‘Roots of Flamenco’ at Festival du Monde Arabe 23′

by Varun Swarup

The Festival du Monde Arabe’s closing act, “Roots of Flamenco,” promised a captivating fusion of Iraqi and Andalusian song and dance, and while it mostly delivered, it fell short of embodying the authenticity expected from a traditional music evening. Despite commendable musicianship on stage, the performance struggled to maintain a clear focus as it endeavoured to intertwine myth and history, occasionally veering into a generic fusion sound.

The evening began rather theatrically, with Cheikh Sidi Bémol taking his role of storyteller in stride. Omar Bashir, the son of renowned oudist Munir Bashir and a complete virtuoso in his own right, gently plucked his oud underneath Cheikh as he spoke of his first encounter with the oud and the mythical player who revealed its stories. Gradually as the evening progressed, members of the rest of the nine-piece band were introduced as we charted course from Baghdad to Seville.

To witness the musical dialogue between Omar and the two flamenco guitarists was certainly spectacular but generally their virtuosic playing was relegated to the same minor chord progressions. Perhaps the most confounding aspect of this performance was the inclusion of the piano in this fine ensemble. It seemed somewhat out of place in the context of the performance, not seamlessly integrating into the narrative and occupying significant space in the overall mix. With three other stringed instruments already commanding attention, the piano added a layer that, at times, really diluted the essence of the performance.

The dancer and vocalist, Miguel Angel Orengo and Cristobal Muñoz respectively, integral components of such a performance, seemed to take a backseat for much of the show, only coming into prominence in the latter half of the second set. This was a bit disappointing as their presence would have added depth and nuance to the overall storytelling. Still, when they were given the limelight, they certainly brought the fire of flamenco alive in their performance.

Despite these shortcomings, the closing concert successfully underscored the significance of cultural exchange, emphasising the beauty of shared traditions and the fluidity of our cultures. While the lack of focus and occasional musical distractions may have tempered the overall experience, the festival’s finale ultimately celebrated the richness of cultural diversity and showcased the undeniable brilliance of flamenco on display.

classique

Les 4 saisons d’André Gagnon symphonique

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Pour souligner les trois ans de son décès, venez entendre les plus belles musiques du compositeur André Gagnon telles que Wow, Neige, Petit concerto pour Jean Carignan et bien d’autres, revisitées et interprétées par le brillant pianiste et arrangeur Stéphane Aubin (Belles-sœurs, Quartango). La chanteuse et comédienne Kathleen Fortin (Unité 9, Demain matin, Montréal m’attend, Belles-sœurs) se joint à l’orchestre pour interpréter avec toute l’intensité qu’on lui connaît des extraits de l’opéra Nelligan et quelques surprises. Un moment émouvant à partager!

To honor the third anniversary of his death, come and hear the most beautiful music of the composer André Gagnon (Wow, Neige, Petit concerto for Jean Carignan and many others), revisited and interpreted by the brilliant pianist and arranger Stéphane Aubin (Belles-sœurs, Quartango). Singer and actress Kathleen Fortin (Unit 9, Demain matin, Montréal m’attend, Belles-sœurs) joins the orchestra to perform with all the intensity we know about extracts from the opera Nelligan and some surprises. A touching moment to share!

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Ce contenu provient de la Place des Arts et est adapté par PAN M 360.

Indian Classical

Anoushka Shankar à la Place des Arts

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Anoushka Shankar présente un nouveau quintette de musicien.nes, avec lequel elle a créé un son dynamique et aux multiples facettes. Ils interpréteront la musique de son mini-album, ainsi que des joyaux profondément remués et réinterprétés de ses albums précédents, notamment l’album live Between Us, nominé aux Grammy Awards en 2022. Le quintette, qui représente le meilleur de la scène musicale londonienne en plein essor, se compose du clarinettiste Arun Ghosh, de la batteuse-compositrice Sarathy Korwar, de la percussionniste carnatique Pirashanna Thevarajah et du bassiste Tom Farmer, qui sont tous des artistes solistes aux talents étonnants.

Créé pour la première fois en Inde en décembre 2022, ce quintette a été salué comme l’un des meilleurs ensembles à avoir tourné avec Anoushka au cours de ses 28 années de carrière internationale. L’énergie et la camaraderie qui règnent sur scène sont inégalées, alors que Shankar ouvre la voie à un nouveau son grâce à des arrangements inventifs, une virtuosité sensible et une approche néoclassique de la tradition musicale à laquelle elle appartient.

