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Azet Gate (Squeaky)

Pete Stollery

Programme notes

In August 2022, whilst I was making recordings in the Vallée d’Arsoué near Azet in the French Pyrénées, I came across a metal gate leading to a shepherd’s shelter. I was struck by its silence, aware of its latent sonic characteristics, waiting to be sounded. I recorded an improvisation, using the gate as a musical instrument. In my studio, I listened to these recordings, processing them to create new sounds, whilst trying to preserve the musical phrasing from the improvisation. The piece begins with the recognisable sound of the gate opening but then takes a journey into the abstract, whilst always trying to maintain the integrity of the sound.

The title evokes not only the sound I recorded but is also a nod to the often quoted, pejorative description of new music, “It sounds like a squeaky gate!” In this case, it’s meant to…

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Azet Gate (Squeaky) was realized in 2023 in the composer’s studio in Monymusk (Scotland, UK) and premiered on August 4, 2023 in the Église Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption in Azet (France) as part of Aure sonore festival.

Premiere

  • August 4, 2023, Aure sonore: Concert 1, Église Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption, Azet (Hautes-Pyrénées, France)