Margaret Hermant – Freedom (2026)
This may be my introduction to Margaret Hermant, but the Brussels-based composer, violinist and harpist is anything but new in the music industry. Founding member of Echo Collective – an international ensemble bridging contemporary classical and experimental music – Hermant has collaborated with a plethora of acclaimed musicians, including Stars of the Lid, Johann Johannsson and Christina Vantzou, to name but a few. While we are focusing on her new album today, Hermant has her finger in different pies of creative expression, contributing to film, theatre, dance performances, and even art installations. A pioneer and driving force in the post-classical genre, this talented artist binds classical instrumentation with experimental sounds, creating something that is entirely her own. The latest addition to her discography is the album, Freedom.
Opening with ‘A Leap Into Silence’, featuring Fabien Leseure and the Budapest Art Orchestra, Hermant immediately grabs your attention. Softly opening with a delicate harp layered atop a shimmering mist of synths, ‘A Leap Into Silence’ slowly creeps forward with a chilly, haunting tone – an attitude that is enhanced about midway through the track as the synths build a greater haze about the listener. The harp is met by a strong violin, and an interplay appears to arrive with slices of keyboards crossing in a bright flare. A leap into silence? I don’t believe so.
As ‘A Leap Into Silence’ started with a lull into false security, ‘Smile’ steps up. Retaining the eeriness of the previous track – and the tone we find most prominent in Freedom – ‘Smile’ opens with a desolate piano wandering through that hazy fog of orchestral glitter, before the violin breaks in with a powerful force. It’s almost as if this violin is the monster jumping from the sonic forest, welcoming you to its mire of discontent.
‘Unseen’ hits after ‘Smile’ as the monster beckons you to follow. Softer than the majority of the nine tracks, ‘Unseen’ has a distorted wave of violin and a heightened harp laying the path, before we rush into ‘Timeless – Pt. 1’. Brighter, bubblier, and like fairies fluttering around as you walk into the sonic forest, this track seems to bring an air of calm and joy in the skin-chilling album. ‘Timeless – Pt. 2’ comes along, and those fairies are quietly floating along, the dance nearly taken from them. With the rush of synths, slowly but heavily, there is an almost palpable tension wavering in the music.
‘Shadows’ reminds me of the journey down into the Phantom’s lair in Phantom of the Opera – enigmatic and dark, but with an intriguing wisp of excitement lurking. ‘Drifting’ is a strong interplay between harp and violin, both seeking dominance but weaving together in a mystical tapestry. Finally, we round off Freedom with ‘A Dive Into The Open’ – a twinkling sweep of soothing violin linking arms with the harp and sauntering across an orchestral sonic carpet. It’s easy, chilled-out and possesses a sense of tranquillity knowing that the monster hasn’t ruined your fun, it’s just been a bit of an adventure. An adventure I recommend to everyone, whether you’re a fan of classical music or not.
Find out more about Margaret Hermant on her official website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
Find out more about Echo Collective on their Spotify.
