Magister Ludi

The Ensemble contemporain de Montréal (ECM+) produces multidisciplinary concerts at the forefront of innovation while showcasing Canadian musical creation throughout the country. Renowned for her flair and her appetite for risk-taking, artistic director Véronique Lacroix communicates her passion through daring performances and brings together new generations of composers and performers towards new horizons. Since its foundation in 1987, ECM+ has premiered more than 230 mostly Canadian works. Its productions have garnered prestigious awards, including the 2002 Grand Prix du Conseil des arts de Montréal, the 2002 Prix Opus for Musical Event of the Year, and the 2007 Prix Opus for Artistic Direction of the Year. ECM+ has performed at the Cervantino International Festival, Montreal/New Music Festival, Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Québec city’s Festival Musiques au present, and Toronto’s Massey Hall New Music Festival. The ensemble has released ten CDs, and its concerts are regularly broadcast on Radio-Canada’s Espace Musique and CBC Radio 2. ECM+ has been Ensemble in residence at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal since 1998.

Canadian composer, performer and multimedia artist Gordon Fitzell has worked with many outstanding ensembles—Norwegian group BIT20 Ensemble, Brazil’s PianOrquestra, the pan-Canadian Ensemble 1534, and American sextet eighth blackbird, whose multiple Grammy-winning album strange imaginary animals features two of his works. In 2000 he began what would become a dynamic and longstanding collaboration with conductor Véronique Lacroix and ECM+; three of the works presented on this recording were commissioned and premiered by the group. In addition to concert music, Fitzell has presented multimedia installations in North America and Europe, most recently for World Music Days in Bruges, Belgium and Montreal’s Productions Totem Contemporain. Fitzell leads the eXperimental Improv Ensemble (XIE) and serves as Artistic Co-Director of the Winnipeg new music organization GroundSwell.

Track List:

1. Magister Ludi 11:14

2. violence 10:29

3. Flux 15:35

4. Pangaea Ultima 10:58

5. evanescence 11:45

Performers:

Ensemble contemporain de Montréal
Véronique Lacroix, artistic director

Reviews:

“Like so much of what ECM+ takes on, this is challenging repertoire and a brave undertaking. The ensemble proves itself once again well up to the task with its virtuosity and fluency in contemporary idioms. This disc is a testament to the vision and determination, not to mention the consummate musicianship, of Lacroix who has been at the helm since founding the ensemble in 1987.” – David Olds, Editor’s Corner, WholeNote

This recording generously supported by:

This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada’s private radio broadcasters. / Ce projet est financé en partie par FACTOR, le gouvernement du Canada et les radiodiffuseurs privés du Canada.