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Bestiaire à hauteur d’oreille

Stéphane Roy

Programme notes
To Jean-François Laporte

The polyphonic and feral instrument Babel table (invented by Jean-François Laporte) caught my interest as soon as I started experimenting its possibilities and its power to generate vibrant and wild acoustic beings. The work was composed around the idea of an acoustic bestiary (bestiaire sonore) comprised of intense, roaring acoustic material as well as nimble and feral morphologies, and sounds evoking the lyrical warble of feathered animals. Bestiaire à hauteur d’oreille incorporates sections with stratified textures, where the instrument takes the center of the acoustic stage. Other, more densely articulated sections lead to close interplay between the instrument and the electronic part.

[ii-23]


Bestiaire à hauteur d’oreille was realized in 2022 at the composer’s studio in Brossard and in the workshop of Productions Totem contemporain, in Montréal. The work premiered on September 26, 2022 by Jean-François Laporte during the To Listen To festival at the Conservatorio Statale di Musica Giuseppe Verdi in Turin (Italy). The piece was commissioned by Productions Totem contemporain. Many thanks to Jean-François Laporte, Productions Totem contemporain’s artistic director, for his generosity and valuable involvement in exploring the instrumental possibilities of the Babel table.

Premiere

  • September 26, 2022, To Listen To 2022: Concerto #1, Conservatorio Statale di Musica Giuseppe Verdi, Turin (Italy)

About this sound recording

Thanks to Guillaume Barrette for the sound recording.

  • Composer(s): Stéphane Roy
  • Year of composition: 2022, 24
  • Duration: 12:37
  • Instrumentation: Babel table and 4-channel fixed medium
  • Publisher(s): Ymx média
  • Commission: Productions Totem contemporain
  • ISRC: CAD502510028