Vanessa Marcoux waltzes off in bold new directions with her intricate and intriguing instrumental Chute Libre — premiering exclusively on Tinnitist.
A preview of the groundbreaking Montreal violinist’s full-length neoclassical odyssey La Jungle (set for release in early 2023), Chute Libre (translation: Free Fall) captures Marcoux in full flight both as a composer and performer. Opening on an intimate and tentative note constructed from lightly percussive pizzicato plucking and playful sypcopation, the richly layered 6/8 composition rises and falls and soars over the course of five eventful minutes, evolving into a romantically yearning lament and on to more experimental explorations before gently gliding back to earth.
That blend of skill, style and sophistication is no surprise from Marcoux. She holds a bachelor’s degree from McGill University (where she obtained a mention for Outstanding Achievement in Violin) as well as a master’s degree in interpretation from the University of Montreal, in addition to having completed an advanced training course at the prestigious National Superior Conservatory of Lyon.
She also completed a second bachelor’s degree in instrumental composition at the Université de Montréal, where she studied with Ana Sokolovic. She has received several grants and awards as a violinist and composer and regularly performs in concert as a soloist and chamber musician, both for the classical repertoire and for contemporary music and mixed music.
As a composer, she has written for a variety of ensembles, ranging from serious music to popular music, film music and children’s works. Her works have been performed by various ensembles such as the Orchester Symphonique de Québec, the Orchester Symphonique de Sherbrooke and the duo Fortin-Poirier. She is also interested in musical improvisation and has taken several advanced courses in France, Germany and Canada. Sought after on the Montreal scene for her qualities as an improviser, she has to her credit several recordings for Canadian artists of international renown. She performed for several years with the group Oktopus, which received a Juno nomination as well as the Canadian Folk Music Award for their second album Hapax, released in 2017.
Leap headlong into Chute Libre above and below.
