Ô Loli's Dream
for 5-Strings violin/viola (2006 - 13 min.)
That piece was composed at the demand of Jenny Spanoghe. These last years, this musician showed an insatiable curiosity, seeking to initiate a new and original repertoire for a "new" 5-strings violin/viola (E-A-D-G-C), a rare instrment which was specifically designed for her.
Actually, Ô Loli's Dream is trying to create a kind of permanent motion between historical references and new characters linked to the sound qualities of that instrument. Therefore, the work provides an idea going back to the 6th Suite of J.S. Bach, for viola pomposa (another 5-strings instrument) : the use of musical exchanges between the open strings of the instrument and the same pitches played on other strings (excepted for the lower string with its unique low pitch). So, my piece develops some melodic snatches into sequences either highly virtuosic or completely static, organized around the open strings which are taken in a cycle of fifths. Ambiguities are also present : Do we hear finally a violin or a viola ?
Globally, the piece offers few melodic patterns which are progressively transformed through timbral techniques (starting with the emergence of the phenomenon of sound as an Arsis) until the revelation of great musical phrases with expressivity.
Other references to the history of the violin music are also made. For instance, few techniques used by Ysaÿe in its Sonatas, are here amplified by the use of the 5-strings ; that makes that piece an incredible challenge for a formidable performer of our time.
The title is actually an anagram made with the letters of the five strings - in French - of the instrument (mi-la-re-sol-do). O Loli's Dream was composed at the occasion of the birth of my son Luca. This piece is dedicated to him as well as to Jenny Spanohe who made its premiere. This evocative title obviously refers to the dreams of a just born child, passionate, anxious; tender, out of time and, on the other hand, tumultuous… as the path of life which is waiting for his feet… Then, music as metaphorical trajectories of our life…
Claude LEDOUX
See Ô loli's Dream on youtube, performed by Takao Hyakutome :