Envols Mélanie Harel & Valérie Dallaire

• Ian McDougall (b. 1938): Nostalgica (Version for English Horn & Piano):
• 1 McDougall: Nostalgica (Version for English Horn & Piano) 06:14
• Christopher Tyler Nickel (b. 1978): English Horn Sonata No. 1:
• 2 Nickel: English Horn Sonata No. 1: I. Adagio 05:15
• 3 Nickel: English Horn Sonata No. 1: II. Reflectively 04:59
• 4 Nickel: English Horn Sonata No. 1: III. Allegro con feroce 03:28
• Emily Doolittle (b. 1972): Suppose I Was a Marigold (Arr. for English Horn & Piano by Anonymous):
• 5 Doolittle: Suppose I Was a Marigold (Arr. for English Horn & Piano by Anonymous) 04:44
• 6 Doolittle: Social Sounds from Whales at Night (Version for English Horn, Percussion & Tape) 09:37
• Brian Cherney (b. 1942): Epitaph:
• 7 Cherney: Epitaph 09:23
• Stewart Grant (b. 1971): 12 Études, Op. 66 (Version for English Horn):
• 8 Grant: 12 Études, Op. 66 (Version for English Horn): No. 11, Danza 01:29
• 9 Grant: 12 Études, Op. 66 (Version for English Horn): No. 2, Lyrique 04:05
• 10 Grant: 12 Études, Op. 66 (Version for English Horn): No. 5, Grands jetés 02:08
• Tawnie Olson (b. 1974): Plainsong:
• 11 Olson: Plainsong 04:21
• Paul M. Douglas (1936 - 2010): Luquet (Version for English Horn):
• 12 Douglas: Luquet (Version for English Horn) 03:55
• François-Hugues Leclair (b. 1962): Le vol de l'épervier:
• 13 Leclair: Le vol de l'épervier 06:05
• Total Runtime 01:05:43

Info for Envols

The idea for this project emerged during the confinement period of the pandemic, when I was home and away from my colleagues. I wanted to continue working and playing my instrument, the English horn. Simply wanting to expand my knowledge of the repertoire specifically written for this particular instrument, I embarked on a search for works by Canadian composers. The idea of this recording project surfaced as I tried to listen to these works: though there was already an array of Canadian works for the English horn, I realized that few of them had been recorded. I would like to think that the present recordings will give these compositions a new impetus, and that new interpretations will surface, giving this music a chance to soar again and live in our collective memory. - Mélanie Harel

Mélanie Harel, cor anglais (tracks 1-13), percussion (track 6)
Valérie Dallaire, piano (tracks 1-5)

Mélanie Harel
has been the Principal English Horn in the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal since 2008. She graduated from the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec, which unanimously awarded her the Oboe Prize, summa cum laude, in 2000. That same year, thanks to a scholarship from the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, she entered the 6th Tokyo International Oboe Competition, reaching the semi-finals. Another scholarship, from the Fonds pour la Formation de Chercheurs et l’Aide à la Recherche (FCAR) and the Association des femmes d’affaires du Québec, allowed her to pursue her studies in Europe, with Jacques Tys, Louise Pellerin and François Leleux. As Principal English Horn in the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra from 2002 to 2007, she toured internationally (in Australia, China and Singapore), recorded for the BIS label, and performed under conductors Kees Bakels, Lorin Maazel, Claus Peter Flor, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Sir Neville Marriner.

Valérie Dallaire
studied at the Conservatoire de musique de Chicoutimi with Suzanne Goyette. She continued her studies at the Université de Montréal, where she obtained a Bachelor's degree in piano performance under Sylviane Deferne, as well as a Master's degree and a Doctorate under Marc Durand.

Among other prizes and distinctions, she won first place in 1998 and 1999 at the Concours de musique du Québec, second place at the Concours national de musique in 1998, and the Taubman Prize in 1999. She has received two doctoral scholarships from the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the Université de Montréal, a grant from the Fonds Les Amis de l'Art, and a grant from the Fonds pour la formation de chercheurs et l'aide à la recherche (FCAR). She was the winner of the Société québécoise de recherche en musique (SQRM) conference competition in 2001.

Her first book, L'oeuvre pour piano de Jacques Hétu, was published in March 2005 by Éditions Doberman-Yppan. The book offers a series of analyses of the Quebec composer's piano works, highlighting the key points in the stylistic development of Hétu's work and the most characteristic elements of his musical language.

Valérie Dallaire is assistant director of the École préparatoire de musique at the Université du Québec à Montréal, where she also teaches piano. She is a member of the Duo Borée with flutist Albert Brouwer. Since September 2015, she has also been pianist-accompanist in the Department of Music at UQAM.

This album contains no booklet.