M�nestrel-the Canadian early music ensemble of soprano-violinist Janelle Lucyk and tenor-lutenist Kerry Bursey-mix ancient repertoire with Canadian oral folk traditions. In an age defined by acceleration and artifice, their debut album, M�nestrel, reaches backward, not to escape the modern world, but to examine it's emotional roots. They gather songs drawn from several centuries and traditions, from the luminous melancholy of John Dowland to the ardent intimacy of Barbara Strozzi, from the refined contours of French Renaissance chanson to the rugged sincerity of Celtic and English folk ballads. The name m�nestrel refers to the medieval minstrel, a musician who moved between written and oral traditions and carried songs across regions and generations. Janelle and Kerry draw on that lineage as they bring early music and folk repertoire into close conversation. Their approach highlights the continuity between these traditions, focusing on clarity, text, and the shared expressiveness that links courtly song with vernacular melody. Formed in 2019, M�nestrel bridges historical performance and Canadian oral folk traditions, and the ensemble has given performances and collaborated with singers and choirs in all of Canada's 13 provinces and territories. Janelle Lucyk is a singer and producer among an emerging generation of Canadian artists specializing in early music and historically informed performance, taking ideas from conception to the stage. Kerry Bursey is a tenor and plucked string instrumentalist whose voice is appreciated for it's luminous quality, and as a sought-after lutenist, he is also invested in the rare practice of self-accompaniment in early and folk music of northwestern traditions. Their concerts aim to demystify early music, juxtaposing it next to folk songs, which are songs of the people.

Bach's Goldberg Variations stands among the most profound works in the Western canon-an inexhaustible exploration of harmony, structure, and human expression. Originally written for harpsichord, this timeless masterpiece has inspired countless interpretations across instruments and generations. In this remarkable new arrangement by Caitlin Broms-Jacobs for oboe, English horn, and bassoon, the Tacamis Trio reimagines Bach's contrapuntal writing through the warm and expressive voices of the double reed family. Formed within the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the Tacamis Trio [Caitlin Broms-Jacobs (oboe/arranger), Tracy Wright (English horn), and Allen Harrington (bassoon)] brings over a decade of shared artistry and ensemble unity to this recording. Their performance unites warmth and transparency, allowing each voice to emerge naturally within Bach's intricate counterpoint. This project, conceived during the stillness of the pandemic, grew from a period of isolation into a celebration of collaboration and renewal. Through the process of arranging and performing the work, the trio uncovered fresh dimensions of colour and dialogue in Bach's music, affirming it's boundless adaptability and emotional reach. Goldberg Variations for double reeds is at once a homage and a discovery-a return home through sound, guided by friendship, resilience, and Bach's enduring genius. About the Artists Caitlin Broms-Jacobs is principal oboist of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, praised for her "gorgeous singing tone" and "sensitive musicality" (Winnipeg Free Press). She performs widely across Canada as a soloist and chamber musician and is one half of the oboe-piano duo Fierbois. Tracy Wright is the English hornist of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and a longtime member of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Known for her expressive sound and collaborative artistry, she appears regularly in chamber, orchestral, and new-music performances across the Prairies. Allen Harrington is professor of woodwinds at the University of Manitoba's Desautels Faculty of Music, where he teaches bassoon and saxophone. A versatile performer, he appears frequently as a soloist and chamber musician and serves as principal bassoonist with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.

