Tag: Chez Nous

Malvenn are an instrumental trio from Montreal. We’ve all heard Le Vent Du Nord and Genticorum so we know what Quebecois music sounds like. The group’s debut album, Chez Nous, is different – very different. McKinley James plays cello, Charlotte Layec plays clarinet and bass clarinet and Cécile Delarge plays harp. You’ll notice that there isn’t a melodeon or a fiddle within earshot although, as a nod to tradition, Cécile adds some gentle foot percussion. Their music is partly derived from Quebecois, Celtic and Breton traditions and is mixed with their own compositions. I say “derived” because this is a place where folk, jazz and classical music meet.

The opening track, ‘Tisane Champagne’, written by James and Delarge, begins with a fragile harp figure which develops into what would be a fiddle tune were the melody not being played on cello, clarinet and harp. The track ends rather as it began with almost random phrases played on clarinet and harp. The title track, partly traditional, opens with honking bass clarinet which is joined by cello before the harp appears. I should say that all the music is in French as are the liner notes – some in Quebecois French, I think, just to make things trickier. Up next is ‘La Curieuse’, bourees by Delage, and I should say that on my second listening I was on the verge of sleep so my mind conjured up some rather odd images, not something you get with La Bottine Souriante.

Cécile adds some restrained footwork to ‘La Petite Marche/Cos Reel’. The first part is a lovely melody played on clarinet and the second sounds rather familiar but I can’t place it. Next we have a stately waltz and then something of an oddity. ‘The Road Less Travelled’ is a mazurka by Layec inspired by the Robert Frost poem which is reprinted here and is almost the only English you’ll find. Next there are two traditional Breton tunes describred as plinns followed by a polka, unexpectedly titled ‘Where Lilies Bloom’. Finally there is a group composition, ‘Micro-Vague’, described as a hanter-dro, a Breton circle dance and that’s followed by the improvised ‘Outro’.

I have to say that I’ve very much enjoyed Chez Nous. It presents a very different side of the music of French Canada. The playing is imaginative and manages to be tight while giving the impression of looseness and you don’t feel compelled to get up and dance.

Dai Jeffries

Artists’ website: https://www.malvenn.ca/

‘Chez Nous’ – official video: