Various Artists
Curator : Sylvain Campeau

PHONÉSIE
01.14–02.20.2016

With :

SYLVAIN CAMPEAU, CHANTAL DUMAS, MARTINE AUDET, JOSÉ ACQUELIN, MICHEL F. CÔTÉ, FORTNER ANDERSON, CHRISTIAN CALON

HAVRES (2014) 17:32

Sylvain Campeau and Chantal Dumas

PERSONNE NE SAIT QUE JE T’AIME (2006) 44:39

Martine Audet, José Acquelin and Michel F. Côté

IN THE TIME (2013) 09:53

Fortner Anderson and Christian Calon

In 2014, I produced a poetry CD in collaboration with sound artist, Chantal Dumas. Titled Havres, it consists of a three-person narrative played by José Acquelin, Catherine Kidd, and myself, respectively, and is enriched with phrases borrowed from Irish and Mohawk languages. Our starting point was the redesigned sites that make up part of Old Montreal. I chose to imagine three periods in our history: the arrival of the first newcomers who came into contact with the original inhabitants of this land; the construction of the Lachine Canal carried out by the newly-arrived Irish immigrants, and Expo 67.

I did not undertake this work without the benefit of a few reference points, of works and writings that have influenced me. These are all works where the audio is more than just background music, where words and sounds blend together to form a unique aural experience. In Phonésie, I brought together pieces where poetry and sound are interlaced, where music isn’t merely a decorative element in support of the poetic word, but where the two meet each other in dialogue through daring explorations, in mutual support of one another.

Personne ne sait que je t’aime unites the voices and poems of Martine Audet and José Acquelin. Published by Planète rebelle, the work is part of a collection titled Hôtel central, known for its focus on the performance of politically-engaged texts that favour the unique meeting of words and experimental music. The recording took place in a location with a particular acoustic character, skilfully captured by Michel F. Côté. (Book with CD published by Planète rebelle : planeterebelle.qc.ca)

In the Time is a track from Fortner Anderson’s triple CD titled Annunciations, which features nine pieces, each by a different composer. The result is an astonishingly diverse collection of audio works. The selected track’s sound design is by Christian Calon. Fortner Anderson is a pioneer of this type of performance, having collaborated with many other composers.