Phoenix Rising featuring violinist Angel Wang with the Phoenix Orchestra, conducted by Claudio Vena presents a cornucopia of Chinese and Western classical music that transcends borders. The album includes Alice Ping Yee Ho's commissioned work Phoenix Rising, the beloved Butterfly Lovers' Concerto by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, alongside traditional Chinese songs like "Jasmine Flower" and "Galloping Horses," offering a captivating blend of contemporary and traditional music. Phoenix Rising opens with the Butterfly Lovers' Concerto by He and Gang, a violin concerto that blends Chinese and Western compositional techniques, depicting two young lovers transformed into butterflies after their deaths. Followed by traditional Chinese songs: Songs of Four Seasons from China's Qinghai province; Dance of the Yao People, inspired by southern China's drum dance; Mayila, a Kazakh song about a young girl's beautiful voice; Galloping Horses depicting the sounds of horses whinnying and racing across the Mongolian grasslands; and the famous Jasmine Flower from the Qing dynasty, which tells of a virtuous woman captivated by the flower's fragrance and pure beauty. The album closes with it's title piece, Phoenix Rising by Alice Ping Yee Ho, a single-movement tone poem for solo violin and orchestra, encapsulating the timeless idea of the Phoenix rising from it's ashes, symbolizing hope and rebirth.

Catherine Cosbey and Dorian Komanoff Bandy present Mozart: String Duos, an album capturing the vitality, creativity, and intimacy of eighteenth-century music-making. This recording features vivid, period-instrument performances of some of Mozart's most inventive chamber compositions, as well as premieres of newly discovered historical arrangements of the Violin Sonata K. 305 and the opera La clemenza di Tito. The album begins with Mozart's two spectacular duos for violin and viola: pieces that are by turns lyrical, playful, and virtuosic. Following historical convention, Cosbey and Bandy insert extensive embellishments and cadenzas, capturing a degree of improvisatory freedom rarely heard in recordings of Mozart's string music. The album continues with the duo versions of Tito and K. 305. Arrangements such as these would have introduced many eighteenth-century consumers to Mozart's music; today, they conjure scenes of domestic music-making among family and friends. Get your CD copy of Mozart: String Duos or listen to it on your favourite streaming platform.

This recording features highlights from the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra's tour of China, which included a performance at Beijing's Forbidden City concert hall. The recording was produced at the Central China Radio Studio and features collaborations with some of New Brunswick's top classical musicians including international concert pianist, Roger Lord, the Saint John String Quartet and the traditional fiddler Samantha Robichaud. Founded in 1965, the orchestra has approximately 80 members between ages 10 and 24 from across the province. The NBYO tours New Brunswick each year, and occasionally performs in other countries. The ensemble is funded by a Board of Directors as well as private, municipal, and provincial grants. The group is led here by conductor James Mark.

Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra Sinfonia, together with percussionist Aiyun Huang, soprano Deantha Edmunds, and violinist and conductor Mark Fewer present a new album titled Alikeness. An album inspired by the human capacity to learn, adapt and collaborate. This album encourages listeners to find their own "alikenesses" within the music while fostering a deeper connection with one another. Violinist and conductor, Mark Fewer has been interpreting music in virtually every genre and setting for over three decades, premiering over 200 works, including more than 50 written for him. His unique discography features multiple JUNO and Grammy-winning recordings and an Opus Prize for a Serge Arcuri tribute. He has served as Concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony, Artist-in-Residence at Stanford, William Dawson Scholar at McGill, and is currently Head of Strings at the University of Toronto. After 16 years as the founding artistic director of the SweetWater Music Festival, he is now in his sixth season and the Artistic Director of Stratford Summer Music.? Deantha Edmunds, Canada's first Inuk professional classical singer, was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in December 2023 for her work empowering Indigenous people and sharing their stories. Her performances, writing, and compositions have earned national and international acclaim. Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Aiyun Huang holds a DMA from UC San Diego and is the Head of Percussion at the University of Toronto, directing it's Percussion Ensemble. She gained international recognition by winning First Prize and Audience Prize at the 2002 Geneva International Music Competition. The NSO Sinfonia, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, was founded by Peter Gardner. It features core string players from the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra. The album opens with the world premiere of Deantha Edmunds' Angmalukisaa ("round" in Inuktut), a personal composition about human connections. Next is episodes by Serge Arcuri, written for the Montreal Baroque Orchestra in 1998, blending the baroque "concerto grosso" form with modern elements. Followed by Matt Brubeck's The Simple Life, newly arranged for strings. The third movement "C" from B-A-C-H by Robert Carli, after J.S. Bach's surname, was composed in 2013 for the Sweetwater Music Festival. The album concludes with Alikeness, Yoshiaki Onishi's arrangement of an eight-movement suite by Jaroslaw Kapuscinski. The suite was originally composed in 2015 for the St. Lawrence String Quartet and Aiyun Huang.

