The first Semaine du Neuf, a festival launched last year by Le Vivier, brought excitement to the city’s new music scene. The event, which recently earned the Montreal collective an Opus prize for musical event of the year, is back these days with new flavors.
It was quite natural that Le Vivier dedicated its first festival to the composer from whom it takes its name, one of the tutelary figures of “learned” music here.
“The idea is to have a showcase for new music which is present annually and which, every two years, will have an international color, which is the case of the 2024 edition”, summarizes the director of this group of 67 members, flautist Jeffrey Stonehouse.
For this second edition, which runs until March 18, the Semaine du Neuf has opened its arms wide to the French composer Pierre Jodlowski, one of the leaders of mixed music in Europe.
“His approach is really interesting, because it combines rather immersive experiences which involve a strong visual – a lot of videos – interspersed with electroacoustic and acoustic music, what we call mixed music,” explains the manager, who adds that Jodlowski creates his films himself, sometimes also with collaborators.
It’s really an edition that is focused more on the interactions between digital arts and creative music.
Jeffrey Stonehouse
Highlights
There are the composers, but the latter would obviously be nothing without those who interpret them. The most prestigious guests of this Semaine du Neuf are undoubtedly the legendary Percussions de Strasbourg, an ensemble of around fifteen musicians founded in 1962 in the Alsatian capital, who have notably created works by Xenakis and Dufourt.
The four members who will cross the Atlantic will give three times this weekend Ghostlandby Jodlowski, which they created in 2017, a work on the notion of “ghost” involving a puppeteer, video and scenography.
Watch an excerpt from the show
The performance on Sunday, March 10 at 10 a.m. (Orange Space of the Wilder Building), where croissants and hot chocolate will be served, “is perfect for a family brunch,” underlines Jeffrey Stonehouse, who adds that “the presence of video in the vast majority of offerings across the festival make the experience highly mainstream.”
The director of Vivier reassures those who might approach new music with some reluctance.
An audience interested in contemporary dance or theater, or who loves films, would be completely at ease in the theaters during the festival.
Jeffrey Stonehouse
Other highlights
Among the other highlights of this crazy Week, Mr. Stonehouse does not hesitate to name the March 15 show with collective9, a “super dynamic ensemble which plays without a leader in a program where they deconstruct the music of Beethoven”, in collaboration with Quebec creators Pierre-Luc Lecours and Myriam Boucher.
Other events offered on March 11, 14 and 16 are also worth the detour as they are held in the multimedia room of the CIRMMT (Interdisciplinary Center for Research in Music, Media and Technology), at McGill University.
The musician speaks of it enthusiastically as “one of the most technologically advanced rooms we have in Montreal, which includes a spatial speaker system that allows 3D listening. For those who have never had this experience, it is worth it. When we talk about an immersive experience, that’s really what we think of! »
Visit the Semaine du Neuf website