Review

Chronicle of A Genocide Foretold,”Fifty vears after the Holocaust,” the sleevenotes declare, “the world allowed another genocide to occur, this time in Rwanda. “ Eyewitnesses (the youngest seven years of age) recall the horrific events. A million people massacred in just three months by Hutu extremists, many hacked to death with machetes.

René Lussier’s soundtrack to Danièle Lacourse’s and Yvan Patry’s documentary is for an eight-piece ensemble (Derome, Tanguay, Arcand, Lepage…), plus atmospheric environmenta1 sounds. Abstract improv and sombre themes are thoughtfully integrated: the former touching the raw nerve of ineradicable trauma. Undoubtedly a difficult commission, but René Lussier’s response is a work of admirable sensitivity and intelligence.