Dialogues by cellist Noemie Raymond and pianist Zhenni Li-Cohen present two monumental works composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Rebecca Clarke. The album centers around a pair of sonatas that the performers hold dear. It seeks to bridge two universes in conversations between two instruments, two musicians, and two composers. The performers write, "it is a dialogue between you and us." This album explores the duality of two titanic masterpieces, from the pen of a woman and a man, both virtuoso instrumentalists with strikingly distinct musical voices. Dialogues begins with Rachmaninoff's Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19, composed during his most prolific period alongside his famous Piano Concerto No. 2. Considered by some to be his most successful chamber work, Rachmaninoff dedicated the sonata to Anatoly Brandukov, his best man at his wedding and a celebrated Russian cellist who also premiered several of Tchaikovsky's works. Brandukov inspired Rachmaninoff to imbue the cello line with expressiveness and intensity. The album continues with Clarke's Viola Sonata (Version for Cello & Piano), composed in 1919. An internationally renowned violist, Clarke is often considered a proponent of "English Impressionism." Despite placing second in a prestigious composition competition, Clarke's works were not celebrated or performed as much as those of her male peers due to societal gender biases. It was not until the 1970s that Clarke emerged from obscurity, and this Sonata has since taken it's rightful place in the standard repertoire for viola. Noemie Raymond's diverse career has taken her from London's prestigious Royal Albert Hall to the Festival Internacional de Musica de Camara in Lima, the United States, Japan and beyond. She has collaborated with renowned virtuosos such as Midori, Pinchas Zukerman, Jan Lisiecki and Yekwon Sunwoo. 2024-2025 season marks Noemie's Carnegie Hall debut, and concerti appearances with the Skagit Symphony, the Orchestre symphonique de Sherbrooke and the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra. A prizewinner in national and international competitions, Noemie has forged her reputation by earning awards at the Edwin H. and Leigh W. Schadt String International Competition and the Prix d'Europe, among others. She is a graduate of the University of Montreal and the New England Conservatory, and holds a Doctorate in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music. Noemie plays the "Ex-Curtis" cello (1700) by Matteo Goffriller, generously provided to her by Canimex Inc. Of Drummondville, Quebec. Hailed as "... an artist of tremendous conviction, who fascinates even as she provokes... " by Gramophone Magazine and "a thrillingly good pianist" by The New Yorker, Zhenni has given solo recitals at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, New York's Lincoln Center, Philadelphia's Kimmel Performing Arts Center and the Berliner Philharmonie in Germany. Zhenni is looking forward to her next recording project with Marin Alsop in collaboration with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and has appeared as a soloist with orchestras such as the Bergen Philharmonic in Norway, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Knoxville, Cedar Falls, Fairbanks, Bucks County, Dominican Republic, Johns Hopkins and Lower Merion Symphony Orchestras amongst others. She is currently the Associate Professor of Piano at University of Alberta and the co-artistic Director of Opus 71 Concerts, a multimedia concert series near New York's Lincoln Center. Zhenni Li-Cohen is a Steinway Artist. Get your CD copy of 'Dialogues' or listen to it on your favorite platform. 'Dialogues' is available on all major music services.

The award-winning Saint John String Quartet has performed together for nearly 30 years, playing over 125 concerts a year throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, and China. Montage is the ensemble's fifth album, and follows the 2012 JUNO-nominated recording of Jacques Hétu's String Quartet No. 2. Montage highlights the group's passion for new, innovative Canadian music, with the includsion of seven previously unrecorded works. Montage showcases works by composers with roots in the maritime provinces, and was recorded in Rothesay, New Brunswick in 2014 in a beautiful church near the Saint John River. The album features works by Anthony Genge, Eldon Rathburn, Michael Miller, Richard Kidd, Martin Kutnowski and Talivaldis Kenins.

The Saint John String Quartet continues to make their mark on the Canadian music scene with the release of their new album, Canadian Hits: Unplugged. This album represents a step outside of a string quartet's norm with 16 pop hits from Canadian icons, including Leonard Cohen, the Arkells, Joni Mitchell and The Tragically Hip. This is the sixth recording release by the Quartet, and follows in the inventive direction of the group's previous offerings. For more than 30 years, the Quartet has stood among Canada's leading chamber music ensembles. The stylistic and energetic troupe is highly sought after for special collaborations within different musical genres - a reflection of their versatility and flexibility.

Well before the Nationalist schools of the nineteenth century, Celtic music in general, and Scots tunes in particular, enjoyed a period of great popularity throughout Great Britain. Composers trained in the Italian art music of the time borrowed traditional Celtic melodies and used them to create musical hybrids which owed as much to the ornamental stylings of Corelli as to the fiddle and lute traditions of Scotland. Strangely, the actual Celtic composers, arrangers and publishers of the period, many of whom synthesized the traditional idioms of their native culture with real flair and affection, are often overlooked in explorations of what was dubbed the “Scots drawing room style” by the eighteenth-century music publisher James Johnson. The aim of this release is to draw the attention back to these overlooked composers, which include James Oswald, General John Reid, Thomas Baltzar, and others. Montreal Ensemble La Cigale specializes in music of the Renaissance and Baroque eras on period instruments.

Ex Tempore is the debut album from the Nova Scotia-based Charke-Cormier duo. Derek Charke and Eugene Cormier have curated a charming program that includes an original composition by Charke (Ex Tempore), and arrangements of Handel and Peter Maxwell Davies by Cormier paired with works by Debussy, Handel and Brazilian-Canadian composer Celso Machado. Derek Charke (flutes) and Eugene Cormier (guitar) formed the Charke-Cormier Duo several years ago culminating in a debut recital at the KC Irving Centre in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. This sonorous union of flute and guitar continues to charm audiences across the Maritimes. Their repertoire includes many of the most important works for this pairing of instruments, and creates a sonic journey for audiences from the street corners of Argentina to the halls of Europe, as well as introducing fresh new works created today. Both performers are highly accomplished musicians who are on the teaching faculty at Acadia University's School of Music.

There Was a Time by Nova Scotia-born composer Cy Giacomin uses the memorable text from Ecclesiastes 3 that somehow sums up the "interesting times" during which this music was written. Times of economic insecurity, spiritual longing, terrorism, and natural disasters have intertwined with incredible advances in technology and medicine, peace in most of the world, an awakening in environmental awareness, and imagined connectedness through social media. Through all the interesting times - past, present, future - music sustains us. The Halifax Camerata Singers are in their thirtieth season. Founded by Artistic Director Jeff Joudrey, the group is Atlantic Canada’s premier chamber choir. The Nova Scotia ensemble has distinguished itself by performing exciting choral repertoire from all periods and styles, with a special focus on Canadian music. Winners of the Healy Willan Grand Prize in 2010, the choir often collaborates with chamber ensembles, Symphony Nova Scotia, and other musicians.