Anoushka Shankar brings to North America a new quintet of musicians, with whom she has carved out a new, multifaceted and dynamic sound as they perform music from her newly-released mini-album alongside thoroughly shaken-up, reinterpreted gems from her previous releases including 2022 Grammy-nominated live album Between Us. The quintet, representing the very best of the thriving London music scene, comprises of clarinetist Arun Ghosh, drummer-composer Sarathy Korwar, Carnatic percussionist Pirashanna Thevarajah, and bassist Tom Farmer, each of whom are startlingly-talented solo artists in their own right.

Premiered for the first time in India in December 2022, this quintet has been hailed as one of the best ensembles to have toured with Anoushka across her 28-year global performing career. The energy and camaraderie on stage is unmatched as Shankar leads the way in pioneering a new sound through inventive arrangements, sensitive virtuosity and a neoclassical approach to the music tradition to which she belongs.

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Flamenco

FMA: Roots of flamenco

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Dans cette clôture flamboyante qui fait résonner la thématique de cette 24éme édition, conte musical à la fois chanté et dansé, deux grandes traditions, venues d’Irak et d’Andalousie, s’aventurent avec bravoure et virtuosité pour retrouver les parts communes de leur créativité enchanteresse.

Suivant les traces de cette légende de la musique arabe, cette nouvelle création illustre les mutations des expressions et des disciplines artistiques qui traversent époques et contrées. C’est une odyssée portée par des artistes hors pair, avec en tête de fil, Omar Bashir, oudiste exceptionnel et gardien de l’héritage de son père, Carlos Piñana, espiègle joueur de guitare espagnol, l’un des plus prisés du flamenco, Sidi Bémol, le célèbre musicien et conteur algérien, lui aussi à la lisière des identités culturelles, mais aussi Ana Mochón, chanteuse flamenco à la voix rauque et fiévreuse, Cristobal Muñoz, danseur impétueux, et Miguel Angel Orengo, joueur de cajón aux rythmes entraînants.

In this flamboyant closing to the 24th edition’s theme, a musical tale both sung and danced, two great traditions from Iraq and Andalusia venture with bravery and virtuosity to rediscover the shared aspects of their enchanting creativity.

Following in the footsteps of this legend of Arab music, this new creation illustrates the mutations of artistic expressions and disciplines that cross eras and lands. It’s an odyssey carried by peerless artists, led by Omar Bashir, exceptional oud player and guardian of his father’s legacy, Carlos Piñana, mischievous Spanish guitar player, one of flamenco’s most prized, Sidi Bémol, the famous Algerian musician and storyteller, also on the edge of cultural identities, as well as Ana Mochón, a flamenco singer with a husky, feverish voice, Cristobal Muñoz, an impetuous dancer, and Miguel Angel Orengo, a cajon player with a lively rhythm.

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Jazz

Ron Carter à la Place des Arts

by Rédaction PAN M 360

La toute première édition de l’Orchestre jazz des diplômé·es de l’Université de Montréal reçoit Ron Carter, une figure emblématique du jazz de notre époque. Reconnaissable à son style et son sens musical sans pareils, le contrebassiste s’est distingué tout au long de sa carrière grâce à sa pulsation imperturbable et à sa flexibilité rythmique. De Thelonious Monk à Mulgrew Miller, en passant par Miles Davis, Coleman Hawkins, Wes Montgomery et Horace Silver, parmi tant d’autres, Ron Carter a traversé un grand pan de l’histoire du jazz en y laissant son empreinte.

The very first edition of the Orchestre jazz des diplômé·es de l’Université de Montréal (Université de Montréal Graduates Jazz Orchestra) is welcoming Ron Carter, an emblematic figure in the jazz of our time. Recognizable for his unmatched style and musicianship, the double bassist has distinguished himself throughout his long career thanks to his unshakable beat and his rhythmic flexibility. From Thelonious Monk to Mulgrew Miller by way of Miles Davis, Coleman Hawkins, Wes Montgomery and Horace Silver, among so many others, Ron Carter has covered and left his imprint on a great stretch of jazz history.

