I write songs. Not for a living, but because my brain works that way. Sometimes the germ of a new song comes to me when I’m out in the wide world – especially when I’m hiking. And I’m in good company: the Hebrides inspired Mendelssohn. Travels in America gave Dvořák a bounty of grist for his musical mill. And JUNO Award-winning composer Jordan Nobles drew inspiration for Kanata for Large Choir, the winning 2024 Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music, from his travels through the Canadian landscape.
Jordan Nobles
“The experience of being in those spaces, the rivers, lakes, coastline, and mountains firsthand, deeply informs my creative process,” Nobles told me. “It’s in the quiet moments of reflection after hiking a trail or standing by the ocean that musical ideas begin to form. I absorb the sounds, the textures, and the atmosphere of a place, and those impressions come back with me when composing.”
And the landscape is more than a backdrop, he said. “It’s an active element in the work. This piece is, in a sense, a musical translation of my journey across Canada, but one that unfolds in the mind and in sound rather than on paper while traveling.”
Music reflecting wide open spaces is nothing new for Nobles, who is known for “spatial” music, often meant to be performed in specific acoustical locations and with musicians surrounding the audience.
But Kanata, he said, “has a more intimate quality to it, and it’s best experienced with the singers together on the stage. They have some difficult passages that require closer proximity for them to work together.”
Landscapes, Not Portraits
Still, the expansive Canadian landscape “has absolutely influenced Kanata. I’m used to thinking about how sound moves through a space – whether it’s a cathedral, a gallery, or an outdoor location. But when considering the sheer scale of Canada, I wanted the music to evoke the feeling of being in a vast, open space, like standing on the edge of a cliff or beside a massive lake. There’s a quiet power in these landscapes, a kind of reverence that comes from being surrounded by something so immense.”
Reflecting the wide open landscapes, Nobles told me, “the piece doesn’t have a traditional narrative structure but instead flows like the shifting textures of nature – clouds moving overhead, the tide moving slowly in and out, etc.”
The scoring theme for the 2024 competition was choral works for a cappella choir and up to four additional instruments and/or vocal soloist(s). Kanata uses a full choir, and in a specific way, the voices layered to evoke “a sense of movement and stillness, similar to how wind might sweep across a plain or water ripple on a lake. The music invites the listener to feel space in a more abstract sense, presenting them with an expansive sonic landscape.”
The work goes beyond abstraction, though. Nobles pointed out that the places in Canada that he visited “aren’t just beautiful – they hold deep historical and cultural significance, particularly through their original Indigenous names. Many of these names have existed long before colonial settlement and carry stories and meanings that connect the land to the people who have lived there for millennia.”
Originally, the composer intended the piece to feature modern and First Nation names of rivers, lakes and mountains in various Canadian provinces. “As I’ve researched these names, I’ve been struck by how much knowledge, identity, and tradition are embedded in them. These names resonate with a sense of belonging and memory, which I found quite meaningful.”
But as he gained deeper knowledge of the First Nations names, he had a change of heart. “Most of the [Indigenous] names are not my stories to tell,” he concluded, “and it would be inappropriate to use them as such.
“Furthermore, as I thought about it more and more, it also felt less and less appropriate to use the colonial names for these places; that doing so felt like yet another act of erasure, of asserting colonial ownership and the primacy of the colonizers’ position on the land.
“These places have had names for millennia before settlers arrived, given to them by people whose relationships to the land are so much more longstanding and intimately held. It felt wrong to reassert colonial dominance through the text of the piece.
“So I reverted instead to a space before words and texts, breaking down language altogether – using phonemes in a manner similar to harmony, to evoke the impression of the landscapes themselves.
Talking with the Land
“The piece therefore stands as an expression of the human capacity to be ‘in dialogue’ with the land we’re on, in relationship to it, using our human voices to communicate with and express it, but without the human construct of language. By using fragments of these names as the textural foundation of the work, I hope to honor the depth and meaning they carry. I’m not trying to recreate or speak for those traditions, but rather acknowledge and celebrate them through sound.
The approach he took reflects his personal journey too, to an “understanding that the land is not just a physical space but a living history that continues to shape our collective identity.”
In addition to an active composing career, Nobles is deeply involved with Redshift Music, an event presenter and record label that promotes new works by Canadian and international composers. In that role, he’s involved in championing rising composers. I asked him how it feels to be, instead, the one who’s being championed, via a commission from the Azrieli Music Prizes?
“Being on the other side of the equation – having my work awarded by such a prestigious commission – feels both humbling and gratifying. At Redshift Music, I’ve spent a lot of time helping to elevate the music of emerging and established composers alike. So to now be in a position where my work is being recognized and supported by the Azrieli Music Prizes feels like a full-circle moment. It’s a reminder that we’re all part of a larger community of creators, and that our roles as composers, mentors, and advocates are constantly intertwined.
“This commission is deeply meaningful to me,” he added, “not just because of the opportunity to present my music on such a grand stage, but because it’s a chance to share something personal. Kanata is an important piece in my career – it reflects my love for this country and my evolving understanding of its history and landscapes. To have that work recognized in this way affirms my creative output in a way and encourages me to continue exploring new musical possibilities.”
Listeners can experience the world premiere of Jordan Nobles’ Kanata for Large Choir and the other 2024 Azrieli Music Prize winners on October 28 at a gala concert in Montréal.
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