Montreal Leonard Cohen Memorial Commemorative Box Set

[jarkko]

UPDATE ON AUGUST 29: The Box Set is re-scheduled to 2021.
Read about the change here: https://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewt ... 10#p375210




Dear Forum Friends

The Unified Heart Productions Foundation (UHPF), the Canadian charity formed in 2017 to honor Leonard and support the arts, is pleased to announce the release of a unique offering for Cohen fans and collectors -- the limited edition Montreal Leonard Cohen Memorial Commemorative Box Set. For a quick peek at what is inside, go to: https://vimeo.com/442467903 (English); https://vimeo.com/442447387 (French).

The Collector’s Box Set is issued in a limited edition of 5,000.

As you know, Montreal celebrated Leonard with a memorial concert, a modern art exhibition, a monumental public mural, and a full-length ballet, all to rave reviews in the month following the first anniversary of Leonard’s death. This Box Set captures these extraordinary and moving events with an exceptional collection of Blu-Rays, fine art lithographs, a memorial essay with photos, a newly created cloisonné pin, posters and other items. The Box Set also contains a CD of never-before released live performances by Leonard. None of these materials are available publicly. There are no region-codes in any of the videos. The Box is bilingual.

The UHPF recognizes that many fans could not attend the Montreal events and members of the Leonard Cohen Forum and Cohen websites have been extremely loyal. In appreciation, UHPF is offering a pre-sale through September 7.

Fans can purchase the $350 USD Box Set for $250 USD by using a discount code. You have to enter the code in checkout.

Here are the shipping costs (including shipping, handling and insurance):
Canada $14 CAD
USA $15 USD
European Union & UK: $20 USD
Rest of the World: $25 USD

Also note that the purchaser has to pay any local sales tax/VAT when the delivery arrives in the destination country.

Please note that you have to use a credit card; debit cards are not accepted [until further notice], and PayPal is going to join the campaign on Monday, latest.

All Boxes will be mailed from Canada approximately on November 1.

Note that there is a limit of one Box per order/household/mailing address for the discounted price.

There will only be a limited number of boxes available for this fan pre-sale. Our pre-sale begins August 7 and runs through September 7, or as soon as all boxes designated for the fan pre-sale are sold. If you wish to learn more, go to cohenboxset.com and be sure to use the pre-sale discount code to make your purchase. The sooner you place your order, the better your chance of getting a low numbered item.

You will get a confirmation emai if you have given your email. Check your spam folder if you don't see it in your inbox!

Also read the FAQ section at cohenboxset.com to get answers to most common questions!

www.cohenboxset.com
Discount Code: ZEN
'
The Memorial Box Set is an extraordinary collection of music, unique performances, fine art, photos and essays that honor Leonard. We have seen it; we suggest you don’t miss it. 

Below you can see all the items in this Box. The dimensions of the Box: 12.5 in. high by 9.75 in. deep by 5.25 in. wide (the width of the box set on the shelf), equal to 31.8 x 24.8 x 13.3 cm. The height is close to the size of a standard vinyl-LP (31.3 cm).

In our next post you will see more details - all this information and much more can be found at www.cohenboxset.com

Finally, we want to keep the discount code from being published on social media at this time. However, if you have a friend who is not a Forum member, feel free to share the news about the Box Set and the discount code with him or her.

Marie & Jarkko



Do you have any questions?

* First read the FAQ section at cohenboxset.com
* Use these email addresses for other questions:
**General Inquiry: info@unifiedheartproductionsfoundation.org
**Customer Support: customersupport@unifiedheartproductionsfoundation.org
**Technical Support: techsupport@unifiedheartproductionsfoundation.org

[jarkko]

(Pictures on this page are not in scale)
Information provided by cohenboxset.com



Montreal Leonard Cohen Memorial Events 2016-2017:
Essay and Photography Booklet

Grammy award-winning Canadian musicologist Rob Bowman wrote this essay telling the story of the year after Leonard’s passing, from Leonard’s final instructions through the Montreal tribute events.

