Nominated for Classical Recording of the Year and Classical Composition of the Year (for Owen Underhill‘s Duotone) by the 2015 Western Canadian Music Awards.

François Houle and Jane Hayes have been indispensable fixtures of the Canadian new music scene for over a decade through their work with Vancouver’s Turning Point Ensemble. Their recent partnership as the duo Sea and Sky takes the traditional combination of clarinet + piano and essentially blows the lid off of any preconceptions we might have had as listeners. To this end, their first album together, Sassicaia, explores a dizzyingly diverse array of Canadian music — most of which written especially for them. Commissions by Owen Underhill, Gordon Fitzell, Jacqueline Leggatt, Keith Hamel, and Paul Dolden — works that perfectly showcase the duo’s verve and virtuosity — are complimented by the extraordinary music of Anthony Genge, Bruce Mather, and Jacques Hétu.

Performers: François Houle, clarinet and Jane Hayes, piano
Producers: SEA and SKY
Digital Editing: François Houle
Mixing and Mastering: Jeff Yellen, Ridgeline Sound
Recording Engineer: Jeff Yellen
Special Sound Advisor: Karen Wilson
Piano Technician: Thomas Clarke
Recorded at: Fei & Milton Wong Experimental Theatre, SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts May 12-20, 2012
Graphic Design: David Hodge 
Cover Photo: David Hodge and Hi-Jin Hodge

Pour Les textes en français, visitez  www.francoishoule.ca

The Wholenote Magazine CD Review (Sept.2015, Page 69)

Get a copy of Sassicaia from…
Download: iTUNES  BANDCAMP
Physical CDs: CANADIAN MUSIC CENTRE