Empty Houses Canadian Guitar Quartet

• Patrick Roux (b. 1962): Prologue, Fougue et Allegro trépidant:
• 1 Roux: Prologue, Fougue et Allegro trépidant: I. Prologue 02:41
• 2 Roux: Prologue, Fougue et Allegro trépidant: II. Fougue 07:25
• 3 Roux: Prologue, Fougue et Allegro trépidant: III. Allegro trépidant 03:13
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Sonata sopr'il soggetto reale for Flute, Violin and Basso Continuo (Transcr. Cowan, Ducharme, Habib, Trépanier for Guitar Quartet):
• 4 Bach: Sonata sopr'il soggetto reale for Flute, Violin and Basso Continuo (Transcr. Cowan, Ducharme, Habib, Trépanier for Guitar Quartet): III. Andante larghetto 02:32
• 5 Bach: Sonata sopr'il soggetto reale for Flute, Violin and Basso Continuo (Transcr. Cowan, Ducharme, Habib, Trépanier for Guitar Quartet): IV. Allegro 03:01
• Olga Amelkina-Vera (b. 1976): Pulsar:
• 6 Amelkina-Vera: Pulsar 05:35
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791): Sonata for 2 Pianos in D Major, K. 448 (Arr. Trépanier for Guitar Quartet):
• 7 Mozart: Sonata for 2 Pianos in D Major, K. 448 (Arr. Trépanier for Guitar Quartet): I. Allegro con spirito 08:44
• Renaud Côté-Giguère (b. 1974): Empty Houses:
• 8 Côté-Giguère: Empty Houses: Empty House 1 02:57
• 9 Côté-Giguère: Empty Houses: Empty House 2 04:16
• 10 Côté-Giguère: Empty Houses: Empty House 3 01:30
• 11 Côté-Giguère: Empty Houses: Empty House 4 03:11
• Luiz Bonfá (1922 - 2001), Antonio Carlos Jobim (1927 - 1994): Areias Brancas, Orfeu Negro (Arr. Trépanier for Guitar Quartet) (after Orfeu Negro):
• 12 Bonfá, Jobim: Areias Brancas, Orfeu Negro (Arr. Trépanier for Guitar Quartet) (after Orfeu Negro): Prelúdio 06:11
• 13 Bonfá, Jobim: Areias Brancas, Orfeu Negro (Arr. Trépanier for Guitar Quartet) (after Orfeu Negro): O Nosso Amor 05:46
• 14 Bonfá, Jobim: Areias Brancas, Orfeu Negro (Arr. Trépanier for Guitar Quartet) (after Orfeu Negro): A Felicidade 04:16
• Total Runtime 01:01:18

Info for Empty Houses

The Canadian Guitar Quartet (CGQ) presents its new album Empty Houses on ATMA Classique.

While personnel changes have occurred over the years, the CGQ has remained committed to its core mission: chamber music at its highest level, presenting a robust mix of classical masterworks in clever new arrangements alongside bold original works for guitar quartet—most often penned by past and present members of the ensemble.

The Canadian Guitar Quartet’s mission is reflected in Empty Houses, an album bringing together transcriptions of works by Johann Sebastian Bach and Mozart, a contemporary work by Olga Amelkina-Vera and two works by former group members: Empty Houses by Renaud Côté-Giguère, and Prologue, fougue et allegro trépidant by CGQ founding member Patrick Roux. To wrap up the album, Louis Trépanier, a founding member still involved with the ensemble, takes us into the rhythms of Bossa Nova with Areias Brancas, Orfeu Negro (White Sands, Black Orpheus), featuring famous themes from the movie soundtrack for Orfeu Negro.

Canadian Guitar Quartet:
Steve Cowan, classical guitar
Jérôme Ducharme, classical guitare
Christ Habib, classical guitar
Louis Trépanier, classical guitar

Canadian Guitar Quartet
Since its debut in 1999, the Canadian Guitar Quartet has toured extensively in North and South America, from one standing ovation to the next, establishing a reputation as one of the finest guitar ensembles in the world. The CGQ has appeared with orchestra across Canada, and has recorded three critically acclaimed CDs.

The quartet has been broadcast on both CBC and Radio-Canada, has had a special performance feature on Bravo! Television, was featured in the webcast at Chicago’s Northwestern University, on CBC’s overseas networks, and in various international magazines. The CGQ’s first concert at the 92Street Y in New York, part of the Art of the Guitar series, was extremely well received. Don Witter Jr., of the New York Classical Guitar Society, wrote: “The Canadian Guitar Quartet made one of the greatest New York City Debuts of any artistic ensemble in decades … STUNNING !!!”.

Concerts in some of Canada’s most prestigious concert halls, such as the Winspear Center, the Palais Montcalm, the Glenn Gould Studio, and National Gallery of Canada, as well as their performances in seminal events such as the Guitar Foundation of America’s annual convention, Yale’s Guitar Extravaganza, the Norfolk and Ottawa chamber music festivals, have allowed the Canadian Guitar Quartet to develop an international reputation. The mix of dynamic original music and classical masterpieces make a CGQ concert an unforgettable experience.

Booklet for Empty Houses