Ensemble Supermusique assembled leading Montréal figures like saxophonists Jean Derome and Joane Hétu and turntablist Martin Tétreault in an electro-acoustic nonet that playfully mixed and mangled genres at an accelerated pace, eventually launching an extended percussion piece that seemed to turn the entire group — electronics and strings included — into a brilliantly unified drum-kit.

The other segment of Québécois representation came by way of the always reliable Ambiances Magnétiques, and if that venerable collective has been looking to position itself as a new music organization, it’s been doing an excellent job of it. The Ensemble Supermusique is a sort of cream-of-the-crop band (perhaps operating a bit like New York’s Bang on a Can All-Stars), counting among its membership saxophonists Jean Derome and Joane Hétu, percussionists Michel F Côté and Danielle Palardy Roger and turntablist Martin Tétreault, some of the finest of Montréal’s musique actuelle composer/performers.

They played as a tentet, opening and closing with a pair of wonderfully atmospheric pieces by Tétreault. Hétu’s contribution was Poème à faible résistance, a striking work even to a non-Francophone; her voice acting is becoming as strong a part of her work as her saxophone playing. The ensemble also mixed a couple of improvisations into their set, which came off (to their credit) as cohesively as the composed pieces. If the genre of scripted discontinuity and small gesture is waning in the days since Zorn, Otomo Yoshihide and others have changed strategies, Ensemble Supermusique is to be thanked for keeping composed chaos fresh.

Ma journée du samedi commençait sous le signe de l’étiquette Ambiances Magnétiques, car plusieurs de ses protagonistes étaient réunis sur scène pour un concert de l’Ensemble SuperMusique présenté par CHYZ, que les fans comme les musiciens ont qualifié de meilleur spectacle à vie de la formation. En tout, on nous proposait cinq ou six compositions, de Joane Hétu, Alexandre St-Onge et Martin Tétreault, entre autres, ces deux dernier ayant eu les offres les plus intéressantes à mon sens. Celles-ci étaient intercalées avec des moments d’improvisation d’une grande finesse et teintée d’un humour et d’une complicité très visibles. Si la musique était très contemporaine et abstraite, le concert était pourtant très divertissant et avait une trame narrative globale plutôt intéressante, oscillant entre des moments plus expérimentaux, notamment lorsque tous les musiciens se sont relayés pour aller dessiner avec un crayon spécial sur une plaque qui transformait les traits en bruits et fréquences, et des moments plus construits, principalement avec les pièces plus rythmées proposées par Martin Tétreault

A concert of demanding music — experimental music at its most avant-garde. Ensemble Supermusique kept on pushing back the definition of ensemble music, with five complex and well-rehearsed compositions. I quite enjoyed Martin Tétreault’s and Danielle Palardy Roger’s pieces. Alexandre St-Onge’s was stranger than stranger, but that was to be expected coming from him.

Ensemble SuperMusique is/are an Ambiances Magnétiques all-star ensemble with ten members for this set, which featured longtime AM players like Jean Derome, Joane Hétu, Michel F Côté, Danielle Palardy Roger and Martin Tétreault plus some young musicians like Alexandre St-Onge (el. bass) and Guido Del Fabbro (violin). The musicians sat in a semi-circle so that they could see each other and the music seemed as if it were directed by certain improv guidelines. The instrumentation included two reeds (Derome & Hétu, also on voice, two percussionists (Roger & Côté), cello, violin, electric keyboards or synth and turntables. Considering that there were ten musicians on stage, the music was often sparse yet focused. Much of the set reminded me of John Zorn’s early game pieces (which are also directed improv without someone directing up front), although the overall vibe was slower and more cautious. Ms. Hétu did some odd vocal sounds which always fit well within the framework on the piece. Since nothing was explained, there were a series of incidents that took place which we had to interpret for ourselves. Each musician took a turn sitting in the middle of the stage and drawing or putting info into a laptop which directed the next part of the piece. I especially like the way each percussionists added something distinctly different to the direction of the set. There was also a fine sax duo with two founding members of the AM label, Joane Hétu and Jean Derome, which was both charming and quirky. I spoke with a few audience members who were confused as to what was going on on-stage so it did take some effort to figure out how things worked. Fractured fairy tales, indeed.