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MARIE-CLAIRE SAINDON

choral, instrumental, traditional and multimedia music

SKYLINES: À LA RECHERCHE DU FLEUVE

(Skylines: Looking For The St-Lawrence)

TITLE: Skylines: à la recherche du Fleuve

INSTRUMENTATION: SSAA a cappella

TIME: 3m55s

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TEXT

Stèles brutes,
Cromlechs ferreux
Heurtés par les échos de cloches ...
      Saint-Jean-Baptise
      Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours
      Saint-Andrew and Saint-Paul
(À peine audible, il ondoie ...)
Monolithes bétonnés
Sous lesquels serpentent,
Entre racines d’acier,
Son charrois souterrain :
J’ouïe le flot lointain
Et j’embarque.


      Snowdon, Villa-Maria
D’où vient cet air limpide
      Vendôme, Saint-Heni
Qui souffle au tréfonds de mon âme?
      Lionel-Groulx
Parmi les échos, sa voix s’amplifie :
      George-Vanier, Lucien-l’Allier
Je décèle sa source
      Bonaventure, Square-Victoria
Et je débarque.
      Place-d’Armes


Citadelles architectoniques,
Monuments du port,
Entre lesquels j’aperçois,
      Saint-Laurent
Sublime, ce guide fluvial
Qui éternellement chemine
Vers la Source ...

Courtesy translation:

 

Raw steles,

Iron cromlechs

Into which collide the echos of bells... 

      Saint-Jean-Baptise

      Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours

      Saint-Andrew and Saint-Paul

(Barely audible, it ripples ...)

Concrete monoliths,

Under which snakes,

Between steel roots,

Its underground carriage:

I hear the distant waters

And I embark.

 

      Snowdon, Villa-Maria

From where comes this clear sound

      Vendôme, Saint-Henri

That breathes into the depths of my soul?

      Lionel-Groulx

Amongst the echos, its voice amplifies:

      George-Vanier, Lucien-l’Allier

I detect its source

      Bonaventure, Square-Victoria

And disembark.

      Place-d’Armes

 

Architectonic citadels,

Old port’s monuments,

Between which I perceive,

      Saint-Laurent

This sublime river-guide

Which eternally journeys

Towards the Source ...

PROGRAM NOTES


Skylines is a larger work where multiple composers will each be writing a movement about the city, town, or village in which they reside, and where their skylines will affect their composition process in different ways.

"Skylines: à la recherche du Fleuve" is a prototype for this project, and a standalone piece for now. It is a piece where the austerity of the brutalist architecture of Montreal, mixed with the chaos of the church bells ("Montreal" was dubbed "The city with 100 steeples" by Mark Twain) create an initial impressive portrait of the city. But among all this imposing concrete and steel, the listener is invited to pay closer attention to the sound of the St-Lawrence River, barely audible at first. The River, the city's original highway, and in a sense, a river-guide that can bring us back towards our roots. 

And among all of this, we hop on a fun subway ride to find the River. Those familiar with the Montréal métro will recognise familiar sounds and station names along the way.

The score features a few graphic score moments and illustrations of the city's more familiar buildings.

Written for Choeur Adleisia during the Musician In Residence Arts Program at the Banff Centre for the Arts, 2024.

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