HARMONIUM

Both the relaxed and spring-like "Vert" with the initial double flutes of Serge Fiori and Daigneault, the acoustic accompaniment of Michel Normandeau and the long interlude of a choral duo supported by the very good bass of Louis Valois and Locat's keyboards, and the summery "Dixie", in fun charleston mode, dominated by Locat's piano and Daigneault's delicious clarinet, represent, just like the seasons, the brightest and most joyful moments of the album.

And the melancholic "Depuis l'automne", which brilliantly describes autumn with the depth of Locat's mellotron in counterpoint with Fiori's acoustic plucks, and an unplugged melody that maintains that peaceful halo until its end, joins the wintry "En pleine fase" with the heartfelt singing of Fiori who rises and falls his vocal tones accompanied by Normandeau's accordions, to represent the coldest and greyest times of the year.

The album closes with the extensive "Histoires sans paroles", the suite divided into five sections that unhurriedly unfolds a huge instrumental development alternating moments of magical melodic fragility with others of intriguing atmospheres, from the watery sounds of the sea and the free squawking of the seagulls, the arpeggiated acoustic elements and the flutes, the protagonic contribution of the mellotron, the citara and even the delicate piano notes. A gem.

As an interesting fact, it is worth mentioning that "Si on Avait Besoin d'une Cinquième Saison" is considered in the "Top 100 Canadian Albums" (No. 56) in a compilation made in 2007 by the prestigious journalist Bob Mersereau, based on the opinion of more than 600 people related to the music scene.

Excellent

4/4.5 stars

The relaxed vocal register of Steve Fiori and his acoustic guitars, complemented by the second voices and the acoustic counterpoint of Michel Normandeau, form a remarkable duo that structures a content of great musical cadence not at odds with simplicity, correctly supported by the bass and the piano touches of Louis Valois.

Particular highlights are the opening "Harmoniun" with its variations of rhythm and the sweet contribution of the flugelhorn (similar to a saxophone) of guest Alan Penfold, the fluidity of "Aujourd'hui, je dis bonjour à la vie" with the enveloping introduction of birdsong and the bustle of frolicking children, and where Valois's marked bass lines support the huge instrumental acoustic development of the second half of the piece, Valois' delicate piano notes and Fiori's flute on "Vielles courroies", the beatlenian "Pour un instant", one of the album's most successful tracks, and finally the festive "Un musicien parmi tant d'autres", for whose choral harmony a dozen people were recruited on its last day of recording. A very good closing.

"Harmonium" had a more than acceptable production job despite its meagre budget (6,000 Canadian dollars (CAD) at the time, equivalent to approximately 33,000 CAD today or US$ 24,000 for a better global reference). The 2019 remastering enhances the musical appreciation of the album and pays a fitting tribute to it.

3.5 stars

The album starts off with the representation of Spring, being "Vert." Starting out with ambient flutes soon followed by melodic guitar and bass, Sergre Fioni's vocals also join the pack as the song takes shape. Fioni's vocals are absolutely beautiful and go perfectly with the soft electric piano and guitar on this track. Around the middle of the song, it goes into an awesome clarinet solo with an echo and phaser from Pierre Daigneault, before jumping back into more Fioni harmonies before ending the song. Right off the bat, Harmonium gives us possibly their best song with an absolute vocal masterclass from Serge Fioni. "Dixie" is a shorter more jumpy folk-oriented song, that represents Summer with stunning accuracy. It features really nice piano work coupled with really nice guitar overtones from Michel Normandeau. Pierre Daigneault also has a really nice Billy Joel-esque clarinet solo, which is followed by an acoustic guitar solo, which is also followed by a short piano solo toward the end of the track. Dixie is the essential Serge Fioni track, as this is 100% his writing style.