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Pop

Dirty Dancing en concert à la Place des Arts

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Véritable phénomène de la pop culture américaine, Dirty Dancing est présenté en version concert. Le film, entièrement remastérisé et présenté en version originale anglaise avec surtitres en français, est projeté sur écran géant, alors que trois chanteurs et cinq musiciens interprètent les chansons en direct. Et immédiatement après la projection, tout ce beau monde se déchaine durant vingt-cinq minutes en reprenant LIVE les grands succès du film, provoquant une immersion totale dans le glam des années 1980.

Dirty Dancing en concert, c’est replonger à l’été 1963 alors qu’une jeune fille sage, Baby (Jennifer Gray), est entraînée dans une folle aventure avec Johnny (Patrick Swayze), un séduisant professeur de danse. Au fil d’une chorégraphie envoutante et sensuelle se développe une histoire d’amour qui a marqué toute une génération. La musique du film a mérité l’Oscar de la meilleure bande sonore originale et l’album, qui est resté à la première place du Billboard durant 18 semaines, s’est vendu à 42 millions d’exemplaires dans le monde, en faisant un des albums les plus populaires de tous les temps.

A veritable phenomenon of American pop culture, Dirty Dancing is presented in concert. The film, entirely remastered and shown in the original English version with French surtitles, is projected onto a giant screen, while three singers and five musicians perform the songs live.  Immediately after the screening, the band is unleashed for a twenty-five minute afterparty with rousing renditions of the film’s greatest hits, creating a total immersion in the glamour of the 1980s. 

Dirty Dancing in Concert takes us back to the summer of 1963, when an innocent young girl, Baby (Jennifer Gray), is drawn into a wild affair with Johnny (Patrick Swayze), a seductive dance teacher.  Through the course of the spellbinding, sensual choreography, a love story develops that has marked an entire generation. The film’s score won the Oscar for Best Original Soundtrack, and the album, which stayed at #1 on the Billboard charts for 18 weeks, sold 42 million copies worldwide, making it one of the most popular albums of all time.

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MUTEK 2023 | A/Visions 2 : Hatis Noit, DATUM CUT, SPIME.IM

by Laurent Bellemare

The PAN M 360 team brings you comprehensive coverage of MUTEK Montreal 2023. Here’s a selection of the best performances on Saturday night at Théâtre Maisonneuve, as part of the A/Visions series.

Crédits photos : Nina Gibelin Souchon

Hatis Noit

“I only use my voice, is it okay to play at Mutek?” This was the question Hatis Noit posed during her first address to the crowd. The London-based Japanese artist effectively had only a loop pedal and projections as technological hardware, operating the bulk of her art from her vocal folds. From a technical point of view, Noït was impressive, moving easily from operatic singing to yodeling very close to what Eastern European singers do in traditional music. Imitations of animal cries and other textures were also on the menu. Voices were superimposed in arrhythmic textures, always tonal. However, the composer did not take a maximalist approach, her pieces limiting their thickness to a few loops. The various melodic layers were therefore always perceptible to the ear wishing to break down the mass. With her movements and stage presence, the artist delivered a performance out of the ordinary, and one of the most unique of the festival. Verbal communication with the crowd between pieces and Yuma Kishi’s projections were a bonus. Even with sound alone, the show would have been just as captivating. Yes, Hatis Noit, it’s okay that you’re playing at Mutek!

DATUM CUT

Behind his screens and synthesizers, Maxime Corbeil-Perron composed a massive yet harmonically simple drone. One had the impression of being immersed in a chord throughout the entire performance, the artist taking the time to deconstruct and vary the harmonic content in all its forms. A complex sequence of rougher sounds was added to this relatively static framework. With no discernible pulse, the composition was nevertheless highly rhythmic, with rapid, sporadic percussive attacks. The music developed in micro-montages, revealing complex sonic events hidden within the overall texture. The highs seemed to have been filtered, which clearly softened the aggressiveness of the noisier sounds. Aesthetically, it was reminiscent of a band like Yellow Swans, who develop a form of “harmonic noise”. Visually, photographs of metallic textures alternated with computer-generated images in a neon palette. Inex.materia was a good example of an accessible work informed by academic practice. This is just one of the sonic manifestations of Corbeil-Perron, who operates under several aliases.

