Bréviaire d’épuisements, composed by the percussionist Isaiah Ceccarelli, is a work woven from the delicate fabric of the tension between darkness and light: a metallic and tenebrous landscape over which the human voice attempts to break like the dawn. This is Montréal-based drummer Isaiah Ceccarelli’s fifth disc on Quebec’s AM label as a leader or co-leader. The music on this disc is most often based on textures rather than on rhythmic structures. Solo 1 opens & features the eerie sound of bowed cymbals, which creates a mysterious other-worldly vibe. There is a seven part suite that features both female vocalists. Their voices are soft and dreamy and filled with haunting harmonies. Although the words are in French and printed in the liner notes, it is the sound of both voices that is most enchanting. There are four solo percussion sections placed in between the parts of the suite. Each one creates an oasis of strange yet soothing ambiance. The bass clarinets and viola da gamba, a smaller rounded on the bottom cello-like instrument, are well used to add other more carefully crafted sections to ponder the words which precede them. Considering that Mr. Ceccarelli is a fine drummer, there is little rhythmic interplay employed. The overall vibe is often stunning nonetheless.