North/White by Thorvaldsdottir, Louie, Schafer, R Murray, Van (2018/2018), Dirigent Alex Pauk, Koerner Hall, Toronto, Canada

In North/White, a snowmobile in the percussion section is counterbalanced by Schafer’s sonic portrayal of the mythic, splendid, indestructible idea of North – spacious, pure, temptationless. Louie’s Take the Dog Sled captures the joy, tenderness and energy of life in the arctic, the mystical quality of the land and the humour of the Inuit through its embrace of original throat songs by a Western instrumental ensemble. Thorvaldsdottir’s Dreaming, a refined, meditative, richly detailed musical embroidery, is like a mysterious shifting landscape bringing time to a halt – like in dreams.