COLLECTIF9 SIGNS WITH ALPHA CLASSICS

published on September 20, 2021

The news is FINALLY out - collectif9 is now working with the European label Alpha Classics! We have been inspired by their work and that of their artists for many years, and are honoured to be in such good company. Alpha is re-releasing our 2nd album, No Time for Chamber Music, world-wide on September 24 - and this is just the beginning of our partnership!

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We are so grateful to this wonderful organization for their confidence in us and our vision.

OUR FILM-CONCERTS ON ARTS.FILM

published on September 7, 2021

It’s a new week, and the beginning of a new season - that of our 10th anniversary! - and we have a lot of exciting news to share with you to celebrate.

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To start, we are thrilled to announce that our THREE film-concerts (yes! we filmed a 3rd that we have been keeping hidden away ) will be available on the incredible new platform ARTS.FILM (think Netflix for artistic films and documentaries on art) of the Festival International du Film sur l’Art (FIFA)!

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ARTS.FILM unveils its autumn programming here.*

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*Available from Canada only.

BACK ON STAGE THIS SUMMER

published on July 10, 2021

We've been looking forward to this moment for a while - we can finally announce live concerts!!!

On July 20, we will be at the Festival de musique de Lachine for an outdoor concert in the brand new Parc riverain, on the water side, relaxed. And it's free, just be sure to reserve your ticket.

Next, on July 22, we have the honour of launching the Ottawa Chamberfest 2021 festivities with a hybrid concert (in-person + livestream) at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre.

July 20 | Festival de musique de Lachine | Tickets: https://bit.ly/2UGzQIv
July 22 | Ottawa Chamberfest | Tickets: https://bit.ly/3k44bvj

This will be the first time we play The Night of the Flying Horses since we shot the film-concert - we can't wait!

OUR 2 FILM-CONCERTS AVAILABLE FOR 2 WEEKS

published on May 28, 2021

Click on the image above for all the details and to buy your tickets!

A NEW FILM-CONCERT: THE NIGHT OF THE FLYING HORSES

published on May 19, 2021

We are very excited to announce that our second film-concert, The Night of the Flying Horses, will be released very soon! Join us for the premiere broadcast and live chat with collectif9 and our team on May 28 at 8pm.

To sweeten the deal (and because of popular demand), we will also make our first film-concert Rituæls available. Both film-concerts will be available to stream from May 28 to June 13. Tickets start as low as $12, with combo deals if you would like to watch both films, and with options to pay a higher fee to support the ensemble and musicians even more.

Book your tickets now by clicking here!

RITUÆLS AT OTTAWA CHAMBERFEST

published on April 13, 2021

Ottawa Chamberfest presents RITUÆLS (film-concert) on April 19, 2021 at 7pm (EDT) as part of their 2020-21 season. Tickets are available here: https://www.chamberfest.com/event/2020/collectif9/

1 YEAR AGO: HEROES

published on February 23, 2021

One of our best memories of 2020 is undoubtedly the creation of Heroes, a show that was brought to life thanks to an amazing team and group of collaborators. This show, with music and video created by Myriam Boucher and Pierre-Luc Lecours, was commissioned by the Endowment Fund of La Folle Journée de Nantes (France), where we gave the official premiere in January 2020 (our last concert before everything stopped). Before our time in Nantes, we spent a short week in residence at The Centennial Theatre (Sherbrooke, QC) to rehearse and workshop, and it was one of those rare moments where the planets aligned - we were working in the ideal setting in a true spirit of camaraderie.

While we wait for the moment when we can share the complete show with you (either live or on video), we are so pleased to unveil these excerpts of Heroes, captured during this inspiring period of creation.

RITUÆLS: AVAILABLE NOW

published on December 13, 2020

Rituæls is available for viewing  by donation until January 11, 2021. Donors who give $20 or more via our GoFundMe campaign (link below) will receive a link to watch within 24 hours.

A 60-minute feature-length film, Rituæls brings together works dating from the Middle Ages to the 21st century, launching a series of films that create various multidisciplinary universes.

RITUÆLS: THE CONCEPT

published on December 5, 2020

Are you curious to hear more about our upcoming film-concert, RITUÆLS?  Thibault shares the inspiration behind our newest program.

“For me, the notion of ‘ritual’ connects to a tradition of knowledge and practices, a transmission across time and across generations, that provides us with tools to live together and to come together to form communities. In music, this perception of time can be emphasized by the use of continuous - motionless - sound. When this is a single note, we call it a drone, or in some cases, a pedal note. This type of sound is found in many musical cultures and the effect is always that of a strong anchor. The pieces that we have brought together in RITUÆLS all have such an element of consistency, whether it is a note held throughout a piece,  a chord that imperceptibly transforms, or a group of continuously repeated notes. This simple element creates a common thread that accompanies us through a succession of emotional phases: the spiritual, the intimate, the fragile, the dismayed, the grandiose, the humble, and many more.

