3 musiques pour UBU

Between 1990 and 1992, Jean Derome composed music for three theater productions by avant-garde Montreal theatre company Théâtre UBU. For 3 Musiques Pour UBU (3 Musics for UBU), Derome remixed two of these theatre suites and completely re-recorded the other, including sections that had been dropped for the stage production. So this two-CD set contains three theatre music suites. "Cantate Grise" ("Grey Cantata") is set on a collage of French texts by Samuel Beckett. The music is mostly solemn and dramatic. The highlight of this suite is the "Berceuse" theme appearing under five different forms. Its stripped-down but poignant melody provides a sense of cohesion. "Les UBS" is a setting of Alfred Jerry's Père Ubu plays. Derome's approach here is more fanfare-based and calls for a lot of group singing. Instrumentation even includes a sousaphone! "Luna-Park" accompanies a poetic fantasy based on pre-Revolutionary Russian texts. The music is less cohesive, going from circus to serious contemporary interludes: this is the weaker part of the set. 3 Musiques Pour UBU shows Derome's talent as a composer for the stage. It contains enjoyable moments (mostly on "Cantate Grise") but also overlong passages and the music doesn't always stand on its own. This is not an essential Derome album, but remains worthy for the fan. ~ François Couture, Rovi