Robert Lemay: En contrebas for Double Bass and Percussion (conga and 2 bongos)

About the Composition

A vivid, textural work for double bass and percussion, En contrebas explores the instrument’s full sonic range through extended techniques, color, and rhythm. Pairing the bass with bongos and conga, the piece moves between atmospheric, sustained soundscapes and sharply articulated gestures, inviting performers to shape timbre and nuance with flexibility. The result is a striking dialogue of resonance, percussive energy, and expressive contrast.

About the Composer

Born in Montreal, Robert Lemay has been active as a composer since the late 1980s. His music has been performed and broadcast in over 30 countries and has received numerous international awards.

Lemay’s music draws its inspiration from poetry, literature, cinema, visual arts, and political and social events. Theatrical elements, such as the stage layout, spatialization, gestures, and comportment of the performer, are often present in his works. Moreover, Lemay’s music is influenced by spectral techniques (the importance of timbre), the modal approaches of Olivier Messiaen, the rhythmic modulations of Elliott Carter, and the formal organization of Iannis Xénakis.

Lemay holds bachelor's and master's degrees in composition from Université Laval under the direction of François Morel, and a doctorate from Université de Montréal under Michel Longtin. He also studied at the State University of New York at Buffalo where he worked with David Felder and took seminars with, among others, Brian Ferneyhough, Donald Erb, and Louis Andriesson. He has also worked with François Rossé in Bordeaux and with Georges Aperghis at the ATEM in Paris.

Lemay taught at the University of Saskatchewan (1996-97) and at Laurentian University in Sudbury from 2000-21. He was Composer-in-Residence of the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra from 2008-10, and was President and Co-Artistic Director of the 5-Penny New Music Concerts in Sudbury from 2004-18.