Using interviews and photos, Rob details the days before Leonard’s passing, his memorial service and the numerous events and happenings in Montreal celebrating his life and work.

Rob takes you behind the scenes of the Tower of Song tribute concert from planning, to rehearsals and finally, the acclaimed concert performances



Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen
2-Discs: UHD-Blu-Ray (4K) and Blu-Ray (HD) with Bonus Material

Filmed at Montreal's Bell Centre, performers and musicians include Sting, Elvis Costello, Courtney Love, k.d. lang, Patrick Watson, Bettye LaVette, Damien Rice, Lana Del Rey, Sharon Robinson, the Webb Sisters, Neil Larsen, Javier Mas, Adam Cohen and many others.

Award winning director Jack Bender captured the event with over 20 cameras in the unparalleled quality of 4K resolution as well as the normal Blu-Ray HD.

Bonus footage on the Blu-Ray HD includes appearances by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, First Lady Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and Canadian Seth Rogen.

(This is the complete concert, counting the bonus material)

American Public Television Special: Leonard Cohen – Tower of Song
DVD with bonus material

Specially edited one-hour edition of the Bell Centre concert Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen.

Bonus material includes Leonard performing “Who by Fire” in Auckland, NZ from 2013 and archival footage of Leonard dating back to 1966



Musique de Leonard Cohen: Dance Me: Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal
Blu-Ray Disc

Dance Me premiered in Montreal after Leonard granted BJM the rights to produce a modern ballet based on his words and music.-

BJM has toured Dance Me throughout the world to acclaimed reviews and sold out audiences
Dance Me was recorded for a one night only live broadcast to a small number of theatres in Quebec and includes 16 Cohen songs brought to life with dance, costume, lighting and effects combining into an emotional theatrical experience.

A film by Pierre & François Lamoureux



Travelling Light: Highlights of the Grand Tour
Leonard Cohen Live Audio CD With Liner Notes and Performed Lyrics

14 never-before released recordings from Leonard’s 2008-2013 world tour are included on the CD
Leonard’s stunning performance of “Hallelujah” at the Glastonbury festival in 2008 is featured.

The CD takes you to Montreal for Leonard’s performance of “Suzanne,” to Edmonton for the story of the “Sisters of Mercy” and to Paris for “The Partisan”.

Tracks (selected by Ed Sanders):
1. Tower of Song - introduction by Leonard.
2. Dance Me to the End of Love- Auckland- Dec. 21, 2013
3. Who by Fire- Tel Aviv- Sept. 24, 2009
4. Suzanne- Montreal- Nov. 29, 2012
5. Democracy- Boston- Dec. 16, 2012
6. In My Secret Life- Lissadell- July 31, 2010
7. The Future- Berlin- Sept 5, 2012
8. So Long Marianne- Oslo- August 20, 2013
9. Hallelujah- Glastonbury- June 29, 2008
10. Sisters of Mercy- Edmonton- Nov. 18, 2012
11. Everybody Knows- Ghent- Aug. 21, 2010
12. Chelsea Hotel - New York- MSG- Oct. 23, 2009
13. Famous Blue Raincoat- Florence- Italy, Sept. 1, 2010
14. Bird on a Wire- Coachella- April 17, 2009
15. The Partisan- Paris- Olympia- Sept. 28, 2012



Commemorative Collector’s Edition: Lithograph of Tower of Songs Mural

The Tower of Songs mural graces a 21-storey building on Crescent Street in the heart of downtown Montreal.

The mural was captured for this lithograph by photographer Olivier Bousquet from Montreal’s Mount Royal.

This stunning fine art commemorative lithograph is a limited issue and each is numbered and stamped with Leonard’s chop or symbol and signed by the mural artists El Mac and Gene Pendon and photographer Olivier Bousquet

The mural lithograph and the artist’s lithographs (see below) are 19 in. wide x 11.5 in. high and will be rolled up in a tray inside the box.