"Depuis L Automne," is a 10-minute epic that represents Autumn on the album. This song is stunningly beautiful and one of the album's most progressive. It starts out with a soft guitar progression which is masterfully sung over by Fioni. We are soon introduced to the first glimpse of the Mellotron on the album, and it only gets better. Volume increases as the piano joins the mix with more powerful vocals before abruptly heading into a heavy mellotron section. The section lasts for a sold 2:30 minutes with beautiful Fioni harmonies, before heading into another stunning progression to start the end of the song. Around 8:00 the ending progression really picks up with more harmonies, before transitioning into major progression which closes out the song. This song is one of the best highlights of the album. "En Piene Face" represents Winter on this album. It starts out with a melodic guitar lick that is soon accompanied by Fioni's voice and accordion. Around halfway through the song it heads into the closing progression which is absolutely amazing. Bass joins, along with the accordion, as Fioni's trademark harmonies lead the way into the closing accordion solo, the staple of this song.

"Histoires Sans Paroles" (or "Stories Without" Words) ends off the album in the best way possible. A 17-minute five-movement epic. This song perfectly captures the essence of the imaginary 5th season. It starts out with that iconic flute and mellotron that goes on with a nice progression for a bit towards the beginning, before heading into a very Genesis-esque guitar sequence that sounds like it could be straight off Trespass. Around 5:00 the song heads into an eerie section with Zither and Mellotron. This lasts until around 7:30 when a piano progression comes in. It is joined by vocal harmonies and mellotron, as a flute plays over it. Pierre Daigneault's flute work on this track is absolutely amazing. It goes back into the eerie section from earlier in the song but now turns in to a major variation towards the end of the progression. After a few minutes of this, it becomes more guitar-centered as piano notes join at about 13:30. At 15:00 the song becomes more friendly transitioning into the closing progression with jumpy piano and flute. A pastoral masterpiece for the ages.

This record is one of the greatest Prog albums of all time period. I have grown on it extremely since the first time I heard it. Harmonium proves you don't need a drummer to produce a great album. Usually not having a drummer would be a massive turnoff for me, and while I still prefer a drummer, I don't think that Harmonium could've produced a better album even if they had a drummer. Serge Fioni's vocals are simply the best on this album. Unfortunately, Harmonium only went on to produce one more album after this one, the 85-minute double LP, "L'Heptade." If they had continued they could have been a top 10 prog band easily and dominated the Folk Prog genre. Highly recommend it to anyone.

I don't see this album as a masterpiece. Some of the shorter songs are too plain to make it that for me.

Vert is a pleasant opener. It does the job of setting the stage for the album. I really like it. 8.5/10

Dixie doesn't do it for me. It is not awful, but it gets me out of the flow that I just got into with Vert 6.5/10

Depuis L Automne Elevates when the mellotron kicks in. Heavy King Crimson vibes. 7.5/10

En Plein Face is the other short track that doesn't really do it for me. It's ok, but it doesn't contribute to making this album a possible masterpiece for me. 7/10

Histoires Sans Paroles gives me King Crimson Lizard vibes. The mellotron, the length of the track, and the progression all bring me into that similar mood. A pleasant mood to be in. But while I enjoy listening to it, it also gives me the urge to listen to Lizard instead. For me the superior epic. It's still awesome though. 8.5/10

This album is widely regarded as a prog masterpiece. I guess I think it is good. But for the real stuff, I'd suggest giving Lizard of King Crimson a spin. A record created 5 years before this one.

3 stars out of 5. Good, but not essential.

Still, the debut does have its own merit as a work of folk chanson with jazzy and progressive nuances. Think of singer-songwriters like Nick Drake, Donovan or early Tim Buckley. The group at this point was only a trio of Serge Fiori (who has decades later made well received solo albums), Michel Normandieu and Louis Valois, the writing credits shared by Fiori and Normandieu.

