NOCTURNE

Notice

The work combines the piano and, most of the time in unison with it, a magnetic tape produced by digital synthesis. The tape was developed at the CEMAMU (Centre de Mathématiques appliquées à la Musique), founded by I. Xenakis. Its role is to modify the timbres of the piano, but not to contrast with the instrument. A performance by the piano alone is also possible. The entire work is a kind of canon of contours, whose entries vary in tempo, ambitus and harmonic content. The performer is therefore faced with two main difficulties: mastering the superimposition of tempi on the one hand, and rigorous synchronisation with the tape on the other. The sombre, meditative mood of the work benefits whenever possible from the use of the ultra-low register found only on Bösendorfer Imperial pianos.