After many years of performing as a concert pianist, working as the artistic director for the Barachois Summer Music Series and collaborating on a variety of critically acclaimed musical projects across Canada, Julien Leblanc has released his first solo album, a piano recording entitled Mélancolies. The album is a compilation of French compositions that became a staple of Leblanc’s repertoire after he discovered them early on in his career. The composers included in this recorded collection — Franck, Poulenc and Dutilleux — all hail from France and their combined output stretches from the mid-nineteenth century to Dutilleux’s last work which was published in 2009 when he was ninety-three. Francis Poulenc was a less avant-garde contemporary of Erik Satie and Jean Cocteau and so, his work is accessible but inventive and fresh. Poulenc’s “Fifteen Improvisations” are known for their charming and buoyant character as well as for the technical artistry of the composer’s pedalling. Henri Dutilleux’s work was more heavily influenced by his environmental context when he was composing music just after World War Two. The included piece by Dutilleux, “Sonata for piano”, denotes the turbulence, anguish and anxiety that pervaded during that period through his use of contrast — he juxtaposes rhythmic and jagged sections with sensual, dreamlike and ethereal parts. Composing fifty years before Dutilleux and Poulenc, César Franck‘s “Prélude, choral et fugue” is religious and takes a cyclic form. In its closing coda, Franck masterfully superimposes the previous sections of his composition. The character of the work is philosophical and contemplative yet at the same time passionate and fervid. Julien Leblanc connects these differing French compositions through his acute sensibilities and expressive piano playing. He fuses the works together with a consistent expression of melancholy which he identifies in each work.

For close to two decades the Saint John String Quartet has captivated the hearts of listeners with their concerts, radio and television appearances and popular recordings. Their list of successes includes an ECMA for “Best Classical Recording” and in 1995 they presented the first chamber music concert on the World Wide Web Internet. The Quartet’s active concertizing schedule finds them touring Canada, the USA, and abroad to Japan, China, and Hong Kong. The group can often be heard on CBC Radio and on two other albums entitled Hidden Treasures and Saint John String Quartet. Acclaimed by critics for her floating, high pianissimos, soprano Sally Dibblee enjoys success in opera houses and concert halls throughout North America. A New Brunswick resident, Sally continues to perform in Maritime summer music festivals and is frequently heard on the CBC.

To mark the 100th anniversary of Canada’s entry into the First World War in 1914, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra embarked on a journey of remembrance through music and reflection. Keeping Faith is the theme for this commemoration tour, with special 2014-2015 performances in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, throughout New Brunswick and in our nation’s capital, for the official opening of the Canadian War Museum’s new permanent exhibition, The Home Front, 1917. Our “Keeping Faith” visual wordmark, presented in English, French, German and Czech, was commissioned by the NBYO to honour and respect the countries and cultures visited on the commemoration tour. As the centerpiece of the Commemoration Tour, the NBYO commissioned an orchestral work, “A Dream of Dawn,” by Canadian composer Kevin Lau. One of Canada's forefront emerging composers, Kevin Lau, whose music has been commissioned by numerous orchestras across Canada, including an original full-length score for the National Ballet of Canada, currently serves as Affiliate Composer of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Lau describes the commission as a grateful commemoration of a generation who served and sacrificed. "My intention", said Lau, "is to compliment the reflections of those pondering war in all its paradoxical facets, to recognize the horrors of human conflict while affirming our profound search for harmony in ourselves and abroad”. What better path than by harnessing the genius, hope and promise of our youth, to build the world of which their century-old counterparts could only dream – a dream of dawn.

International concert pianist Roger Lord has been described by The China Daily as "the Piano Prince of Canada." This recording features twenty-one "treasures," short pieces that Lord has uncovered throughout his many travels in China. Hailing from Moncton, New Brunswick, Roger Lord won the First Prize in piano in the Canadian National Festival of Music as well as in the Canadian Music Competition. His various concertos have taken him to some of the world’s greatest cities, and he has performed as a soloist with symphony orchestras in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. He first travelled to China in 1999 and gave his first concert in the city of Qingtao in Shandong Province. He has since been to China nearly thirty times and has performed in most regions and important cities. He holds a Doctorate in Music and is now Professor of Piano at the Universite de Moncton in Canada.

