Danielle Palardy Roger
Le Caillou sur le chemin de Vancouver
and The Stone in NY
Listen to The Stone in NY. Written by Danielle Palardy Roger. SuperMusique Ensemble. Recorded in NYC by Joane Hétu on May 27, 2007. Performed by Nicolas Caloia (bass), Isaiah Ceccarelli (percussion), Charity Chan (piano), Jean Derome (flute and alto saxophone), Lori Freedman (clarinets), Joane Hétu (vocals and alto saxophone), Danielle Palardy Roger (percussion).
Le caillou sur le chemin de Vancouver (2000) and The Stone in NY (2007) are the result of applying the “caillou” matrix of the first tableau of Le caillou, le cristal et le camion to different performance circumstances. There are subtle differences between the original “caillou” matrix and the two versions presented, the most obvious being that both versions feature different instrumentation from the original. More specifically, Roger adds an agitato section at the end of Le caillou sur le chemin de Vancouver, while The Stone in NY consists of eight sections rather than thirteen.
Metaphor of the Creative Process
For Roger, who she is writing for plays a very important part in shaping the piece she is writing. Thus, Le caillou sur le chemin de Vancouver and The Stone in NY are versions of the same basic matrix in which she incorporated different propositions to suit the nature of the ensemble at the time. “Le caillou sur le chemin” and its various permutations constitute a very versatile project. It is fun to play yet challenging, and it has the potential for interesting musical results. Roger was inspired by the image of walking along a path and kicking a stone - its route is unpredictable and the challenge is in trying not to lose it. The game ends either when the stone is lost or when the destination is reached. For Roger this is a fitting metaphor for the creative process involved in improvised music-making, for the various applications of the “caillou” matrix are like the same stone being used on different paths.
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