To Simon Trottier

courant.air is the continuation of the work begun in 2007 with the guitarist Simon Trottier in which we intertwine improvised electroacoustic and folk music. I wanted to explore this further within a formal compositional context.

I imagine myself on the banks of the St Lawrence river, this estuary to which I owe the history of my country. I look backwards in direction of its landscapes created by erosion caused by wind and water.

Here,
Wind is a constructive/destructive agent.
Wind is an agent of travel (oh! the sailing ships of Jacques Cartier).
Wind is a propulsion engine of particles in constant movement in the air.
Wind as noise.
Wind is sound.

[viii-10]

Two movements of courant.air were commissioned by Réseaux des arts médiatiques with support from the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA); and three by NAISA with support from the CCA. Three more mouvement were realized with support from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ).

Premiere

• October 30, 2010, Simon Trottier, guitar • Akousma (7): Folktronica, Studio Hydro-Québec — Monument-National, Montréal (Québec)