I am very happy to announce that my album collaboration with the amazing bassoonist, Sébastien Malette, will be released May 12! Here’s the official unveiling of the album cover…
Sébastien commissioned me to compose A Village of Landscapes, a 13-piece suite for bassoon inspired by photos of stirring natural landscapes in Canada. Each photo was taken by award-winning nature photographer, Michelle Valberg. The pieces in the suite represent each of the 10 provinces and 3 territories in Canada.
The word “Canada” originates from the Iroquoian word, “Kanata” meaning “village” or settlement. And despite our large size geographically, we are metaphorically a village of various landscapes. We are blessed in this country with such natural beauty. It brings us joy and peace but also inspires us and leaves us awestruck. It is all these feelings that should motivate us to protect the landscapes that encompass our planet. It is such an honour and privilege to use the power of music, through Michelle’s lens, to give this visual beauty another dimension through music.
The 13 pieces have been divided into 3 mini-suites: bassoon with piano, unaccompanied bassoon, and bassoon with electronics. One of the pieces even includes the contrabassoon. It was a wonderful experience to compose this last year. We enjoyed a great 2 days of recording at Port Nelson United Church in Burlington last December. Allison Wiebe brought her fabulous collaborative pianism to 5 of the pieces. Kirk Starkey provided his audio engineering expertise to the recording, editing and mixing process, while my long-time collaborators, Jean Martin, mixed the fixed electronics parts, and Dennis Patterson mastered the album.
Sébastien is a wonderful human being and amazingly talented on the bassoon. He has impeccable technique while also being able to convey so many different emotions through his instrument. Based on what I heard in making this album, I know this collection is going to be quite epic in the bassoon world!
Sébastien and I are grateful to the Ontario Arts Council and FACTOR for funding our collaboration.
Stay tuned to my social media channels and e-newsletter for updates on the release of this new album.