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The pieces included on this disc are related in at least three ways.
First, they were all realized at the same location: the Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (ZKM) in Karlsruhe (Germany), where I had the opportunity to complete four residencies (for a total of almost 11 months) between January 2005 and August 2007.
Second, they all share the same musical intention. These three pieces could be classified as ‘program music,’ since they are all based on a literary argument. Ombres, espaces, silences… came from Jacques Lacarrière’s 1975 book Men Possessed by God, which I read with fascination almost 30 years ago. This book tells, with detachment and ethnographic flair, of the quest for the absolute of the first monks of the Christian era. Entre les deux rives du printemps is an attempt at setting to music my impressions while reading Part Three of Dante’s great poem The Divine Comedy. As for Le miroir triste, it is kind of a ‘cinema for the ear,’ based on an unshot scenario by Andrey Tarkovsky entitled Hoffmanniana (1975), from which I have tried to evoke a few scenes.
Their third connection is found in their sound materials. I found inspiration in (and taken liberties with) the marvelous heritage of past music, an extraordinary source of colours that allowed me to borrow from the strong and still fresh poetry of various pieces, some of them ancient. Also, all three works contain materials generated by René Lussier on his stunning and rather frightening daxophone.
I would like to express my gratitude to the manager of the Institut für Musik & Akustik of the ZKM, Ludger Brümmer, and the whole technical and administrative crew, for their quality services and unfailing support during my stays at the ZKM. This album is also partly theirs. Thanks also go to René Lussier, François Gauthier, Mario Rodrigue, and Dominique Bassal.
Gilles Gobeil, Montréal [English translation: François Couture, x-07]
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DVD-Audio — Advanced Resolution: Surround 5.1 (MLP 9624 / 4824) + Stereo (4824) •• DVD-Video [NTSC, multi-region]: Surround 5.1 (DTS, Dolby Digital) + Stereo (4824) •• DVD-ROM: MP3 (320 kbps), AAC (320 kbps) files ••• Mastering: Dominique Bassal