“Et le rêve s’en fut...” (1982)
for clarinet, violin, percussion and piano (25 min.)
In spite of its evocative title,the work is in no sense « programme music » ; on the contrary,this quartet represents a conceptualistic attempt at a musical transposition ofthe notion – my subjective notion – of dreams.
Indeed, dreams, the realm ofillusion and non-logic, that interface of the imagined and the real, arenevertheless governed by deep-rooted internal, but subconscious structures.Transposed into music, that concept engenders paradoxes and surprises, likethose clichés evocative of jazz and unexpected changes of tempo ; theynonetheless induce simultaneities, overlapping esthetics of the past and thepresent, occasionally slow periods when the fragmented melody condenses intotonal harmonic arrangements.
Thus is born a world of sounds, based upon four principal « behaviours »,developed through the work as four ambiences, ranging from the sweet, evenvoluptuous, to the nightmarish, explaining the fourth « motif »,which brings the work to its end, in an orgy of instrumental virtuosity. It leavesit the listener, however to discover the significance of the final chord !
This Quartet got the 1rst prize atthe International composition contest of Lille (France) in 1982. The premiereof the work was given by the Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles the same year.
That quartet is dedicated toPhilippe Dewonck.
Claude LEDOUX
LP Igloo - 1984 (Et le rêve s'en fut, Chant)