SPIME.IM

Italian collective SPIME.IM certainly don’t beat about the bush when it comes to kicking ass. In duo format, the artists began the performance in a rather minimalist fashion, with rhythmic industrial and noise music lit up by white strobes. But it soon became much more eclectic… and political. All the abjections of our contemporary world were represented: military culture, digital individualism, pollution, overconsumption, materialism, obscenity, the destruction of the natural world and so on. These images were decomposed and recomposed in sequences that were sometimes refined, sometimes visceral. Particularly striking was a long mise en abîme in which the pixels of each new image expanded to plunge into new images, which in turn expanded to reveal new images. There was something therapeutic about seeing all these representations of violence being reused in an artistic way.

The music, always highly experimental, became increasingly intense, hammering out highly saturated sounds with a few echoes of harmony when the desired dramatic effect demanded it. For example, a sudden progression of chords interspersed with silences allowed the words “Where are we going then? to appear one by one. This passage, like many others in the performance, could well have closed the number. Perhaps that was SPIME.IM’s flaw: not knowing when to stop. The dramatic climaxes were so frequent that the audience applauded them like the end of a solo in a jazz show. In short, the audience was treated to a scathing critique of the media images that pervade our daily lives. The apocalyptic soundtrack accompanying these surging clichés skilfully underscored the brutality of the issues we face. Captivating from start to finish.

MUTEK 2023 | A/Visions 1 : Kyoka & Shohei Fujimoto, Alexis Langevin-Tétreault & Guillaume Côté, Alessandro Cortini & Marco Ciceri

by Laurent Bellemare

For the first part of its A/Visions series, the MUTEK festival welcomed its audience in a Théâtre Maisonneuve equipped with a single giant screen. It was indeed through projections and loudspeakers that all the artistic action was communicated to the audience, at least for the first of the acts. In all, three artist duos were featured in this concert of experimental and immersive videomusic.

Crédits photos : Bruno Aiello Destombes

Kyoka & Shohei Fujimoto

The first quarter of Cinema Blackbox immediately sounded like a Ryoji Ikeda pastiche, with its high-pitched, sinusoidal tones and disembodied visuals. In fact, it featured many of the codes of the Japanese master of sound installations: exclusive use of black, white, and red, stroboscopic lines and rectangular shapes, minimalist aesthetics, and an abundance of synthesized sounds. Later, the composition became more complex, tackling more structured rhythms and multiplying visual planes tenfold into fast-moving mosaics. A brief moment of static brought in a few defined pitches, coloring an otherwise very industrial music, true to Kyoka’s performance presented the day before at the festival. Samples of voices and water drops also brought the work back to the earthly plain. Otherwise, Cinema Blackbox seemed to deliberately adopt a self-referential stance, where technological art chooses to represent technology itself. On the screen, we could see countless elements of sonograms, encephalograms, radar quadrants, and programming codes.

Alexis Langevin-Tétreault & Guillaume Côté

For the second part of the show, a table with electronic devices was added to the set. This was only natural, as Alexis Langevin-Tétreault’s approach is based on “electroacoustic performance”, i.e. the live creation of music usually conceived entirely in the studio. With his partner Guillaume Côté, he effectively evolved the sound mass that is Aubes by varying the timbral and melodic layers with a modular synthesizer. The meticulousness imposed by the highly academic style of electroacoustics could be heard, as the textures were rich and complex. However, the atmosphere always remained that of a reverie, even an escape from the physical world. The harmonic content always kept the audience in major keys, filling an otherwise rather cerebral proposition with hope and emotion. The visuals, too, were composed of colorful yet complex textures, confirming a balanced formula of experimentalism and catchy elements. It’s easy to forgive the intrusive, highly recognizable Macintosh sound that punctuated an abrupt change at the center of the work.

Alessandro Cortini & Marco Ciceri

The Italian duo presented a much heavier performance. In addition to a much slower tempo, the whole piece retained a minor key and was therefore perceptibly more melancholy. Arpeggios played on the synthesizers progressed slowly, resulting in a relatively static framework that grew happily denser during the finale. At this point, the harmonic spectrum quietly approached white noise, while the melodic elements were still clearly perceptible. Visually, the projections were a kind of study of the microscopic patterns of bee wings. Alessandro Cortini impresses with his invented synthesizer and a resume full of prestigious collaborations from Nine Inch Nails to Merzbow. His performance at A/V Visions, however, was less enthusiastic. Without being soporific, the music on offer was far from out of the ordinary. It was nonetheless effective as a mantra to reflect on the possible disappearance of pollinating bees and the disruption of plant fertilization cycles.