These songs are not necessarily representing the best of what the album has to offer. '100.000 raisons' is very vocal oriented in a poignant way; sadly its lyrics are missing on the cd leaflet so I don't have an idea what's it about. Something political perhaps? The arrangement is dominated by acoustic guitars mostly played in a monotonous rhythmic manner. Some brighter chords here and there and a little bit of electric piano save the song from being a bit of a bore. The vocals strongly remind me of Anthony Phillips, whom I don't consider a good vocalist. If this was Ant's song (pretty imaginable, except for French), it would be among his less interesting ones.

'Pour un instant' is in my opinion notably more pleasant as it's more delicate and feels less emphasized on lyrics. The only detail I don't like is the "yihaa!" yell just before the brief instrumental section. Again, I could imagine this was Anthony Phillips playing his acoustic guitar and singing in French. Nice, small scale folk rock with a sincere feeling.

Being a lover of folk, and prog of the golden age, I am very happy to have made this discovery through Progarchives. This symphonic folk album is delightful and enjoyable. But let's go in order.

1. Vert (5:35) Beautiful start with the flute and then with the phrasing of acoustic guitar and singing in French. Graceful, pleasant and flowing song but then over time Harmonium indulge too much in choirs with onomatopoeic sounds that make the piece a little evanescent until the end where the flutes return. Rating 7.5 / 8.

2. Dixie (3:26) Very retro music, from music hall, with swing accents, worthy of a movie soundtrack, very light and danceable. It is the weakest piece on the album. Rating 6.5.

3. Depuis l'automne (10:28) Mini suite that concludes the first side, it begins with a slow synth piece by Serge Locat, which serves as an intro for the voice and the usual acoustic guitar, followed by a piece with piano and choirs, then we listen to an excellent climax sung with passion. Soon after the synths piece returns this time accompanied by arpeggios on acoustic guitar. This instrumental interlude lasts up to 6 minutes and 50 seconds, when the acoustic guitar starts again, here with a rhythmic function, accompanied by choirs, perhaps too indulgent. After 8 and a half minutes the singing returns and we end up with the choir in crescendo. Rated 8+

Side B

4. En pleine face (4:51) It starts with the acoustic guitar and a very soft voice, worthy of Nick Drake. Melodically they could have inspired certain Fleetwood Mac songs. The almost new age tone is surprising. Towards the end there is a fine crescendo, essential for the success of the track which, otherwise, would be too limp. Eventually the usual na-na-na choruses and Michel Normandeau's accordion arrive. Rating 8.

5. Histoires sans paroles (17:12) : - L'isolement - L'appel - La rencontre - L'union - Le grand bal

As the title says, the lyrics are missing from this suite. It is a very inspired piece with beautiful phrasing from guitar (Serge Fiori) and flutes. At about 2 minutes there are some vocalizations (Judi Richards). The group manages to make the most with the melody: rhythmic progressions and slowdowns, changes of atmosphere until reaching the climax around 9 minutes, when the vocalizations arrive again. But overall more than a suite it is a musical "aria" with variations on the aquatic theme and atmospheric sounds that predict the new age. Towards the end there is a new climax with the flutes. Evocative pastoral track, masterpiece of the album. Rated 8.5

Total time 41:33

Symphonic folk album characterized by an ethereal, dreamy, almost new age mood where the melody is alternated with atmospheric moments. Basically the arrangements are built on a carpet of synths or other types of keyboards, acoustic guitar arpeggios and flutes. The vocals have a narrative function when they are sung by a single singer, and an evocative hypnotic function when there are choirs of onomatopoeic sounds. Very relaxing album, pleasant most of the time - but sometimes too evanescent.

Rated 8.5. Four stars.

"Si On Avait Besoin D'une Cinquieme Saison" (If A Fifth Season Was Needed) is the second album by Quebec-based Progressive Rock band Harmonium, formed in Canada. It is also known as "Les Cinq Saisons" (Five Seasons).

