François Houle’s “The Secret Lives of Colour”

With COVID and the flu and cold season approaching, Music on Main encourages audiences to wear mask.

Witness the historical connections between the moods and spirits of colour.

Canadian clarinetist, composer, and improviser François Houle presents the Canadian premiere of The Secret Lives of Color, a suite of new compositions and arrangements inspired by British author Kassia St. Clair’s book, “The Secret Lives of Color.”

François describes the project in detail…

“Reading these stories and historical facts surrounding colors made me think immediately about how color plays a significant role in the arts, and in particular ways musicians use them to describe music. The music for this project therefore draws from this symbiotic connection to convey a sense of what I hear and feel when I read these stories.”

Observe how he visualizes colour through chromesthesia, in which colour induces an experience of colour, shape, and movement. He sees abstract shapes that evoke faded shades of Absinthe, Obsidian and Saffron, triggering fleeting thoughts of modes, rhythms and melodic fragments.

Featuring Joëlle Léandre (double bass), Alexander Hawkins (piano), Kate Gentile (drums), Hamin Honari (percussion), Gordon Grdina (oud and acoustic guitar), and François Houle (basset clarinet)