I tend to work in layers, like in counterpoint, and I try to make each layer as autonomous as possible. Then I stack them, one on top of the other, and this occasionally makes for stunning pairings that will turn meanings upside down. Lily is the result of that process.

Layer #1: Lily, a courtesan who randomly intersected my life and who became an instant friend. Lily, generously telling confidences to the microphone without holding anything back.

Layer #2: the actress Simone Chartrand reacting to Lily’s confessions, feeling them, living them in her heart and soul.

My first job as a composer consisted in articulating the material, which consisted mostly of Simone Chartrand’s voice. Nothing too complicated. Most of all I wanted to respect Lily’s testimony.

Those first two layers form the 2011-12 stereo, fixed media version of Lily.

Layer #3: in October 2013, Lily was turned into a stage performance entitled Misère et splendeur d’une courtisane, performed by Sylvie Chartrand, directed by Jean Asselin, and produced by Omnibus in Montréal.

Finally, layer #4: Lily [mixed version], for violin, accordion and fixed media, completed in 2017-18. This mixed version was commissioned by accordionist Joseph Petric with support from the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA).

— Yves Daoust [English translation: François Couture, ii-22]

Lily was realized in 2011-12 at the composer’s studio in Montréal (Québec) and premiered on March 15, 2012 during the concert Électrochoc 6 at the Studio multimédia of the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal (Québec).

Premiere

• March 15, 2012, Électrochoc 2011-12: Électrochoc 6: Hommage à Yves Daoust, Studio multimédia — Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, Montréal (Québec)