The Saint John String Quartet's active concertizing schedule of over 125 concerts a year has taken them throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and China. With two ECMA "Best Classical Album of the year" awards, the group can be often heard on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio waves, the internet and on 5 award-winning compact Discs. Winners of the 2012 Originals Award for 'Classical Music', the Quartet was also honored to receive the Lieutenant Governor’s NBYO award. The Quartet has played for the Prime Minister of Canada, Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II and at prestigious festivals such as the Tochigi Music Festival in Japan, the Arcady festival in the USA and the Forbidden City Festival in Beijing China. For this release, the ensemble has chosen works by Alexander Glazunov and Dmitri Shostakovich. The Saint John String Quartet is David Adams, Paul Campbell, Christopher Buckley, and Sonja Adams.

Composers search for inspiration in the past- they study and learn from their predecessors, often borrowing ideas and taking them in new directions. The two praeludia by Dietrich Buxtehude, both composed in the stylus phantasticus (fantasy style) serve as a basis for us to follow some such musical borrowings. Buxtehude's compositional style had a direct influence in J.S. Bach and his successors. New ideas grew out of the stylus phantasticus, influencing later composers such as Franz Liszt and Petr Eben, who heralded the past and proclaimed the future by writing new forms of the praeludium inspired by Buxtehude's style. Gayle Martin is Associate Professor of Music at Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, where she is University Organist and teaches organ performance, musicianship, choral conducting, introduction to conducting, and music history. She also directs the Elliott Chorale, and coaches the early music group, Opella Nova.

Known for her spirited and luminous sound, Baroque flute player Alexa Raine-Wright shares her eloquent interpretations with audiences across North America in solo, chamber and orchestral performances. This debut solo recording brings to light a collection of rarely heard works by Giovanni Benedetto Platti (1697–1763), a composer with one foot planted firmly in the Baroque, and the other foot pointed toward the Classical style. Equally at ease on the Baroque flute and recorder, American/Canadian Alexa Raine-Wright has shared her passion and talent for early music with audiences across the United States and Canada in solo, chamber and orchestral performances. Winner of several national and international competitions, Alexa was awarded the $10,000 Devonna & Amos Gerber Grand Prize as well as the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra Prize at the 2016 Indianapolis International Baroque Competition. ​Alexa is a founding member of the ensemble Infusion Baroque, winner of the Grand Prize and Audience Prize in the 2014 Early Music America Baroque Performance Competition in Chicago. She is also a member of the celebrated recorder quartet Flûte Alors!, Canada’s only recorder quartet.

This new album features premiere recordings of contemporary works for solo violin composed by Canadian women and performed by Nova Scotia violinist Dr. Gillian Smith. Works include "Cinque Danze per Violino Solo" by JUNO award winning composer Ana Sokolovic, "Versprechen" by Kati Agocs (now a composition professor at New England Conservatory) and "Inside the Stone" from Canadian-Australian composer Veronika Krausas. Recorded at the beautiful stone sanctuary at First Baptist Church Halifax, these recordings show the intense, passionate and imaginative works of Canadian women composers for solo violin, very few of which have been previously recorded.

