À L'AVENTURE

À l'aventure, written for Montréal Musiques Actuelles, which administered the New Music America festival in 1990, was given its premiere to begin the festival's opening concert. The celebratory character of Gougeon's music in À l'aventure reflects its place at the beginning of the then-unknown adventure, New Music America 1990.
In the composer's own words: "Adventures are voyages of discovery. Naturally, the tone, and even the goals of the adventure are modified along the way. This piece is about departure, departure without the shackles of preconceived ideas.
À l'aventure is an interior voyage, an odyssey into emotions, as all emotion is movement, all movement is life, and life entails risks... that arouse emotions."

The work was performed by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal during its South American tour in June 1991, and has been recorded on the CBC SM 5000 label (Smcd 5106) by Walter Boudreau and Orchestre Métropolitain.
Denis Gougeon was awarded First Prize in the first SOCAN Award for "Composers 30 years of Age and Over." Members of the jury were Tanio Leon, Joseph Schwantner, composers, and Simon Streatfeild, conductor.

Says Streatfeild: "in À l'aventure, Gougeon's unique voice speaks with enormous intensity and expression, and full of pure beauty."
Says Schwantner:"his work should be played by all major orchestras...this composer is extraordinarely gifted..."

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