Music
Here is where I show you recordings of a sample of my works. The general consensus is that I do pretty. Maybe too much. Can lean to cheesy if I’m not careful. But I’ll let you be the judge.
For string orchestra and solo string quartet – commissioned by Arkéa.
- Duo Visio (2011): for solo viola de gamba – commissioned by Elin Söderström from Fiolûtröniq (look at 2m07s – this video has clips of every commissioned piece for this concert celebrating International Women’s Day). This concert will be brought on tour within the next year or two.
Sections of a score for a short animation (not featured on the web), for string quartet, xiao (Chinese bamboo flute), and sampler. The story is of a T’ai Chi master trying to teach a class while a bee distracts him. A battle ensues, and out of it comes a new form of T’ai Chi.
Méditations de la Vierge Marie (2010)
Christmas Triptych: “Le secret de la Vierge Marie” for women’s choir and string quartet.
Performed by Concerto Della Donna, under the direction of Iwan Edwards. Recorded in December 2010.)
- Mvt. 1: L’annonce – text by Albert Lozier
- Mvt. 2: Le secret de Dieu – text by Hélène Harbec
- Mvt. 3: Merci mon Maître – text by Albert Belzîle
Cinq tombeaux japonais (2009)
Five movements based on death poems written by Zen followers – death poems were a tradition in Japan and the Zen community. To write a perfect haïku or poem that reflects one’s last impressions of life, death, or any related subject was a standard thing to do on one’s deathbed. I have taken some of those, compiled them into five pieces, and wrote them for a soprano and viola de gamba. Performed by Ghislaine Deschambault and Elin Soderstrom on February 13th 2009, at salle Serge-Garant, Université de Montréal.
- Mvt. 1: Tombeau de Chiné (a young woman who died in her early years – compilation of her poem and her brother’s)
- Mvt. 2: Tombeau de Takuan Soho (a monk who only wrote an ideogram at his death:
, meaning “dream”)
- Mvt. 3: Tombeau de Yoshitaka (a general who died with much grief)
- Mvt. 4: Tombeau de Shisui (a monk who only wrote a circle:
, possibly representing the cycle of reincarnation, or a full cycle – very much up to interpretation)
- Mvt. 5: Tombeau de Zoso Royo (another enlightened monk who was quite positive and content with moving on)
And last but not least (everything else sounds too much like a school exercise between 2003 and 2008 – which they were …!):
- Le train d’hiver (2003) – a piece for women’s voices, originally published by Boosey & Hawkes (you can get a copy here) in 2006 as a SSA piece, but I wrote it specifically as a SSAA version for this recording with Concerto Della Donna
