electrocd

Soundcheck

The Wire, no. 219, April 1, 2002

The wit and character of Canadian composer Yves Daoust are all too rare qualities in electroacoustic composition. Composed between 1997-2001, Bruits is a 30-minute exploration, in three movements, of sounds from the great outdoors. The first movement is a giggly snapshot of a children’s playground. It’s followed by a fastidiously detailed nocturnal landscape close in atmosphere to Bartók’s many night pieces. The final slab is a joyous depiction of Montréal in summer, with passing jazz groups enhancing its party atmosphere. A similar sense of exuberance inhabits the much earlier La gamme, which transforms every music student’s dreaded scales and arpeggios into a cartoon landscape hovering between Varèse and A Rainbow In Curved Air. The bizarre Ouverture explores the history of French-speaking Canada. The Chopin-inspired Impromptu for piano and electronics completes the set.

The wit and character of… Daoust are all too rare qualities in electroacoustic composition.