The inspiration for this piece came to me after the pandemic when I had lost my connection to the creative process. Le fil d’Ariane evokes Ariadne, the heroine of mythology and her famous thread that enabled Theseus to defeat the Minotaur and escape from the labyrinth. The form of my piece is inspired by Ariane 5, the satellite-launching rocket that contributed to the creation an immense labyrinth of millions of active and inactive satellites and space debris orbiting our planet. This labyrinth conceals a new monster that no Theseus will be able to destroy, and which raises the issue of the multiple forms of debris we generate. Le fil d’Ariane is presented as a graphic score, moving back and forth between four tableaux that evoke the flight of Ariane 5: La boule de cristal (or Salle des contrôles, the locus of questions and worries); La mise à feu; L’escalade; La ronde des satellites. I directed the piece by providing the players with the necessary indications to guide their movements through these stages, where open-ended questions constantly draw them back to the starting point.

— Danielle Palardy Roger [English translation: Isaiah Ceccarelli, xi-23]

Premiere

• November 1, 2022, Zigzague & Colore, Espace orange — Édifice Wilder — Espace danse, Montréal (Québec)

Awards

• Création de l’année, Prix Opus 2022-23, Québec

Recording

• November 1, 2022, Bernard Grenon • Espace orange – Édifice Wilder – Espace danse, Montréal (Québec)

Mixing

• November 28 – 29, 2022, Bernard Grenon • Studio Resther, Montréal (Québec)

Mastering

• September 18 – 25, 2023, Ross Murray • Happyrock International, Chelsea (Québec)

Performers

• Ensemble SuperMusique (ESM) (Elizabeth Millar, clarinet; Danielle Palardy Roger, conductor; Jean Derome, flutes, objects; Joane Hétu, alto saxophone, voice; Scott Thomson, trombone; Julie Houle, tuba; Guido Del Fabbro, violin; Stéphane Diamantakiou, double bass; Bernard Falaise, electric guitar; Diane Labrosse, sampler; Corinne René, percussion)
• Marie Josée Simard, percussion, marimba (Elizabeth Millar, clarinet; Danielle Palardy Roger, conductor; Jean Derome, flutes, objects; Joane Hétu, alto saxophone, voice; Scott Thomson, trombone; Julie Houle, tuba; Guido Del Fabbro, violin; Stéphane Diamantakiou, double bass; Bernard Falaise, electric guitar; Diane Labrosse, sampler; Corinne René, percussion)
• Louise Bessette, piano

something moving something still, by clarinetist and composer Elizabeth Millar, consists of a video score divided into three movements with verbal instructions. The video features images and photographs from two of the composer’s favourite places: the area where she grew up in Perth, Western Australia, and the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough where she lived in Montréal. This composition invites the musicians to respond to the two main themes presented: movement and immobility. The piece also calls on the performers to pay attention to the rhythms and routines of our movements in the spaces around us and in everyday places. Stability and activity are superimposed and intertwined throughout the three movements, with images of clouds, fences, and staircases, parks where joggers pass or children play, and wide boulevards where cars zip by. The video is also divided into several screens that come to life, overlap, or disappear, providing cues for the performers to intervene and form subgroups within the ensemble.

— Elizabeth Millar [English translation: Isaiah Ceccarelli, xi-23]

Premiere

• November 1, 2022, Zigzague & Colore, Espace orange — Édifice Wilder — Espace danse, Montréal (Québec)

Recording

• November 1, 2022, Bernard Grenon • Espace orange – Édifice Wilder – Espace danse, Montréal (Québec)

Mixing

• November 28 – 29, 2022, Bernard Grenon • Studio Resther, Montréal (Québec)

Mastering

• September 18 – 25, 2023, Ross Murray • Happyrock International, Chelsea (Québec)

Performers

• Ensemble SuperMusique (ESM) (Elizabeth Millar, conductor; Danielle Palardy Roger, percussion; Jean Derome, flutes, objects; Joane Hétu, alto saxophone, voice; Scott Thomson, trombone; Julie Houle, tuba; Guido Del Fabbro, violin; Stéphane Diamantakiou, double bass; Bernard Falaise, electric guitar; Diane Labrosse, sampler; Corinne René, percussion)

Multidisciplinary artist Laura Kavanaugh’s Le regard is inspired by a series of colourful, flowing abstract images. These images, created by the artist, were cut from paintings made on three huge panels of cotton paper. They were then photographed, juxtaposed, and printed on a “digital canvas” in a style falling somewhere between manga and graphic novel. A single image was distributed to each member of the ensemble, and, in order to maintain an element of surprise, the composer stipulated that each performer should play a different image (chosen at random) for each rehearsal and for the concert. The floral hues, flamboyant flashes, textures, details, and varied shapes of these images created a multiform field in which the music developed. The interactions between the performers and each person’s sensibilities evolved throughout this process of creative fulfillment. There was no conductor, no stopwatch, and the instructions for the duration were that the group should find a natural end after approximately 15 minutes.

— Laura Kavanaugh [English translation: Isaiah Ceccarelli, xi-23]

Premiere

• November 1, 2022, Zigzague & Colore, Espace orange — Édifice Wilder — Espace danse, Montréal (Québec)

Recording

• November 1, 2022, Bernard Grenon • Espace orange – Édifice Wilder – Espace danse, Montréal (Québec)

Mixing

• November 28 – 29, 2022, Bernard Grenon • Studio Resther, Montréal (Québec)

Mastering

• September 18 – 25, 2023, Ross Murray • Happyrock International, Chelsea (Québec)

Performers

• Ensemble SuperMusique (ESM) (Elizabeth Millar, clarinet; Danielle Palardy Roger, percussion; Jean Derome, flutes, objects; Joane Hétu, alto saxophone, voice; Scott Thomson, trombone; Julie Houle, tuba; Guido Del Fabbro, violin; Stéphane Diamantakiou, double bass; Bernard Falaise, electric guitar; Diane Labrosse, sampler; Corinne René, percussion)