Biography
Flûte Alors!, a Canadian quartet, seeks to broaden both the sonic palette and the available repertoire for the recorder by offering what they describe as "the recorder in all its forms." Traditional works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods occupy a central place in their programs, though the musicians have also pursued contemporary jazz and pop. Performances have taken them across their home country as well as to Germany and the United States. Among their recordings is the 2024 release Scherzi Forastieri.
Matthias Maute and Sophie Larivière, who had taken part in a student exchange program in Berlin, founded the ensemble in Montreal during 1999. Its name functions as a playful twist on the French exclamation "Zut alors!," roughly equivalent to "Darn it!" By the mid-2020s the membership consisted of Vincent Lauzer, Marie-Laurence Primeau, Alexa Raine-Wright, and Caroline Tremblay. The group characterizes its mission as presenting the recorder as an eloquent instrument capable of expressing the most extreme emotions and the subtlest of nuances. Kaleidoscope appeared as their debut album in 2010.
The title of that first recording signaled a wider artistic stance that pairs historical repertoire with fresh arrangements of jazz and popular music. A nationwide tour under the auspices of Jeunesses Musicales occurred in 2012-2013, after which the quartet initiated its own Debut Atlantic and Prairie Debut series and rejoined the Jeunesses Musicales Canada roster for the Recorders on the Run project. Collaborative appearances with other musicians and commissions of new pieces for recorder ensemble have formed additional strands of activity. Their jazz leanings surfaced on the 2017 album Bach 'n' Jazz, issued by ATMA Classique. The same label brought forth Scherzi Forastieri in 2024, a collection grounded in canzonas written in 1614 by the Italian composer Giovanni Antonio Cangiasi.
Matthias Maute and Sophie Larivière, who had taken part in a student exchange program in Berlin, founded the ensemble in Montreal during 1999. Its name functions as a playful twist on the French exclamation "Zut alors!," roughly equivalent to "Darn it!" By the mid-2020s the membership consisted of Vincent Lauzer, Marie-Laurence Primeau, Alexa Raine-Wright, and Caroline Tremblay. The group characterizes its mission as presenting the recorder as an eloquent instrument capable of expressing the most extreme emotions and the subtlest of nuances. Kaleidoscope appeared as their debut album in 2010.
The title of that first recording signaled a wider artistic stance that pairs historical repertoire with fresh arrangements of jazz and popular music. A nationwide tour under the auspices of Jeunesses Musicales occurred in 2012-2013, after which the quartet initiated its own Debut Atlantic and Prairie Debut series and rejoined the Jeunesses Musicales Canada roster for the Recorders on the Run project. Collaborative appearances with other musicians and commissions of new pieces for recorder ensemble have formed additional strands of activity. Their jazz leanings surfaced on the 2017 album Bach 'n' Jazz, issued by ATMA Classique. The same label brought forth Scherzi Forastieri in 2024, a collection grounded in canzonas written in 1614 by the Italian composer Giovanni Antonio Cangiasi.