01	Harmonium						06:36
	02	Si doucement						04:25
	03	Aujourd'hui, je dis bonjour a la vie						05:44
	04	Vieilles courroies						05:47
	05	100 000 raisons						03:42
	06	Attends-moi						04:40
	07	Pour un instant						03:21
	08	De la chambre au salon						05:43
	09	Un musicien parmi tant d'autres						07:05

GZ L1 0195-2331 (P) 1974

«Harmonium des musiciens parmis tant d'autres, une musique pour tous nous autres»

http://www.harmonium.qc.ca


Harmonium

Personnel:
PIERRE DAIGNEAULT flute, piccolo, sax, clarinet A
SERGE FIORI gtr, flute, harp, drms, vcls A
SERGE LOCAT piano, mellotron, synthesizer A
MICHEL NORMANDEAU gtr, accordian, vcls A
LOUIS VALOIS bs, electric piano, vcls A


ALBUMS:
(up to 1975)
1(A) HARMONIUM (Quality ) 1974 SC
2(A) LES CINQ SAISONS (Quality ) 1975 SC


NB: (1) and (2) are now available on CD.

45:
1 100,000 Reasons/Pour Un Instant (Celebration 2093) 1972


A Montreal, Quebec-based progressive group, developed on the coffee house circuit of old Montreal and the university campuses in the early seventies. After a 45 for Celebration and playing to packed audiences at Place des Arts and the Sports Centre of the University of Montreal, they were signed by Quality and released two albums for them in 1974 and 1975. Their debut self-titled album is mostly folky, but it contains progressive elements too. Their magnum opus was Les Cinq Saisons in 1975. It's highlight Histoires Sans Paroles is a seventeen minute instrumental track with beautiful passages of acoustic guitar and flute and soaring mellotron flights. Depuis L'Automne features vocals in French but is good symphonic progressive rock. Their music sometimes recalls the guitar moments of King Crimson or Genesis. They continued to record albums beyond the time span of this book (L'Heptade D'Harmonium (1977) and En Tournee (1980)) but finally broke up in 1980. L'Heptade is also full of long, introspective pieces and tranquil beauty and is well worth checking out. It is also available on CD.

In spite of singing all their lyrics in French, this band won a following outside of Quebec with their dreamy, introspective, pop-progressivism using many instruments and having classical and jazz roots. They toured Canada, the U.S.A.. and Europe (including a gig with Supertramp). They are regarded as one of the finest exponents (along with Pollen and Maneige) of the "golden era" of Quebec progressive music.

Serge Fiori went solo releasing a self-titled album for Polygram in 1986. He'd earlier collaborated with Richard Seguin on the 1977 album Deux Cents Nuits A L'Heure. Michel Normandeau also embarked on a brief solo career cutting an album, Jouer, for Polydor in 1979.

(Vernon Joynson/CG)



Harmonium [Canada]
Updated 5/3/01
Discography
Harmonium (74)
Si On Avait Besoin d'une Cinquieme Saison(75)
L'Heptade(76)
En Tournee (80)


Reviews
Harmonium - Serge Locat, Denis Farmer, Libert Subirana, Robert Stanley, Louis Valois, Monique Fauteux, Serge Fiori

Canadian symphonic band, sounds very early-Genesis influenced, might also elicit comparisons to Ange, and the ethereal feel of Pulsar. French vocals. L'Heptade is a good place to start, if you can find it.

French-Canadian band led by singer/songwriter Serge Fiori that issued 3 studio albums that exhibit an evolution towards prog. Gryphon/Early Genesis sound. Their self-titled debut record, although deeply rooted in Quebec musical folklore shows little progressive tendencies. Mostly acoustic stuff. Their second, "Si on avait besoin d'une cinquieme saison", includes the instrumental "Histoire Sans Paroles" 20-minute masterpiece, hinting at the symphonic style the band would turn to. This concept album features no drums, but uses Martenot waves as an added bonus. Harmonium's last studio record, "l'Heptade", shows them at their peak. The concept revolves around the seven consciousness levels explored in 7 songs spanned on a two-record set. Classical instruments and mellotron are used throughout. "Harmonium En Tournee" is a live rendition of "l'Heptade", but has not yet been released on CD. Prog heads should start from "l'Heptade" and go backwards in time. -- Patrice Levesque