At the turn of the 20th century, Paris was a hotbed of musical change. Rather than fostering the emergence of a distinctly French sound, however, the city's most creative spirits sought to purge the influence of Germanic artistic ideals. Following an embarrassing defeat in the Franco-German War, the French vowed to distance themselves from Germany's lofty Wagnerian shadow and to promote homegrown talents with unprecedented fervor. And so the colorful wash of na�vet� associated with early-twentieth-century French music was more the result of dismantling a German stronghold than building a French one. In musicologist Richard Taruskin's words, "[the French] aimed at the deflation of rhetoric-an especially pointed gesture in the face of German expressive maximalism-and placed a renewed premium on immediate physical sensation." The official doctrine-ars gallica-was given through the Soci�t� Nationale de Musique, which was founded by Camille Saint-Sa�ns in 1871 and kept afloat by such luminaries as Gabriel Faur�, C�sar Franck, and Jules Massenet. Each of these men played a central role in nurturing those who would shape France's musical future. The focus on exporting a national art was so strong, in fact, that traditions thought to hinder this goal were sometimes overlooked. It was under this spell of national pride that Franck opened the Conservatoire's doors to an exceptionally gifted female composer: M�lanie Bonis (1858-1937). Despite a promising start, conventional gender roles forced Bonis to the sidelines of Parisian musical life. And though she continued to compose regularly, producing over 300 works under the masculine pseudonym "Mel Bonis," her music eventually fell into obscurity. The Suite en Trio, Op. 59, dates from 1903 and is scored for flute, violin, and piano. In keeping with the doctrine of ars gallica, which sought an identifiably French music, the work is relatively compact in comparison to the vast forms of Bruckner and Mahler. The opening S�r�nade concerns itself more with the presentation of ideas than with their development-a compositional approach championed by Eric Satie that became emblematic of the new French style. With it's unstable opening sonority, the ensuing Pastorale betrays an early impressionist sound-one that leaves us feeling suspended from the very start, as though lost in a r�verie that echoes Debussy's Pr�lude � l'apr�s-midi d'un faune. In contrast to the opening movements, the closing Scherzo exudes a relentless energy. It's more melodic sections are based on the Pastorale's main tune, which itself borrows from the S�r�nade's contrasting theme. Much like Bonis, Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947) might have been marginalized in a more traditional environment due to his Venezuelan heritage. These roots expressed themselves through an early interest in the music of his native homeland, but Hahn's early training under Massenet at the Conservatoire ensured his inclusion amongst the French. In this light, it is perhaps surprising that the Romanesque in C major (1910) is patently non-French in that it draws inspiration from an Italian folk dance. By invoking music of the commoners, however, the work elevates simplicity to the realm of high art, thus aligning itself with a feature common to the French aesthetic. Characterized by modal harmonies, a piano that acts like a harp, and an economy of musical materials, Hahn's Romanesque epitomizes the trivial-the antithesis of pretension-in music. Straightforward throughout, the piece closes with a clever exchange of instrumental timbres. Triviality as a counterargument to pretension held sway as a desirable aesthetic throughout the early-twentieth century. This was just as true for the themes that inspired composers as it was for the music itself. Nature scenes including mythological creatures were a common source of inspiration and often emphasized the jesting character of their subjects. Flautist Philippe Gaubert's (1879-1941) M�dailles Antiques divides into two tableaux, the first of which depicts nymphs at a fountain. The bubbling spring that bursts forth in the music's opening gesture eventually cedes to a more sombre passage, only to return in full force before giving way to the second tableau-a dance of unbridled joy cloaked in the lush sound of tertian harmonies (e.g., sevenths, ninths). A similar harmonic palette pervades Claude Debussy's (1862-1918) Violin Sonata in G minor-the composer's last work. In addition to tertian harmonies, the music exhibits a mixture of plain triadic and whole-tone sonorities, both of which hearken back to Debussy's early style. In a more forward-looking vein, the sonata's sparse texture foreshadows a defining aspect of the neo-classical movement, which would take hold shortly after the composer's death. Perhaps most salient with respect to stylistic concerns is how far the music ventures from a firmly grounded tonality-a feature especially noticeable in the last two movements. Although written nearly 40 years later, Francis Poulenc's (1899-1963) Sonata for Flute and Piano shares much in common with Debussy's sonatas, including it's relatively free form-a similarity that Poulenc himself acknowledged: "It's very similar to Debussy's Sonatas; that is to say, very free.' Unlike many composers of his time, including Debussy before him, Poulenc never felt obliged to challenge traditional tonality. Instead of uprooting the entire system, he relied on beautifully timed shifts in harmonic color to personalize his harmonic language. This subtle shading is most effective in the Allegro malinconico, though it accounts for several tender moments in both the Cantilena and Presto giocoso. Maurice Durufl� (1902-86) shared Poulenc's penchant for tonal harmony, though his harmonic language is somewhat less conservative and more modally driven. From the very start, his Pr�lude, R�citatif et Variations, Op. 3, conjures a sound-world of times long past. Allusions to music of the 14th century provide a suitable context for the snippets of medieval chant that surface from time to time.

