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mirador
Grand Théâtre de Québec
Jean-Michel Blais was ready to create an epic work. mirador, the pianist-composer's fourth album, sees the Montrealer turn his gaze to a wondrous world—trading contemporary minimalism for a light and generous maximalism. It's an odyssey that traverses choirs, strings, and Andean music, from Spanish caves to Estonian forests, returning straight to the basement of Nicolet, Quebec, where Blais imagined his first adventures. After 375 million continuous streams and the biggest concerts of his life, the origins of mirador stem from childhood memories. As a music-loving child and—though he wasn't fully aware of it then—as a queer person with Tourette syndrome, Blais's basement was his imaginary observation post, his "mirador," from which he could dream of the world. There, he marveled at the pages of a Larousse dictionary, played on the family's cheap Hammond organ, and listened to the same tapes over and over. For the album aubades in 2022, Blais had begun experimenting with orchestration. This time, he was drawn to the promise of the human voice, singing as a "pure instrument." Working from the rather frail kitchen island of his apartment, Blais conceived a 12-voice choir, wordless. Quickly, with the help of William Brittelle (Pharmakon of LA, The National), he assembled a choir of baroque singers, then added a string quartet composed of his friends. Composing this material "unlocked something," Blais confides. One of his favorite childhood tapes was a pirate recording of Andean music, captured on the radio. His parents, amateur ballroom dancers, had taught their son to dance salsa, mambo, and cha-cha. He taught himself Spanish and was so moved by his first trip to Central America that he wanted to leave the music conservatory and give away all his possessions. Throughout his twenties, Blais stayed in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Argentina, falling in love with traditional Andean folk song, particularly artists like Los Kjarkas and Charijayac. For this project, Blais recruited Tulio Velazco Villagra, a Montrealer who grew up on the shores of Lake Titicaca and is a master of Andean instruments like the zampoña. Elsewhere, on tracks like "laulasmaa," he drew inspiration from his encounters with composer Arvo Pärt during a residency in Estonia. Slowly, mirador became like the turning pages of a storybook: a journey through time, traversing the globe, drawing influences from Ariel Ramirez as much as from TLC, or from Beethoven to Portishead. The finalized album resembles an imaginary observation post. From the Andean reverie of "carnavalito" to the sacred choral of "kyrie" (or is it a sea shanty?), it's a reminder that even starting from nothing,
Music / Concert
From 54.75 CAD