The concept of the album "Si on Avait Besoin D'une Cinquième Saison" revolves around the changing of the seasons, and you can think of it as a progressive folk album, in which French vocals, mellotron are common and blended with flute and harmonica. While this concept was originally conceived and covered by Vivaldi hundreds of years ago, the Harmonium group were confident enough to add their own interpretation to the concept, and they thought of adding an imaginary fifth season to the four typical seasons. As can be expected from such an album, the music of each episode (season) and the mood and feeling of that season are conveyed musically according to the interpretation of the Western World. This fifth imaginary season is especially very special, but it will be covered in the later part of this review.

The album begins with the song "Vert", which symbolizes the spring season. It continues with flutes and fascinating vocal harmonies, and the piece certainly gives off a warm folk vibe. But I don't think this piece will really capture the typical listener, but it sounds pretty nice and upbeat though. In addition, this feeling is intensified with "Dixie," a piece that some criticize for being too optimistic, but to me, "Dixie" perfectly captures the sense of festivity and warmth that summer brings. In total contrast to the obvious folk music of the first track, "Dixie" takes everything into a kind of Ragtime Jazz rhythm, as can be heard by careful listeners of the genre and harmonium continues the song's beauty line with their powerful melodies. 󠀡󠀡

The next two pieces certainly take a less optimistic but more somber approach. "Depuis L'Automne", the piece in which Harmonium represents autumn, sounds incredibly melancholic when compared to its sequel, "En Pleine Face". With some incredible vocal harmonies and a more complex song structure that the first two tracks lack, I think "Depuis L'Automne" will captivate first listeners especially if they are into improvasation. This piece is generally not as entertaining as the previous two pieces (seasons). In addition, this piece follows a more progressive path compared to the other two pieces. In this piece, we see what can be done with an acoustic guitar with echo and sustain effects technically.

"En Pleine Face" shows the Harmonium returning to the folk style found in "Vert", and while listening to this piece, you get the impression of an idyllic, calm winter landscape where everything is covered with snow, and it indeed captures the listener. When you hear the vocal harmonies that start at 3:30, you get excited about what Harmonium can do for the last track. The Accordion (may be harmonica) instrument, which came later, also adds a new warmth to the group. Let's get to the last track? of course, none of the songs that have come out so far can be compared to the mysterious "Histoires Sans Paroles", that is, the fifth season... 󠀡󠀡

"Histoires Sans Paroles" (Stories Without Words)... the only track that symbolizes the last imaginary season that has no connection with other seasons, and this track consists of 5 separate parts. This track, which is the cornerstone of the album; With his mellotron, flute, and complex and original piano composition, he progresses into sections layer by layer. Serge Fiori, the founder of the Harmonium group, expresses in an interview that he still cannot believe how he composed such a piece at the age of 17. He says he never even thought of accompanying her. Being a 17-minute instrumental, this piece creates its own universe completely independently from other pieces, and even the vocal harmonies used in other pieces are not similar to the vocal harmonies that make this piece perfect. At 8:00, we hear a new female vocal harmony that has never been heard on the album, but as I said, it is not similar and since this female vocal is not lyrical, it was used as a musical instrument and this added a new layer to the piece. In addition, a special aspect of this piece; the fact that it never clarifies itself instrumentally for the first listener. This is because all the previous tracks have lyrics in them. Instead, the music just flows... things that are sometimes scary, sometimes funny and pleasant, sometimes sad are the four seasons we do and feel. We listen to an amazing loop of magical sounds that make you feel like you are putting their pieces together.

The last words I can say about the album "Si on Avait Besoin D'une Cinquième Saison"; This album is among Canada's most glorious contributions to progressive music to date. The fact that such a group only released albums with French lyrics prevented them from gaining recognition all over the world. Finally, Harmonium only has 3 albums. I wish we could see more albums from them. Still a 5/5.

Harmonium's "L'heptade", released in 1976, is a remarkable piece of music that has certainly stood the test of time. The album is an ambitious, double-LP concept album that explores a range of musical styles and moods, displaying the band's virtuosity and versatility.