Musee d’art contemporain de Montéal: Unique Collector’s Items

Produced by the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (MAC), Leonard Cohen: Une brèche en toute chose/A Crack in Everything is an exhibition of works by over 40 artists, musicians and filmmakers celebrating Leonard’s unique artistry

Two of the leading artists whose video projections appear in the MAC exhibition, Kara Blake and George Fok, created these fine art lithographs of Leonard taken from their work, with each being numbered and signed by the artist.

The 24-page high quality reproduction of the programme guide contains never before released photographs of the exhibition and is only available through the Box Set



Cloisonné Pin

A unique new pin reflecting Leonard’s presence in the beauty and elegance of silver on black cloisonné
The pin features the two symbols that were most often used by Leonard in his art – the unified heart and his Zen chop.

The pin arrives in a beautiful, protective black velveteen box



Frameable Posters

from the MAC’s Leonard Cohen: Une brèche en toute chose/A Crack in Everything,
Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal’s Dance Me
and Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen
+ plaque



Leonard Cohen Stickers



Tower of Song Access Pass



Leonard Cohen Commemorative Collector’s Edition Bookmark

[HugoD]

This is just great, can't wait to get it!.
And now another P time has begun, counting down to november first!

[Mabeanie1]

Wow. Just wow. What a beautiful package. My order is in.

It’s going to be a long wait till November though .....

Wendy

[phillip]

My copy is ordered cant wait

[ForYourSmile]

With all my support

[musicmania]

The pain of when your finances say no
Leonard was right when he told me to stop spending money on his concerts, well not really. I've NO regrets of how I spent when I was financially able.

[icecreamtruck]

I think that I should just say how I feel and if it kills the vibe of this news for people, I want to ask that Jarkko just deletes my post. Jarkko is someone who Leonard Cohen frequently publicly recognized for keeping his work alive and through his site and this forum, he has facilitated so much joy in all of our lives. I am grateful that he is still hosting this forum and it was so exciting to have something new to have Patience for.

I am very disappointed in this news. Many of us could not go to the memorial in Montreal and had to make do with the reports and YouTube videos.

You know, it was hard to learn that my hero was dead and buried all at once. Usually you hear that someone you love has died and then there’s a funeral and you have time to get used to each stage of the thing. But Leonard Cohen was a celebrity and I am just a fan. I loved him but I never knew him and I understand why it all happened the way it did. It really fit with who he was. But it was hard to hear that he had been gone for days already when the news went public.

And it makes me want to buy this thing just to read whatever is contained in the written portion that is advertised as “Leonard’s final instructions through the Montreal tribute events. Using interviews and photos, Rob details the days before Leonard’s passing, his memorial service and the numerous events and happenings in Montreal.”

Bits of information like this are so precious to me. I was going to say that nobody could understand my hunger for any anecdote from those days but maybe you can. I guess that’s why you tell me I can only read about them if I buy your $350 boxed set.

The Montreal event was out of reach for me and thousands of other true fans and supporters. I read the reports and watched the performances and tributes on YouTube. It was so deeply moving to hear the new version of “Book of Longing” behind that very personal montage. It felt like a gift from the family and from the record label to have that. “Thanks for the Dance” was so exciting to get and it has grown on me. I am so grateful that we have it. “You Want It Darker” was the strongest of the late trio of albums and Adam did such a wonderful job with the production of “Dance.”

What is this thing we have all been practicing patience for?

If type in our special code which anybody with access to Google would find, we can have it for $250 rather than $350. Do you realize how much money that is? All these trinkets and collectibles with a Blu-ray of these other performers playing Leonard Cohen songs at a concert we also could not afford to attend. The Unified Heart Productions Foundation, advertising itself as a charity? This is a luxury item for display. It is a coffee table spread. During this unprecedented global pandemic where many of us have lost our jobs, myself included, we are being encouraged to indulge in this way as a tribute to our hero.

