Premiere: April 2, 2008, Homage Series Claude Vivier: Une constellation de mutants, Espace Dell’Arte, Montréal (Québec)

Unlike some music that reveals itself with time, Claude Vivier’s Et je reverrai cette ville étrange grasped me from the moment I heard it. Its appeal was immediate, a feeling of unconditional love, a sort of recognition or déjà vu. Mélancolie d’un lieu is an impressionistic tableau based on Vivier’s piece. The graphic score (a vague representation of a city) reproduces the structure Vivier set in place: the same duration and number of movements, a similar use of percussion, and frequent use of tutti performance. Each movement is site specific: the cathedral, the harbor, parks, monuments, and avenues. The musicians play textures rather than melodic lines.

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