Nuit blanche at Bourgie Hall
Cédric Dind-Lavoie presents Archives, a work that bridges sound documentary and instrumental music
5 février 2026
As part of Montréal en Lumière’s Nuit blanche, Bourgie Hall at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts invites the public to a unique and immersive musical experience with Archives, a project by Québec composer and multi‑instrumentalist Cédric Dind‑Lavoie. This free event will be presented on February 28, 2026, with three showtimes at 8 pm., 9:15 pm., and 10:30 pm.
In Archives, the artist revisits historical recordings from the 1940s and 1950s, traditional songs, tales, and instrumental tunes.
For his first appearance at Bourgie Hall, Cédric Dind‑Lavoie unveils a work that lies at the crossroads of sound documentary and instrumental creation, blending Québec’s oral heritage with contemporary composition. In Archives, the artist revisits historical recordings from the 1940s and 1950s—traditional songs, tales, and instrumental tunes—collected by influential folklorists such as Simonne Voyer, Roger Matton, and Luc Lacourcière.
These archival voices are treated not as relics but as living material. Dind‑Lavoie weaves them into a delicate musical fabric, guided mainly by the piano, creating an atmosphere both introspective and luminous. Far from mere nostalgia, Archives stages a poetic dialogue between memory and modernity. The fragile, time‑etched voices emerge from the speakers like spectral presences, welcomed and enveloped by the music that gives them new resonance.
A renewed vision of Québec’s heritage
On stage, Dind‑Lavoie is joined by fiddler Alexis Chartrand, a central figure in Québec’s traditional music scene known for his original and forward‑looking approach. Together, they perform alongside a live “archive station” that broadcasts the original field recordings in real time. These sonic artifacts—drawn from magnetic tapes, vinyl, or digitized sources—are manually activated during the show, echoing the tactile gestures of early sound collectors and the texture of time itself.
The performance is enhanced by Rémi Giguère’s immersive sound design, Gabriel Payeur’s nuanced lighting, and Karine Gauthier’s scenography, which integrates projections within the architectural beauty of the church nave. The result is an environment that invites deep listening and quiet reflection, where sound, light, and space combine to offer a meditative encounter with memory.
Archives is part of Cédric Dind‑Lavoie’s distinctive artistic approach, through which he has been exploring Québec’s sonic memory for several years. Across various projects combining folk, ambient, and documentary music, the artist seeks to reveal the raw beauty of our collective roots while questioning how they continue to speak to the present. By placing tradition at the heart of a contemporary creative framework, Dind‑Lavoie turns memory into a poetic material rather than a mere object of study.
‘By placing tradition at the heart of a contemporary creative framework, Dind‑Lavoie turns memory into a poetic material rather than a mere object of study’
The performance presented at Bourgie Hall is not a historical re‑creation but an unexpected meeting between generations. It conveys the vibration of a living heritage, transfigured by the sensitivity of today’s artists. Within the context of Nuit blanche, this artistic proposal takes on its full meaning: its length, repetition, and gentle unfolding foster a deep, almost meditative listening that seems to suspend time itself.
Nuit blanche at Bourgie Hall
Cédric Dind‑Lavoie presents Archives
Renowned for its outstanding acoustics and eclectic programming, Bourgie Hall takes part each year in Montréal en Lumière’s Nuit blanche, offering audiences original and captivating musical experiences. Archives continues this tradition of openness and discovery—an invitation to rediscover the richness of Québec’s cultural heritage through a profoundly contemporary lens.
With Archives, Bourgie Hall reaffirms its mission to provide audiences with exceptional artistic experiences that unite heritage, innovation, and emotion. The three performances on February 28—at 8 pm., 9:15 pm., and 10:30 pm.—will allow visitors to experience this unique creation free of charge. Each 40‑minute session will welcome audiences into an intimate, enveloping atmosphere that perfectly reflects the spirit of the venue.
Free admission – Limited seating (first come, first served)
Bourgie Hall, 1339 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal
About Bourgie Hall
Inaugurated in 2011, Bourgie Hall is an architectural gem nestled within the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Housed in the restored nave of the former Erskine and American Church, it stands out for its striking beauty and for its collection of some twenty Tiffany stained‑glass windows—unique in Canada. Each year, the hall presents more than one hundred concerts, spanning a wide range of musical styles: from jazz to baroque, from the classical repertoire to contemporary creations.
Images: Courtesy of Bourgie Hall
