I grew up not far from the banks of the Red River and my people (Naults, Bruneaus, etc.) have deep roots there, stretching back to the early 1800s. As a child, I also spent time in the Canadian Shield area near Lac du Bonnet and for many years I lived and worked in Brandon, Manitoba, which is surrounded by the vast prairie landscape. My Red River (Sonata) was started in Manitoba, but mostly written after moving to Vancouver. The ocean and forests on the west coast are quite different from the lands in the centre of the continent and while I love these new territories, I can’t help but be a bit nostalgic for the Métis homeland.

Red River was commissioned by Müzewest for a concert that celebrated Métis musicians. My son, Ariel, was already contracted as a featured soloist, so it was with great pride that I agreed to write a new work for him. He had already recorded some of my other music with and for cello and many years had passed since I had written something specifically for him (then he was 10 years old!). The three movements reflect the different landscapes where the Métis have lived and flourished—the fertile valley of the Red River (with its many phases—from frozen to flood and later to a slow muddy flow), the beautiful lakes of the Canadian Shield and the vast expanses of prairie (now carved into farming grids, with small bunches of trees popping up here and the odd body of water thrown in for good measure). It has been a real joy to hear him bring my musical ideas about these places to life, especially for this recording where he is joined by our friend Kyung Kim who is such a sensitive partner.

Twitch and Bow is from an earlier period in my creative output. It was written for Shauna Rolston and a project that featured dancer Davida Monk in choreography by Ruth Cansfield. It has been played many times in many settings (with and without dancer). Ariel started playing it during his grad school years, so I was anxious to have him record it for these sessions.

The cello is such a rich beautiful instrument, with so many possibilities. Like the lands I love, I hope that you find something to connect to in these works.