The new artistic director of the Société de musique contemporain du Québec (SMCQ), Simon Bertrand, successor to Walter Boudreau and Ana Sokolovic, shaped his first season. This focuses on female composers and will begin on Thursday October 3 with a concert devoted largely to Kaija Saariaho, who died in June 2023.
Simon Bertrand now has less opportunity to compose: “I devote this time to the SMCQ with pleasure, because my mandate is a service to the community. I put myself at his service for a while. Being a composer, coming from this background, I know the importance of the role that such an organization can play. »
As the Société de musique contemporain du Québec is present at the stages of conception, execution, production and broadcast of concerts, the task of the artistic director is not easy. “We call for projects, choose composers, order works, design the shows and then distribute and promote them. »
The musical well has not dried up for Simon Bertrand. Even if he slowed down the pace, he completed the music for the film in the last year Balestra by Imran Zaidi and composed a piano quintet premiered at the Collingwood Festival, Ontario.
Legacy
During his mandate, Simon Bertrand wants to position himself in “continuity with the mission of the SMCQ, founded by composers for composers”. “I take into account the overall heritage of the organization,” he assures. But a mission adapts to the context and the evolution of the cultural environment and society. It is with this in mind that I developed the program for the three concerts of the season, for the February 2025 festival [Montréal/Nouvelles Musiques] and targeted initiatives. » As in most cultural organizations, Simon Bertrand establishes his overall game plan over four years.
“The SMCQ is an organization whose goal is to ensure a place for composers in the ecosystem of so-called “classical” music. This year, we are ordering a lot of works: seven for the three concerts of the season and a dozen in total, adding those for the festival which will be held from February 14 to March 2. This is important to me, because composers often do not have the place they deserve in the ecosystem,” notes Simon Bertrand.
“That was one of my goals: to generate new works. I also want to develop the international aspect, with reciprocal agreements, but also targeted initiatives and new partnerships, like this summer with the Orchester de la Francophonie. Thus, as part of the Montréal/Nouvelles Musiques festival, on the theme “Music and images”, we will establish a very nice partnership, which will be revealed shortly, with the visual arts community. »
Increasing partnerships and offering composers support from the start to the end of their projects are among the priorities of the artistic director, as is the youth component, which has taken an important place in the activities of the SMCQ.
An inspiration
Kaija Saariaho is, for Simon Bertrand, an obvious choice to open his first season. “This was obvious given the importance of his contribution and the extraordinary quality of his work, but also the influence generated by his production. For me, Saariaho had as much influence as Ligeti, for example. »
To highlight the diversity of Saariaho’s work, Simon Bertrand chose three scores which do not have much in common. “We have Clock, shut up!a composition for his daughter on a libretto by his son, which allows me to invite Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal. It’s not the most avant-garde work, but it’s very well written, and having Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal at this concert allows me to also put them to work in a creation by Hans Martin. »
Simon Bertrand is particularly delighted with this idea. “When we think of the Little Singers, we think of Midnight, Christiansbut it is important for them to create and sing Saariaho. »
The juxtaposition of the works will give rise to a reflection on time. “Hans Martin’s creation is inspired by a Renaissance poem, a reflection on the passing of time. Musical time, chronometric time, time that stretches or rushes; the program is built on that. »
For the second piece, the director of the SMCQ opted for a great classic: Lichtbogen. “Inspired by the Northern Lights, the piece is truly iconic. It’s also a bit of the theme of our season and it will be presented with a video from Kaija Saariaho’s partner, Jean-Baptiste Barrière, which will in some way announce the Montréal/Nouvelles Musiques festival. »
For the third composition, “it was important to have an electroacoustic piece, Secret Garden Ibecause Saariaho is a pioneer. Today, everyone uses computers, but in the 1980s, it was much less obvious,” explains Simon Bertrand.
The inclusion process
Between these pieces by Saariaho, Bertrand inserted Quebec compositions: the creation of Hans Martin and Arras, by Keiko Devaux. “It’s a masterpiece! » he exclaims to describe this latest work, which gleaned the title of “classical composition of the year” at the Juno Awards in 2022. “It’s a 20-minute fresco, not so far from Saariaho in the way of working with instrumental textures and colors. »
If the composer sees his colleague’s creation as a masterpiece, it is because it is a “mosaic that encompasses several musical aesthetics. In terms of language, it is very representative of what the composers of that generation do. They operate by inclusion rather than exclusion. In the 1970s, we operated by exclusion: “We must not do this or use that, because it has already been done.” The new generation has realized that everything has already been done and is asking questions about how to mix everything together. Keiko Devaux writes like a mosaic and it is extremely well done, with a strong narrative line. The common thread, the breath, is also the reason for the power of Saariaho’s music. »
The two other composers honored in 2024-2025 will be Nicole Lizée and Jocelyn Morlock, very different profiles. “I wanted three composers from three very different worlds. Nicole Lizée’s universe is very eclectic and her rhythmic aesthetic, full of surprises, often has a visual aspect. She has composed tributes to Hitchcock, Tarantino and Kubrick. As we plan a festival [sur le thème] “Music and images”, the choice of Nicole Lizée was obvious. Often, Nicole Lizée herself produces the videos that accompany her music. »
The silent requiem
As for Jocelyn Morlock, who died in March 2023 at the age of 53, “her language is very melodic, but very personal and very expressive. We are not in “neo-whatever”,” judges the artistic director of the SMCQ.
In the eyes of Simon Bertrand (and in ours), Morlock is a “very great composer”, whose concert, also nourished by two commissions (from Samy Moussa and Rita Ueda), will be conceived “like a great requiem where all the pieces will follow one another without applause.” The concert will also be dedicated to the cause of mental health among musicians, which is very close to Simon Bertrand’s heart.
Jocelyn Morlock is well known for her songwriting My Name Is Amanda Toddin honor of this teenager who killed herself after being the victim of cyberbullying. “We have chosen to present Exaudia piece for cello and choir, and his latest work, The Uses of Solitudefor viola, flute and harp. »
The diversity of this season’s feminine triptych and the openings of varied aesthetic horizons, this joy of plurality, could, one imagines, lead, ultimately, to a reflection on the relevance of monolithic “tribute seasons” dedicated to a sole composer.
In practice, these alternate with the seasons when the biannual Montréal/Nouvelles Musiques festival is held. As it will be, in 2025-2026, the 60e anniversary of the SMCQ, logic would dictate that we witness, not a thematic year devoted to a single creator, but a vast retrospective nourished by connections with emerging artists. As this anniversary will be followed by a festival season, this gives Simon Bertrand time to think and decide.