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Montreal, November 8, 2023 – Les 9 invites you to join them in an ethereal journey through the enchanting melodies of the night, with their newly released album in concert: NOCTURNE. Through listening to the spellbinding sound of eight cellos and a double bass, audiences will be transported by the beauty of this music of the night. This original show will tour Montreal, Quebec City and Toronto on November 22, 25 and 26.
Evocative interpretations of timeless classics, from Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata to Debussy’s Clair de lune, blend seamlessly with the contemporary touch of this string ensemble.
Highlighting String Harmony: Vincent Bélanger and Les 9
At the helm of this nocturnal journey is visionary artistic director Vincent Bélanger. He is on a quest with the aim to shed light on the expressive richness of cello and double bass. Bélanger founded the ensemble Les 9 in 2019 to charm audiences by exploring the consonance between these instruments. “The sound of Les 9 is a journey to discover the beauty of harmony in spite of our dissimilarities,” he explains.
A musician of infectious passion, Vincent Bélanger infuses all of his projects with an original, profound, and warm artistic vision. His exceptional career took him to France, where he honed his skills and won several prestigious prizes in cello and chamber music. Over the years, Bélanger’s musical endeavors have spanned diverse genres, from rock to classical, and his outstanding recordings and performances have garnered critical acclaim worldwide.
Launch party: NOCTURNE, a 3rd album for Les 9
Les 9’s new album, NOCTURNE, available on all digital platforms as of November 8th 2023, will be played live for the first time for this concert tour. With this third opus, Les 9 does not limit itself to compositions that have been famous for centuries, but crafted a selection of melodies which aim to unveil and embrace the mystique of nighttime. “We’ve blended ancestral melodies with contemporary sensibilities to create a tapestry of sound that will resonate with every soul in the room”, says Vincent Bélanger.
Montreal composers Joey Reda and Francis Choinière were entrusted with the arrangements of the songs on the album. Choinière, an eminent producer and conductor, has lent his talents to works such as The Swan, Clair de Lune, and Hymne à la nuit, the last of which was made famous by the French film Les Choristes. “This team offers a wonderfully innovative fusion of musical and visual ideas, giving birth to NOCTURNE”, explains Bélanger.
Composer-in-residence Christian Thomas also contributed to the album, penning the track “La veuve et la lune”, based on a text by poet Michel Tremblay. The track revisits Thomas’ “Messe solennelle pour une pleine lune d’été”, featuring renowned soprano Lyne Fortin. This dramatic, evocative opera touched audiences at the Festival d’opéra de Québec in the summer of 2023 to great critical acclaim. Thomas’ contribution continues the collaborative tradition between Les 9 and the composer, as he has adapted one of his works for Les 9 for each of their albums since their first in 2019.
NOCTURNE is an invitation to lose oneself in the tranquility and beauty of the night, guided by soul-stirring melodies. Concert tickets and the album now available here.
NOCTURNE – LES 9
Koerner Hall – TORONTO
November 22, 2023 – 8:00 PM
Maison symphonique – MONTREAL
November 25, 2023 – 7:30 pm
Salle Raoul-Jobin – QUEBEC
November 26, 2023 – 2:00 pm
About Les 9
Les 9, created by Vincent Bélanger, brings together 8 cellists and a double bassist, a union of young Canadian virtuosos. Les 9 aims to explore the original, unique and universal musical universe embraced by the cello. Discoveries are very much in evidence: great classics revisited and/or adapted, playful music, Latin music, original compositions, including Adaptation, or “le mouvement perpétuel de l’être en devenir” by Christian Thomas, well known in the Montreal theatrical milieu for his numerous stage scores. The various themes developed are topical, designed to appeal to a new audience: they reach out to us all: “the power to project ourselves beyond what divides us”.
About GFN Productions
GFN Productions is a Quebec-based entertainment company that produces concerts, records and digital media. GFN invests in the development of Quebec and Canadian talent and presents artists from around the world. In partnership with the FILMharmonic orchestra, the company has been producing some of the most popular films and franchises in concert form since 2018. This series of cine-concerts has quickly become a staple of Place des Arts de Montréal’s programming.