What they say :
In its way Richard Désilets' Métamorphose du cri also constitutes an emotional extension of something verbal, but as the title suggest, the something is a cry - an interior cry on the composer's part - metamorphosed into a song of love and hope. I' m not sure this explanation would have be evident without the help of a program note, because Désilets, an alumnus of the University of Montreal who as recently acted as a composer-in-residence with the Canadian Opera Company, cultivates the techniques of serialism, the esthetics of abstraction and an evident fondness for complexity almost as an end in itself.
Métamorphose du cri turned out to be an interesting piece, full of complicated string textures through which a solo trumpet wove with an alternately collaborative and individual voice. But its emotional matter was as clearly pre-verbal as its expressive manner was post-expressionist.
William Littler, Toronto Star
Composer Richard Désilets received bachelor of music (1984) and master of music (1986) degrees in composition at the University of Montreal, studying with Serge Garant and Marcelle Deschênes. He as won many prestigious awards, including two SOCAN prizes (1986 and 1987), fisrt prize at the Brock University Competition (1986) and second prize at the CBC National Competition for Young Composer(1986). From 1985 to 1990, he received several grants from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Quebec, and The Canada Council for the Arts, which led to the composition of an additional 10 works. Mr. Désilets was composer in residence at the Banff Centre of the Arts in 1987, and at the Canadian Opera Company in 1987/88. During his tern with the COC, he composed the opera Zoé, a lyric fable based on a text by Kin Élaine Gosselin, which was premiered in 1988.
Mr. Désilets output consist of more than 60 works to date, ranging from chamber music and works for large orchestra to opera and electronic music. Since 1994, he has focussed his composition on contemporary instrumental and vocal music.
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