The Azrieli Music Prizes were created in 2014 by Sharon Azrieli, who is also in the Azrieli Foundation, one of the most active and prestigious Jewish philanthropic organisations in Canada. Based in Montreal, the Prizes have been partnered since the beginning with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM) for the performance of the winning works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2024 edition gave pride of place to choirs, present in every chosen score. It begins with a pulsating work by Canadian Jordan Nobles, kanata<\/em>, for a cappella vocal ensemble. In music that vibrates and breathes thanks to thrilling textures, somewhat like Steve Reich (I especially think of the introduction to Music for 18 Musicians<\/em>, softer), Nobles evokes, he says, the “vastness and quiet power of Canadian landscape.” It’s beautiful, inspiring, ethereal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Josef Bardanashvili is an Israeli of Georgian origin. In his Light of Path<\/em>, Bardanashvili evokes some reminiscences of traditional Georgian songs (magnificent!), but in modern harmonic constructions, often dissonant, although without extreme exaggeration. The five movements are based on as many psalms from the biblical Book of Psalms,<\/em> and testify to various states of faith: from doubt to ecstasy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clearly, doubt gives the most space to contemporary rough harmonic textures, while the final gratitude, rather celestial, marries the ancient Gregorian school with the composer’s cultural tradition and a serious modernism. The work is written for choir with saxophone, percussion, and piano accompaniment, but the instruments are barely heard, merging very closely with the voices, thus creating a beautifully “coloured” vocal fabric. A highly sophisticated and accomplished piece of music.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nGeorgian Roots<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n