Scène Deslauriers de la Fête de la Musique de Tremblant

At once didactic, playful and musically solid, cellist Dominique Beauséjour-Ostiguy and guitarist Christ Habib’s show Hommage à Piazzolla succeeds in making a history lesson on the life and career of the great composer/bandoneonist light and entertaining. Over the course of an hour, the two young artists use music to take us from the composer’s very beginnings (influenced by traditional tango, then jazz and finally very serious classical music) to his maturity, that of Tango Nuevo. Even if the two musicians’ presentations lack a little professionalism, the information offered and their relative conciseness have the advantage of adding a dose of meat around the bone for the many laymen, without making it academic. That said, the most remarkable thing there is the quality of the duo’s playing, particularly that of Beauséjour-Ostiguy. His technical ease, coupled with an intensely felt musicality, make him one of today’s finest young classical talents. Hats off, too, to Christ Habib, who expresses himself with a beautiful tactile delicacy.

Mikhaëlle Salazar is ‘Chilicoise’, as she says herself. The young woman of Chilean and Quebecois origin founded the Mikha.elles vocal quartet in 2020. Of course, the pandemic has meant that the group’s influence has only just begun. But the group is showing great potential to spread the word. What we heard on the Deslauriers stage at Tremblant’s Fête de la Musique on Saturday afternoon made a pleasant impression. The a capella quartet, made up of Mikhaëlle Salazar and her friends Marie-Neiges Harvey, Carmelle Gauvin and Judith Little-Daudelin, lead the listener through a repertoire of songs, original compositions and Latin folklore, set to harmonies bordering on jazz and supported by an onomatopoeic rhythm reminiscent of men’s barbershop ensembles. It’s elegant yet relaxed, an image reinforced by Mikhaëlle Salazar’s simple, engaging presence. The young ladies were among the first to launch the activities of this Fête de la Musique 2024, so they had to perform in the light rain, which only dried up a little later. The audience was nevertheless present and remained attentive, a sign that the quality was there.

Scène Deslauriers de la Fête de la Musique de Tremblant

Fête de la musique de Tremblant 2024 | Piazzolla told in words and music

Fête de la musique de Tremblant 2024 | Beautiful flights of latino a capella singing