The album starts with "Comme un Fou" a majestic and haunting piece, featuring ethereal vocal harmonies along with majestic strings, acoustic guitar, wind chimes, and a stunning orchestral section. The track sets the tone for the rest of the album, highlighting the band's desire to create something truly timeless and innovative.

The album then continues on a journey of moods and sounds with tracks such as "Chanson Noire", it has a hypnotic, rhythmic bassline that complements the vocal harmonies, which make it easy to get lost in the sounds. "Lumière de Vie" features moments of jazzy improvisation, showcasing the band's proficiency in jazz and fusion. "Projet" is a potent climax full of emotions and strong guitar riffs, that make it an essential listening material. I also liked the song "L'exil" very much, as the vocal of the lead vocalist is too good not enjoy.

The musicianship throughout is flawless, with the interplay between the various instruments seamless and organic, creating an incredible listening experience. The vocals, while not always perfectly enunciated, blended beautifully together, adding another layer to the overall immersive sound.

The diversity in the material and song structuring, in my opinion, is also incredible. There is a little something for everyone, and every song fits perfectly into the overall context of the album. Despite the length of the album, each track is distinct and memorable, creating a story that is well-told.

The only downside to this album is that, as an English speaker, you may miss a chunk of the lyrical content if you do not understand French. However, this doesn't detract from the overall quality of the album, and the music speaks for itself.

In conclusion, Harmonium's "L'heptade" stands the test of time as an avant-garde classic, a masterpiece of progressive rock with its diverse soundscapes and excellent musicianship both instrumental and vocal I fully recommend this piece to anyone who wants to experience something remarkable and groundbreaking.

5 Stars

While better known for the much more progressive albums like "Si On Avait Besoin D'une Cinquieme Saison" which blended their folky stylistic approach with the benefit of sophisticated symphonic prog, this debut is by far the band's album most steeped in traditional folk flavors with the simple instrumentation of acoustic guitar, bass and only an occasional trace of drums and flugelhorn. Also an uncredited piano player joins in but for the most part this is truly a folk album with only minor aspects of rock music at all.

All tracks are sung in French which gives it an interesting ethnic vibe since the music itself sounds more like typical American folk rock with some tracks reminding me of Chile's Sui Generis but is probably most similar to another folk band called Beau Dommage. The band was quite popular in small clubs and cafes which led to this all acoustic debut album. While basically a trio of two guitars and a bass, drummer Réjean Émond joins in on about half the tracks. Like most folk music of the era, the lyrics deal with social issues and craft an emotional display of chord progressions accompanied by passionate vocals. Some even claim a Fairport Convention similarity but personally HARMONIUM was a bit more earnest in its delivery, at least at this stage.

While "Pour Un Instant" became a big hit and remains the band's most successful single, the rest of the album is actually more interesting with tracks like "Vielles courroies" and "Aujourd'hui, je dis bonjour à la vie" crafting much more adventurous harmonic interplay. While French often doesn't make the best folk rock linguistic experience, band leader Serge Fiori delivers a passionate display of vocal expressions and amazingly adapts the French lyrical flow to a more English sounding style of folk music without missing a beat. The tunes are generally mid-tempo and intently catchy and probably perfect for French speakers to sing along to which is why the album has remained their most popular in Quebec while the more progressive albums that followed have become most revered in larger circles.

This album is also interesting in that the first track is called HARMONIUM on an album of the same name from the band of the same name. After this the trio would expand into a quintet with the addition of Serge Locat on keyboards and Pierre Daigneault on flutes and clarinets. Don't expect a prog behemoth on this debut but rather a nice pleasant album of catchy melodic folk tunes sung in French with nice song structures and less developed ideas than what came after. Still after and is said and done, as a folk rock album, the HARMONIUM debut more than holds its own against the wealth of British and American folk that emerged throughout the 60s and 70s only the French connection gives this one an interesting ethnic edge that artists like Bob Dylan clearly lacked. Oh, and way cool colorful album cover art. Really stands out.