Supported by a strong cast of mainly Canadian electroacoustic improvisors, including Martin Tétreault, Jean Derome and Rainer Wiens, Diane Labrosse offers a series of miniature songs which examine the wisdom, or otherwise, of the proverbs of conventional morality. The songs are all sung in French, and whilst those with only a ropy grasp of the language may be denied optimum enjoyment of the disc, this matters little. Italian Opera still survives for some as a sumptuous banquet for the ears despite, at best, partial understanding of the lyrics by most devotees. Labrosse’s marriage of text and music is beautifully executed, spanning many stylistic genres, through jazz, rock, Early Music and of course improvisation. Tétreault’s grainy, ghostly turntables and Derome’s more earthly saxophone declamations typify the way in which an unsettling coherence is wrought from stark juxtapositions. The shortness of the songs produces an episodic feel, reminiscent of Machine For Making Sense, another outfit who explore the relationship of text and improvisation. This stimulating disc is almost reason enough to enrol for evening classes in French.
