Isabelle Cyr - En route vers l'album

An album that I’ve been dreaming of for a long time is about to become reality. And with a little bit of your help it could be yours! Some of you may know me all ready, others will discover me with this page and through my music.

I love landscapes, roads and mostly people met on the way. My journey has led me from Acadia (New Brunswick) to Québec, the United States and recently to France. Musician, singer-song-writer, actress in film, television and stage. Producer of important benefit shows for humanitarian causes, AIDS, Peace Movements, Tsunami victims. Film director of a short film on Alzheimer’s, film producer of a documentary on mental disease, stage director of various music shows, Mille mots d’amour, Festival international de la chanson de Granby, mentor for different music festivals, spokes person and television host of Le Téléthon Opération Enfant Soleil (for sick children) for over 15 years. Whichever roads I’ve taken, poetry and music have always accompanied me. Pen in hand and piano at my fingertips.

Moved by the moonrise over the Cocagne bay, amused by rebel hairdos in the wind, marvelled by a dandelion between my toes, amazed by the ocean, inspired by the rain and afraid of  the tiniest spider! Saddened by intolerance, outraged by injustice, troubled by the loss of innocence but always enthralled, driven and spellbound by love, nature and all living creatures. My album is about a bit of all that!

(photo of the Cocagne Baie in Nouveau-Brunswick)

Songs written and composed in the urgency of expressing a deeply felt emotion. A look on my own life and the one around me, transposed into lyrics and melodies. It’s finally time to record them. Take the time to make the album. Offer the best interpretation possible, share the most honestly possible my work. Give life to the project. A project embraced and enriched by my partner-director, Yves Marchand,  singer-song-writer (Belvédère, Si l’homme est fait de kilomètres) and keyboardist, founding member of the Québec famous band, Zébulon. 

(photo ofYves Marchand during the pre-production)

Yves and I have been working together since the first day we met! Life, destiny has brought us together. Ever since, love and respect of the arts have been our guides. Soon after we met at Le festival international de la chanson de Granby, we created and produced our show Pays d’abondance (Land of Plenty), which brings together Acadian and Québec culture through our own songs and those of great poets. It has brought us across Québec, Acadia and France. This show also allows me to perform original humoristic and moving monologues. After over 250 performances, I know that the stage is my home and that writing and composing are the foundations of my freedom

(photos of Pays d'abondance- photo credit :  Jean-Jacques Chabert -Pays d'abondance,France)

Two years ago, we created my own show called Comme une chanson (Like A Song). It gave me the opportunity to present some of my new material alongside other original songs of my repertoire. It especially gave me the chance to define more precisely my world, my work as a singer-songwriter. 

(photos of Comme une chanson at Petit Outremont Theater- photo credit : Bernard Fougères)

The album’s pre-production now finished, it’s official studio time! Grand piano, voice, string quartet and classical percussions will be the principal instrumentation. 

(photo-pre-production with Étienne Ratthé, celle and percussions)

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(photo- pre-production with Mario Légaré, Takamine base)

(photo pré-production à Cocagne- Isabelle au piano)

A very beautiful and promising adventure.  Can’t wait to share it with you!

Isabelle 

(interview with excerpts  of Comme une chanson, with commentaries by  Luc de la Rochelière, Andréa Lindsay, Gabriel Pelletier, Raymond Cloutier, Alain Labonté and Yves Marchand) French only.

(amateur video by Isabelle Cyr- of Le Héron, piano piece on the album Doux moments pour Philou)