Resonance is the debut album of Canadian cello-marimba duo Stick & Bow. These classically trained musicians present original arrangements that span a wide spectrum of musical styles, from Bach to Radiohead. This album transforms the listening of familiar works in refreshing and unexpected ways while introducing the audience to daring new music from active composers. The energetic duo Stick & Bow was formed by the encounter of Canadian marimba player Krystina Marcoux & Argentinian cellist Juan Sebastian Delgado in the vibrant city of Montreal. Classically trained musicians, they strive to present a wide spectrum of musical styles, ranging from rock to gypsy-jazz, Baroque or tango. Their eclectic repertoire features original arrangements of some of the most celebrated works in history, showing the potential of their instruments combined. In their creative process, they unite musical narration with humor and storytelling in which the powerful arrangements for cello & marimba transform the listening of familiar works in refreshing and unexpected ways. Stick & Bow is also strongly committed to the music of our time, commissioning works that are daring yet accessible from composers such as Luis Naon, Camille P�pin, Luna Pearl Woolf, Jason Noble & Marcelo Nisinman.

Ode & Ballade by Skye Consort & Emma Björling brings stories of medieval saints and sacred wells, fair maidens outsmarting presumptuous knights, beautiful or boisterous drinking songs, thieves meeting their fate, heartbreaking love songs, groovy dance tunes, and celebrations of the return of Spring. The album combines elements from world music and classical traditions to narrate poems, tales, legends, and sonnets from Sweden, Ireland, Scotland, France and more.

Skye Consort was formed in 1999 to bring an art-music aesthetic to folk music from different world traditions. They have performed and toured extensively with various collaborators and released seven full-length albums. In November and December of 2018, in collaboration with Emma Björling, Skye Consort created a new repertoire sourced from Scandinavian, Québecois, and Celtic roots. Skye Consort & Emma Björling won the OPUS award for Best World Music Album 2019.

Listen to Ode & Ballade wherever you stream your music.

Introducing ‘Tzimtzum,’ an illuminating album by composer Jaap Nico Hamburger. The title work, ‘Tzimtzum,’ was commissioned by Montréal Festival Classical and had its premiere in May 2023 as part of the ‘Lux Aeterna’ gala event. Rooted in the Kabbalistic concept of ‘Tzimtzum’—the act of contraction or withdrawal to create space—the album serves as an aural contemplation on making room for creative potential and human emotion. The essence of ‘Tzimtzum’ beautifully mirrors the eternal light celebrated during the holiday season, especially resonating with the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah.

La Scena Musicale hails Montreal-based pianist David Potvin as a rising star of 2022. As winner of the 45th Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition, he toured across Canada in the fall of 2022 with a diversely curated program of Canadian repertoire and quickly established himself as one of Canada’s most exciting contemporary pianists. "Catharsis" is an album that expresses an emotional release experience, often of complex, deeply held, or repressed emotions. The experience later transforms into peace, tranquility, and, most importantly, a shift of perspective. This album’s pieces were selected on his tour across Canada, where Potvin performed music exclusively by Canadian composers. These compositions include works from Chris Derksen’s "Growing Forgiveness," Keiko Devaux’s "murmuration," and Jean Coulthard’s "Preludes for Piano" and "Canada Mosaic: The Contented House" (arranged for piano by David Potvin), which has never been recorded before. The album starts with Derksen’s "Growing Forgiveness," an artistic response to the tension she felt in certain relationships during the pandemic; a truly serene ending follows the piece’s driving climax. Followed by Coulthard’s 13 Preludes, they are all imbued with deep emotional expression, and over the complete set, tension peaks near the end. Then Devaux’s "murmuration" is not explicitly an exercise in emotional expression: pianistic gestures describe the movement of small birds moving in large flocks. "Catharsis" concludes the album with a piano arrangement of Coulthard’s "Canada Mosaic: The Contented House," a meditative reflection that gives the listener a moment to contemplate the churning passion.