«La modération est chose fatale; il n’y a rien comme la réussite de l’excès.»
— Oscar Wilde
Dans ce monde sonore X, la musique peut être décrite purement en superlatifs: exquise, extraordinaire, exhilarante, extrême, extravagante, exigeante, exposée, étirée, excitante, exceptionnelle, expansive, excellente, excédante et exponentielle. Dans les consignes de performances, les compositeurs utilisent un lexique allant de «délirant, obsessif, explosif, furieusement» à «imperceptible, fébrile, impénétrable, incohérent». Cet enregistrement est le programme solo de The Virtuosity of Excess, une tournée que j’ai faite dans onze villes américaines en 2016. Soixante-dix minutes de musique qui voyage jusqu’aux limites des clarinettes basses, embrouillant ce qui est possible et ce qui ne l’est pas. Avec ce projet, je voulais découvrir la beauté des extrêmes, les exploiter et les incarner en musique. Les compositions sont de Brian Ferneyhough, Richard Barrett, Raphaël Cendo, Paolo Perezzani, Paul Steenhuisen et de moi-même, Lori Freedman. Les trois derniers musiciens ont composé des pièces avec le thème du programme en tête. Plusieurs des œuvres comportent du chant, une d’entre elles requière l’usage d’une grosse caisse, et une autre est spatialisée de manière immersive et jouée avec de l’électronique en temps réel.
EN //
“Moderation is a fatal thing: nothing succeeds like excess.”
— Oscar Wilde
In this X-world of sound the music can be purely described in superlatives: exquisite, extraordinary, exhilarating, extreme, extravagant, exigent, exposed, extended, exciting, exceptional, expansive, exacting, excelling, exceeding and exponential. In the composers’ own performance instruction the words range from “delirious, obsessive, explosive, furiously,” to “imperceptible, frail, inscrutable, incoherent.” This recording is the solo programme of The Virtuosity of Excess, an eleven-city North American Tour that I played in 2016. Just under seventy minutes in duration it features music that travels all over the limits and thresholds of the low clarinets, obscuring what is possible and what is not. With this project I wanted to discover the beauty of the extremes, exploit them and embody them in the music. The compositions are by Brian Ferneyhough, Richard Barrett, Raphaël Cendo, Paolo Perezzani, Paul Steenhuisen and me, Lori Freedman. The latter three musicians created pieces specifically in light of the theme of the programme. Several of the works include singing, one also includes playing a kick drum, and another features live electronics with immersive spatialization.
credits
released February 21, 2019
Composers: Richard Barrett, Brian Ferneyhough, Paul Steenhuisen, Paolo Perezzani, Lori Freedman, Raphaël Cendo
With its Collection QB, the Quatuor Bozzini gives life to the diverse aesthetics of our time. The music in this collection
forms a continuous line: without imposing an aesthetic stance, these discs follow a deep yet ineffable continuity of purpose. Each disc is a window, an opening into a singular world: the soul of a place, a common artistic language, or the distinct vision of an artist....more
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