Jacques Tremblay

Alibi presents six works that Jacques Tremblay composed between 1990 and 1995, in the studios of the conservatories of Montréal and Lyon, at the Ina-GRM and in his own studio. Tremblay starts from concrete sound objects and lets “the object create the form”, adding quotations that recall a historical event or shift the meaning of a passage. He describes his approach as a baroque spirit, a constant rejection of the static and the unequivocal.

Hérésie ou les bas-reliefs du dogme (1990) takes on the cruelties committed in the name of God, from the Inquisition to preachers, with a Gregorian chant that slowly turns to distortion. Oaristys (1991) follows the stages of a night of love in six movements, quoting a cello saraband by Bach and remaking the Érotica movement of Symphonie pour un homme seul by Pierre Henry and Pierre Schaeffer. It won 1st prize in the electroacoustic category and the Canada Council Grand Prize at the 10th CBC National Competition for Young Composers.

L’intrus au chapeau de spleen (1992) imagines the unconscious as a prowler breaking into memory. Rictus nocturne (1992) names its six movements after jazz standards, among them “Blue Train” and “Quiet Now”, as a jam session of studio techniques. The short Jeu d’ondes (1994), written for the 20th anniversary of Radio-Canada’s FM network, mixes a quotation from Maurice Ravel with sailboat sounds. La robe nue (1995) translates the first eight paragraphs of Combray by Marcel Proust into sound without quoting the text.

Born in Jonquière, Québec, in 1962, Tremblay is a composer and classical guitarist with first prizes from the conservatories of Montréal and Lyon, and an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre.

CD in Opak, empreintes DIGITALes IMED 9842, 1998.