And what about the live recordings? That was exciting until I looked at the track listing. If we are going to spend $250 or $350 on this boxed set, you think this album of live versions, chosen by Ed Sanders no less, who presided over the awful sound of “Live In Dublin” will make it worth it? It all makes me feel sick, like a special club of insiders thinks that me owning this box set will make me feel special, too.

Do they think we don’t know what they could have offered us? What is going on with the track listing? Show me a song where we don’t already have a live version from those tours!

What about a live “Born in Chains” or “Feels so Good” or a rehearsal of one of the songs which never made it to the stage. If you are going to limit this to 5000 copies and price it at $350, don’t we deserve something rare and special? In 2000 or so, Leonard said he was working on a new album of live recordings from the same tours as “Cohen Live.” Is there something from those selections we could hear now?

I hope that this post doesn’t hurt those who have been involved with the creation of this boxed set. It just feels like another extravagantly priced keepsake status symbol for the wealthy boomers who can prove their devotion with their wallets. I’ve seen the descriptions of the contents of this set and it looks pretty empty to me, actually. Maybe you guys should sell this thing on TV. It feels like an “As Seen on TV!” sticker would fit perfectly on this.

[tularosa]

Thank you Icecreamtruck. I feel exactly the same, but I don’t speak English well enough to express it. I was waiting for a CD with a few songs, news or not, never released before. That would have filled me with happiness. I always feel close to Leonard Cohen and his refined poetry, therefore far from these beautiful treats inside that box set. Even if I could afford this box, I wouldn't buy it. Sorry ...

[lizzytysh]

❤ What a dizzying array of beautiful items! ❤
I will figure out a way financially to get it! I'm so very happy that they chose the Montreal mural for the cover of the Box! ❤ And the pin... exquisite! ❤
A bit of Christmas during the Pandemic, and at a time when many of the usual Christmas activities will simply not be happening. This will be a visual, aural, and tactile treat... mental, emotional, and spiritual... all of which will be lasting and repeatable. ❤


[Icecreamtruck ~ It's true that we didn't have the anticipated grieving and acceptance time with Leonard's death. Yet, for me, it was more important that Leonard was true to himself and who he was as a Jew and to his Jewish roots, being buried in their tradition of immediately.

I'm very sorry you lost your job. I hope you can return to it later. I know you were looking forward to something to bring you cheer and that you're very disappointed. The price is steep. Yet, there is SO much that is included for that price.]

❤ I'm very happy to have this to look forward to!! ❤

[Steve D]

Hello Friends,
My thoughts and feelings about the lavish offer steer their way somewhere between those on the forum who are thrilled with the glitz and glamour of today's much heralded new bumper offering (in price and content), and those few individuals - so far - who indicate a sense, a shimmer, of disappointment.

In terms of what's completely new, we have a CD of familiar treasures from the two already well accompanied tours; we also have some new extended writing about the concert. Less new, we have quality versions of the memorial concert, and then the ballet. All lovely, no doubt. We also have a range of posters and memorabilia - some nice bits and pieces there, to be sure.

But for those of us prior to today who hoped for: even just one new song, unpublished writing by Leonard, a new streamed tribute concert, a new web portal to unreleased historical material.... we are left with a slight sense of deflation.

Many will enjoy owning the beautiful object and its range of content. Let's not diminish the validity of such pleasures. Let's continue hoping, though, that the Cohen estate has noted just how much sincere interest and passion the build-up to today's news has generated - especially in terms of material that deepens our sense of insight into and admiration for what Cohen called "the work".

Stay safe and true, all.

Steve D

[jerry]

What a monumental let down. Thanks for making it so afordable. The first LC release I won 't be able to buy because I cannot afford it. I'm scratching my head over this release.I want music not pins and posters.

[its4inthemorning]

The Montreal event was a moving experience for those able to attend, if this boxed set imparts even a little of that experience to those unable to attend it will be worth the price, which is going to a good cause in any case.

4

[Martinv]

Disappointing for me too. The news had to be something great. But now it is just a souvenir for fans that already where in Montreal.

[Tony]

I just wonder what Mr. Cohen would have thought about this release.