Comme une pluie d'or...

The Sixtrum Percussion Ensemble, in residence at the University of Montreal, are closing their second season with a tribute to renown Montreal percussionist Pierre Béluse.

About Pierre Béluse…

« Cymbal player, here I want to hear golden rain! »

This is how Charles Münch introduced Pierre Béluse to the infinite diversity of the timbres of metallic percussion instruments, and set him on a permanent quest in search of the ideal colour: 

« For me, choosing each instrument with care was like recreating a scale of sound, tuned, diverse, with similar textures or different.  At one time, I realized I had a collection of 250 cymbals of all sorts and from all regions.  All the possibilities were there. »
    - Pierre Béluse (interview with Robert Leroux, July 30, 2003)

In this concert, Sixtrum pays homage to one of the pioneers of percussion in Quebec, a major figure in the of world music during the more than forty years of his career.  Equally at ease as a jazz drummer or as a percussionist on stage with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Béluse made a particular mark on the percussion world as director of the McGill Percussion Ensemble, known as a motor behind creation and research on the Quebec music scene.

The role of Pierre Béluse was extremely significant in this field as he solicited, commissioned, and discovered numerous works, which helped make Canadian music shine on an international scale.   By dedicating the last concert of the season to Pierre Béluse, Sixtrum revisits the heritage left by this great musician, known for his innovation, his open-mindedness, and above all, his passion for percussion.

A panorama of the works performed

In pursuit of the same ideal of the musician that Sixtrum is honoring, the program of the concert « …Comme une pluie d’or » is comprised exclusively of new works and Canadian/Quebecois premieres :

Bruce Mather: Fours Etudes for 6 percussionists (2001 – Quebec premiere)
Etudes for Wood-Blocks
Etude for Keyboards
Etude for Metals

György Ligeti/John Rea: Etudes for piano (1985/2009 – premiere)
II. Cordes à Vide
V. Arc-en-ciel

Jana Vörösova: Zoom (2008 – Canadian premiere, commissioned by Radio-France for Sixtrum)

Nicolas Gilbert: Les mécanismes de l’esquive (2009 – premiere, commissioned by Sixtrum)       

Myke Roy: Pierre qui roule n’amasse pas paradiddles gather no moss (2009 - premiere, commissioned by Sixtrum)