Ambient / Experimental / Contemporary / Techno

MUTEK : A/Visions 1

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Kyoka & Shohei Fujimoto

Après une première collaboration en 2020 avec le projet density compression, l’artiste sonore et productrice Kyoka et l’artiste médiatique Shohei Fujimoto s’associent à nouveau et livrent une performance hypnotique.

Having first collaborated in 2020 with the project density compression, sound artist and producer Kyoka and media artist Shohei Fujimoto teamed up once more with this hypnotic live set.

Alexis Langevin-Tétrault & Guillaume Côté

L’artiste interdisciplinaire montréalais Alexis Langevin-Tétrault intègre dans sa pratique la composition musicale, les technologies numériques, les arts visuels et la performance.

L’artiste sonore Guillaume Côté explore les dynamiques territoriales, linguistiques et sociales du Québec en combinant différents matériaux sonores. Sa recherche artistique se concentre sur la rencontre de l’Autre à travers une musique narrative ou informative, ainsi que sur l’abstraction offerte par les systèmes modulaires.

Montréal interdisciplinary artist Alexis Langevin-Tétrault‘s practice combines musical composition, digital technologies, visual arts and performance.

Sound artist Guillaume Côté explores Québec’s territorial, linguistic and social dynamics through a mixture of concrete, synthetic and vocal materials. His artistic pursuit focuses not only on the encounter with the Other through narrative or informative music, but also on the abstraction induced by modular systems.

Alessandro Cortini & Marco Ciceri

Les performances live d’Alessandro Cortini plongent l’auditoire dans un tourbillon de dynamiques émotionnelles au rendu complexe, où il maximise de manière experte les limites de la musique électronique contemporaine et arrive à extraire une émotion humaine du bruit synthétisé. En utilisant des murs d’équipements analogiques, le patchwork sonore de Cortini est tout autant porteur d’espoir que menaçant.

Alessandro Cortini’s live performances propel the audience into a whirlwind of intricately-rendered emotional dynamics, expertly pushing the limits of contemporary electronic music and extracting unabashedly human emotions out of synthesized noises. Born out of walls of analog equipment, Cortini’s sonic patchwork is as hopeful as it is menacing.

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classique

Virée classique : Le pianiste Godwin Friesen en récital

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Si vous n’avez pas eu la chance d’assister à l’épreuve finale du Concours OSM 2022, saisissez la chance d’entendre le lauréat Godwin Friesen en récital. Vous pourrez non seulement apprécier ses qualités d’interprète – notamment dans la Rhapsodie no 6 de Liszt, un véritable feu d’artifice sonore –, mais également découvrir ses talents de compositeur avec son Prélude et fugue en la majeur.

If you didn’t get to attend the final round of the 2023 OSM Competition, you still have the opportunity to hear First Prize winner Godwin Friesen in recital. Not only will you appreciate his gifts qualities as a performer – notably in Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody no. 6, a true display of sonic fireworks – but you will also discover his gift as a composer in his Prelude and Fugue in A major.

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classique

Virée Classique : L’Italie, de la Comedia dell’Arte aux souvenirs de Florence de Tchaïkovsky

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Durant son séjour en Italie, Tchaïkovski esquisse une élégante mélodie, aux allures de sérénade, qu’il transposera dans l’Adagio cantabile de son unique et fougueux sextuor Souvenir de Florence. Ana Sokolović, quant à elle, donne vie aux personnages de la Commedia dell’arte grâce à sa musique très inspirée et imagée.

During his time in Italy, Tchaikovsky sketched out an elegant melody with a serenade-like quality, which he then transposed in the Adagio cantabile of his unique, spirited sextet Souvenir de Florence. As for Ana Sokolović, she brings a cast of Commedia dell’arte characters to life with music that is truly inspired and descriptive.

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classique

Virée classique : En cors!

by Rédaction PAN M 360

La section des cors de l’OSM quitte les rangs de l’Orchestre pour vous faire découvrir un répertoire qui sort des sentiers battus. Réunis en quatuor, les cors sonnent en majesté, et leurs timbres chauds et cuivrés se marient pour créer une palette de couleurs étincelantes. Laissez-vous surprendre par la singularité de cette formation.

The OSM’s horn section steps out of its orchestral ranks to introduce you to a repertoire definitely off the beaten track. The horns sound majestic in quartet formation and their warm, brassy timbres combine to create a palette of sparkling colours. You will be astonished by the uniqueness of this ensemble.

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