SACDs - Mercure, P

January 2008

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“…Nézet-Séguin's traversal of the opening 'De l'aube à midi sure la mer'… seems just a little tentative in phrasing, the climactic crash of waves at the movement's peroration without the startling rush and immediacy of the Shui recording. This slightly careful attitude marginally softens the impact of what is in many ways a very sensitive and admirably nuanced performance.”

Janurary 2008

“The Metropolitan Orchestra of Montreal may not be so well known outside Canada as the great Montreal Symphony Orchestra, but here under music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin they show what a formidable band they are, offering performances both incisive and refined in every department. The rarity is the orchestral showpiece Kaléidoscope, written by the Québécois composer Pierre Mercure... a powerful, enjoyable piece that reflects the Debussian example on the one hand but the influence of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring on the other in its sharply motoric rhythms.”