Country : Canada Label : Indépendant Genres and styles : Ambient / Contemporary / Free Improvisation Year : 2020

Unearth

· by Réjean Beaucage

The improvised music quartet New Hermitage comes mostly from Halifax (only cellist India Gailey, who recently completed her master’s degree at McGill University, is based in Montreal). Their first two releases (One in 2017, and New Hermitage + Jeff Reilly in 2018) were nominated for the Music Nova Scotia Awards, with the second winning the Classical Recording of the Year.

Andrew MacKelvie (alto and tenor sax, bass clarinet), touted as the leader of the group, remains steps back a bit in comparison to what we’ve heard from him with other projects (There Never Was A Plan. or The Original Folk Trio, for example). It must be said that not only does the ensemble mainly put the strings forward (Ellen Gibling’s harp, Ross Burns’ electric guitar, the cello), but that everyone moreover does so with economy of means and voluntary simplicity. Although each of the members of this equal quartet are leading instrumentalists, it is hardly the music of virtuosos who would like to showcase their particular talent.

Inspired both by the concept of deep listening – developed by Pauline Oiveros – and by the logic of dreams, the dozen or so relatively short pieces presented by the quartet in this fifth effort continue the exploration of the textures offered by their particular composition, which the ensemble more often present in long form. The music develops from a rather sinister dystopian imagination (“Skeletons”, “Stalkers”, “Desertification”, etc.), but in the end, it’s still just a dream.

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