To open the program, I made a proposition to the group: that we create a minimalist sound universe that would allow us slow down and to refocus our energies while immersing ourselves in the resonance of the space. We were inspired by the work of French composer Éliane Radigue (a pioneer in electronic music), notably through her work with our colleagues from the Bozzini Quartet here in Montreal. Radigue's works consist exclusively of drones, apparently motionless, while in constant transformation. It is this premise that gave the impulse for the collective improvisation that opens RITUÆLS, creating a fertile ground from which the rest of the program can take root.”

RITUÆLS

published on November 10, 2020

Over the past few months, we've been thinking a lot about how to make the best of the current situation and the impossibility of presenting live concerts in the upcoming months. Our response is this: to create a series of concert recordings combining performance video with cinematographic footage, recorded in the highest quality (like a visual album). We call them film-concerts.

The first concert-film in the series, RITUÆLS, is a mystical artistic experience that brings together works by Hildegard von Bingen, Arvo Pärt, Nicole Lizée, Bryce Dessner, Michael Tippett, and Jocelyn Morlock. Our extensive technical set-up allowed us to take full advantage of the space at the Church of Saint-Pierre-Apôtre, creating a whole that echoes the grandeur and depth of the pieces on the program.

The sound and images are already breathtaking and we can’t wait to share the finished project. In the meantime, here's a short video shot last year that features clips from the program.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

published on October 22, 2020

We have some big projects coming up this year and we need your support to bring them to their maximum potential. Click below to contribute or to learn more about what we're up to.

BACKYARD CONCERT

published on August 8, 2020

After almost 5 months without playing together, we finally got together again and gave a little concert for our neighbours. Since this in itself was a special occasion, we made a video - collectively (!) - filmed by friends and neighbours from their respective balconies. Here's the result!

Thanks to everyone who came to their balcony or came down to the alley to share this moment with us, and to all who contributed their video footage. We couldn't have done it without you!

HEROES

published on December 18, 2019

We can finally reveal our next project! It is an honor to have been invited for a second consecutive year to play in Nantes, not only to present several shows, but to create a brand new project to celebrate #Beethoven250.

We are delighted to present a first glimpse of HEROES, a music and video creation composed by a super duo: Myriam Boucher (with whom we collaborated for My Backyard, Somewhere) and Pierre-Luc Lecours!

Leading up to the show's premiere in Nantes in January 2020 (more details to come), we will be in creative residency at the Centennial Theater in Lennoxville - we will present the fruits of our work to the public on January 22nd. Come and join us if you can, it'll be something to see and hear!

HAPPY 1 YEAR

published on November 17, 2019

To celebrate the 1 year anniversary of the release of our album No Time for Chamber Music, we are sharing a very special track that inspired the title of the album but could not be included on the official release: here is our take on the 3rd movement of Berio’s Sinfonia. Originally written for orchestra and 8 amplified voices, this movement is a musical collage, full of quotes and references (Mahler, Stravinsky, Debussy, Berg, Ravel, Boulez, to name a few), using the Scherzo from Mahler’s 2nd symphony as its framework. It features text taken from several sources - spoken, whispered, shouted, and sung by each of us - the most prominent being Samuel Beckett’s The Unnamable. The text and the music are a sort of stream of consciousness; all of the voices, instrumental or vocal, come together as the inner dialogue of an unnamed spirit. 

Special recognition goes to our dear friend Jen Thiessen, musician extraordinaire, for her incredible performance as main narrator on this track.

FINALISTS FOR THE PRIX OPUS

published on November 13, 2019

We are already very happy to be part of a community of artists so inspiring and creative here in Quebec - and now we are even happier thanks to this nomination at the Prix Opus for our album with our good friend Gustav Mahler! No Time for Chamber Music has been nominated for Album of the Year: Classical, Romantic, Post-romantic, and Impressionist music. Bravo to our amazing team!

cqm.qc.ca/1299/Finalistes_an_23.html

IT'S A WRAP

published on June 8, 2019

The season has ended for collectif9. And what a season!

Some numbers to express the magnitude of the last 12 months: we played in 15 countries and provinces (or states) - FIFTEEN! a record for us - we totaled 48 concerts and activities for over 10,000 people - thanks to you all! - this included 17 activities in the community that reached more than 2,000 people - we worked with 29 collaborators and guest artists (in addition to the 9 of us and our own Rufat).
...and we can’t forget the launch of our 2nd album - and we are still standing!

Come celebrate with us on June 17th at The Diving Bell!