Sun 17.6. 19.30 ORANGERIE
COMPOSITIONS FOR SIX PERCUSSIONISTS
The pulsar 0329+54 was born around five million years ago as the result of an explosion of a solar system. Since this time, this star which is an aggregation of matter with an incredibly high density has revolved around its own axis. The waves emitted take 7000 years to reach the Earth – tonal signals from a deep black lighthouse at the far end of the universe. The radio waves of two pulsars including the above-mentioned object were utilised by Gérard Grisey as the basis of a one-hour work dedicated in 1990 to the longest established percussion ensemble in the world, the Percussions de Strasbourg.
Six percussionists positioned at different points around the auditorium produce cosmic rhythmic chains, thereby influencing and altering the perception of time, as a demonstration of Grisey’s philosophy: “The comprehension of sound as an entity – permeated with organic life and enlivened through inner respiration”.
Gérard Grisey died at the age of 52. He can be counted among the most influential composers of the twentieth century and was part of the movement “musique spectrale“.
