About Regard
It was rare to find professional composers who wrote for the guitar in the classical and romantic periods. Apart from such artists as Sor, it was primarily virtuoso guitarists without formal training as composers who composed the repertoire of the time. These composer-instrumentalists produced works for their own use both as concert artists and as pedagogues.
The tradition of the virtuoso guitarist-composer has not been lost in the twentieth century. However, these days several such guitar virtuosos do have formal training in composition and may thus be considered composers by profession. Their relation to the guitar repertoire is, however, often different from that of non-guitarist composers. More idiomatic from time to time, their writing is also mixed differently with clear jazz and world music influences.
Non-guitarist composers of the twentieth century have also written much for the guitar. The first half of the twentieth century was marked by a certain Spanish influence in the repertoire as composers were inspired by Spanish folklore. The 1960’s and 1970’s provided fertile ground for experimental music as many people looked for new voices. This recording seeks to illustrate various diverse aspects of the repertoire composed for the guitar between 1980 and 1990.
The music composed at the end of the twentieth century allows us to illustrate some of the elements that influenced composers in their writing; these elements include, for example, a greater openness to jazz, blues and world music generally. We also find in this repertoire the traditional contrast between guitarist and non-guitarist composers. This recording thus presents this historic duality as being still, even at the end of the twentieth century, an essential component of the classical guitar repertoire.
About the artist
"Isabel Héroux does not play the guitar with the hands, but with her heart."
Radio, Cuenca, Ecuador, 5-12-2007.
"It was acclaimed buy a full house of guest charmed by her ability to communicate and amazed by her virtuosity... Again, Isabelle Héroux offered a performance that touched the audience and will probably last in their memory for a long time."
Haig Sarafian, Ambassador, of Canada, Libya, 2008
"The concert was whole success, Isabel Héroux, with his talent, filled our heart of joy"
Noma, Radio Cuenca, 5-12-2007
"Exceptional virtuosity and lyricism"
Michael Neuman, Guitarissimo, Mexico
"Isabelle Héroux's guitar has captivated the Mexican public, her technique is flawless, her feel for the music and mastery of tone for each piece pays testament to the finesse of her musical interpretation."
Isabelle Villey, Mexico Center for the Arts, Mexico
About her recording Regard:
"Isabelle Héroux plays magnificently on this album. The recording captures the minutest detail of the wonderful playing of this exceptional artist, with a clarity that brings a rare quality to this performance."
Regard, Réjean Beaucage, Voir, March 6, 2006
"...and Juan Sorroche, the final four short pieces on the album are, without a doubt, one of the strong points of this new release, highlighting all the artistic excellence of the musician. With her mature and precise playing, she sets the standard to which other young guitarists can aspire."
Mario Felton-Coletti, La Scena Musicale, March, 2006
"Listening to this recording brought me a lot of pleasure. The playlist presents a nice balance between the familiar and the unexpected, and above all the musical personality of this young musician is very attractive."
Sylvia Lécuyer, Espace musique, Radio-Canada
"This is a woman who is a perfect master of her instrument, and who had the foresight to choose the right pieces to showcase her talent. The composers she chose include: Sébastien Vachez, Claude Gagnon, Leo Brouwer, Jacques Hétu, Donald Crockett, and Juan Sorroche."
Culture-Hebdo, March 2006
"Her playing, energetic and masterful, wonderfully highlights the contrasts of the score. This artist has focused her work on the contemporary period, drawing from works of composers who knew how to uniquely push the technical and dynamic limits of the guitar. Canadian music is at the forefront with twelve preludes from Claude Gagnon, and Jacques Hetu's Suite for Guitar op. 40. Despite the diverse origins of the choices of music, the 27 tracks of this album mesh together seamlessly and offer us some wonderful surprises."
Raoul Cyr, Accès Laurentides, April 2005
"Not only can she share her art equally, from the University of Sherbrooke to the College Lionel-Groulx, but she also is very active in the performance and recording circuits. We are reminded of her successful recording ¡Viva Espana! This time, it's a work of the heart. Of the eight composer pieces on the playlist, she chose three tracks from Claude Gagnon's Douze preludes en form d'étude, which she performs with singular expression. Her fingering is flawless. This recording is a testament to the state of the contemporary guitar and its promising."
wwww.culturehebdo.com, March 2005
Biography
Active on the international scene, Montreal classical guitarist Isabelle Héroux regularly performs as a soloist, in duo, or with orchestra. She has performed in France, Italy, Germany, Morocco, Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mexico, USA and Canada. She frequently records for Radio-Canada. Her recordings have garnered her critical acclaim and the title "master of the guitar", and include solo album, "Regard" (Productions XXI), "Georges Delerue, Musique pour guitare et pour Flûte, guitar solo with some duo with flute, on DCM label, a guitar duo album "¡Viva Espana!" (ATMA), by Duo Alba, and a guitar/flute duo album "Musique du Monde" (SNE), by Duo Piazzolla the "Musique pour guitare.
Invited to international festivals, Isabelle Héroux has participated in many juried contests and has given numerous master classes. She was awarded scholarships from the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, the Fondation McAbbie, and the O.F.Q.J. She was a finalist in the International Competition of Havana, Cuba. She was awarded second place in the 8th International Competition of the UFAM, in Paris, France.
Isabelle Héroux was unanimously awarded the first place prize for guitar from the Music Conservatory of Montreal while studying under Jean Vallières. She went to France for four years to study with guitar master Alberto Ponce at the École Normale de Musique de Paris. Héroux also studied with Alvaro Pierri, Manuel Barrueco, David Russell, Ako Ito, Henri Dorigny, and Stepan Rak.
Isabelle Héroux teaches guitar and instrumental pedagogy at Sherbrooke University and at Laval University. She has authored several articles for guitar journals and a method book for Oz Productions. She is ph.D in classic guitar teaching using a cognitive approach. She is working on a book on teaching guitar that includes, among other topics; nail care and the physiology playing a musical instrument.
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