Pérégrinations d’une petite sphère happée par le temps
Ingrid Drese
Programme notes
To François Bayle
An erratic itinerary, shakily drawing undulations as hesitations come and go. The pathways lead nowhere, they fade away and reappear elsewhere. It all seems disconnected, there Is no order, no cohesion.
“In the increasingly dense undergrowth he was getting entangled.”
— Henri Michaux, Afterwards
Lanes sprout, move across space, then disappear. Choppy voices, paths leading to a chasm, traces of sounds diving inward.
“Should he go back on his steps
? Would he not then have to swivel round on the spot when in fact there was no room to swivel round in, where there was just a mere line on which to stand, where giddiness was inevitable, on the brink of the voids? ”— Henri Michaux, Afterwards
The small sphere is rolling along the path to a dead end, an abyss is forming. Trompe-l’œil calls. When the ear gets exasperated by a profusion of signs, the act of listening derails. One’s step stumbles, one’s mind dithers. To move forward without pause, the illusion of having found what one was looking for. To wander, vagaries of the imagination or privilege of lost souls.
“No words. Had there been, they would have been something like
: Come give un the search. Don’t try to get a grip on yourself. You’ll never find what you’re looking for, never get any closer to it, no matter what you do.”— Henri Michaux, Afterwards
In other words. An entanglement of voices, of pathways. A cloth of musical motifs enlightened by a trumpet-like sound, the spark of which, in time, fades to hide within the melodies. In this perspective of remoteness, only diffuse light remains.
[Quotes are taken from Afterwards by Henri Michaux, translated by Michael Fineberg, Embers Handpress Fairbourne Gwynedd 2009.]
— Ingrid Drese [English translation
Pérégrinations d’une petite sphère happée par le temps [Wandering of a Little Ball Caught By Time] was realized in 2020 at the composer’s studio in Brussels (Belgium) and was premiered on March 11, 2022 at the Alter Schlachthof Kulturzentrum — Kühlraum in Eupen (Belgium) during Concert électroacoustique — Musiques & Recherches presented as part of the 2022 Belgian Music Days. Pérégrinations d’une petite sphère happée par le temps was awarded a mention at the 12th Biennial Acousmatic Composition Competition Métamorphoses (2022). Thanks to the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (Administration générale de la culture, Service de la musique) for its support.
Premiere
- March 11, 2022, Belgian Music Days 2022
: Concert électroacoustique — Musiques & Recherches, Alter Schlachthof Kulturzentrum – Kühlraum, Eupen (Belgium)
Awards
- Composer(s): Ingrid Drese
- Year of composition: 2020
- Duration: 18:16
- Instrumentation: stereo fixed medium
- Publisher(s): Ymx média
- ISRC: CAD502410041
