spectral landscapes, but still seductive. This post-urban “Winterreise” that meets Blade Runner is superb, very contemporary, minimalist, and cinematic. Hope is in order at the end of the journey with the piece called Change, from where light emerges.
Dream of Heat warmed us up this early February in Montreal, last Monday the 9th at Sala Rossa, in a launch concert that was a not-miss affair, in my opinion. In the opening act, the Toronto improviser Karen Ng presented her new thing with synthesizers and ”those cables”, said she.
The album is available for pre-order on Bandcamp. Release on February 13, 2026
