« The injunction of certainties
builds immobility.
When the certainty of chains
becomes more comforting than
the possibility of wings,
escape becomes an urgency.
More than a search for Beauty,
Art is a quest
for Freedom,
for Truth. »
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The Gravity of Ink, op. 15
4 voices & cello.
Christian Bobin masters the art of laconic poetry — of the sharp, crystalline maxim — where meanings are laid bare with such nakedness that they burst beyond the very words meant to contain them. If we feed music into the plasma in which these meanings float, then the semantics collide, rebound, and fuse. They open new doors for us — doors to Beauty, to Beatitude.
Interprètes : Timothé Bougon, Louise Grévin, Martin Laskawiec, Mathilde Lavignac, Eva Tamisier. Captation : YellowStudio, Coordination : Jonathan Teysseyré, Vidéo : Audrey Marty, Son : Cressida Jacquin, Mix & Montage : Lucas Sonzogni. Le Transcontemporain : Direction, Lucas Sonzogni
Three Double Poemes, op. 14
For choir and electronics
The encounter between a choir and machines is a perfect metaphor for our contemporary society.
Bodies of flesh and boxes of plastic. Voices and lines of code. The warmth of what is profoundly human facing the coldness of the computational executive — a familiar caricature of this restless world that overwhelms us.
But is the profoundly human truly so warm? In an age of the harshest inequalities, humanity seems never to have been so unjust toward itself — engaging in patriotic, communal, and religious wars, spreading obscurantisms of every kind, and sowing immeasurable suffering. The coldness of humankind at war is a burning reality. Bodies scorched by bombs — the consequence of the great game of power, still as icy as ever.
And is the computational executive truly so cold? When families communicate their love across the globe by satellite, when all the world’s knowledge lies beneath our fingertips, when conversational AIs fill the emotional void left by our own, when connected devices bring us pleasure, when programs generate paintings, poems, and symphonies — these machines come to offset the chill of our lives with a fire that no longer seems entirely artificial. To deny our dependence on all those zeros and ones has become impossible — as impossible as discerning whether it is humankind or the machine that now holds dominion.
Through a form of contemporary spirituality, the texts by Paul d’Antoine beautifully capture the sensations of submersion and helplessness that overwhelm us before these ambivalent perceptions. Understanding our world may seem impossible, yet through their deeply symbolic poetry, these texts still offer a significant space for hope — hope in humanity, and in the possibility of happiness.
In collaboration with GMEM, the Marseille Philharmonic Choir took part in recording sessions to capture the vocal material necessary for this work. Lucas Sonzogni and éOle warmly thank both institutions, as well as Martin Laskawiec and Mathilde Lavignac for their vocal supervision during these sessions.
Premiered on December 3, 2024, by Le Transcontemporain at Saint-Pierre-des-Cuisines in Toulouse.
Aeternitas Me Sequitur, op. 13
SATB chorus, cello, and acoustic reverberation.
Création FestyVocal 2023 - Choeur Seguido
The “infinite” reverberation of the Saint-Pierre Church by Le Corbusier in Firminy evokes a metaphor of eternity. The duration of its acoustic reverberation becomes an image of the spiritual eternity that emanates from such a place.Thus, this work intertwines the concept of eternity with that of the equinox, the theme of the 2023 festival.
A moment when day and night share equal length, the equinox becomes a temporal axis of symmetry — a point from which the eternities of past and future gaze upon each other with the same wonder, a point where two alterities face one another. Time stands still; day is no longer the end of night, nor night the end of day — they become a complementary duality.
“Eternity,” “axis of symmetry,” and “duality” are the three concepts that ontologically shape the work. They are present in the text, in the pitch structures, in the form, in the motifs and their interactions. They guided the composition of the piece and may also inspire its interpretation.
Spirituality, the blissful contemplation of the cosmos, and love — these are the openings offered by these three founding ideas.
Spatialization plays an important role. The score allows for potential movements of the singers, or for a broad panoramic effect. These movements, while highlighting the musical elements of the piece, also contrast with the cello, a fixed point within this space. The choice of the cello to accompany the choir arises from its spectral complementarity with the voices, and from the church’s acoustic reverberation, which emphasizes the frequencies of its register. Through the cello, it is the church itself that sings.
Per Un Cavalier, op. 12
SATB chorus a cappella.
Création 2023. Les éléments – Archipel – ARPA.
D’après le récit du procès de Péronne Galibert, condamnée pour sorcellerie en 1485 à « parcourir la ville de Labruguière (Tarn, France) la corde au cou » précédée du crieur public, puis à être « attachée à une potence pour y être brulée et consumée » ; et d’après le texte Estat ai eu greu cossirier de Beatriz de Dia, trobairitz provençale du XIIème siècle.
Mettre en regard les récits du procès d’une « sorcière » avec les textes amoureux et sensuels d’une trobairitz n’a qu’un but : dénoncer la phallocratie obscurantiste et tyrannique dont ces chasses aux sorcières sont une incarnation. Cette pièce est à la fois une apologie de la liberté et du désir féminin, et une diatribe des terribles angoisses meurtrières masculines face à leur perversion.
C’est une sur-augmentation du thème qui sert de base au tapis harmonique modal qui forme la première et dernière partie de l’œuvre, en français. Ce temps ralenti, suspendu, est une image du choc émotionnel à l’annonce de la mort. Plus rien n’a d’importance, pas même son injustice, seul le chant amoureux, en occitan, revient. Il est une partie contrastante centrale, aux couleurs devenues ambiguës.
Metropolitan Symphony, op. 11
For orchestral ensemble
Commande Estiv’Halle.
“La Vie Parisienne” — “Parisian Life” — is the theme of the commissioning festival that inspired this symphony. From the aesthetics of Art Nouveau emerge musical whorls and curves that form the thematic foundation of the work. Playful and spirited, this thematic exploration could only be free, in the image of the painters and sculptors of that era.
Three atmospheres unfold across three distinct movements. At times luminous and ingenuous, at times more ambiguous — veiling a darker historical gravity — these colors always find their source in the imagery of that late 19th-century artistic movement, brief yet profoundly influential.
Créée le 31 juillet 2022 sous la direction de Charles d’Hubert.
A Chantar, op.10
Female choir, and continuo
Création Antiphona 2023.
D’après une chanson de Beatriz de Dia, trobairitz de la fin du XIIe, début du XIIIe s. Cette chanson d’amour féminine peint un large nuancier d’émotions, suspendues aux attentes et aux incertitudes de l’être aimé. Ces rebonds toujours plus violents entre tendresse et violence sont intemporels, et nous rappelle que notre condition humaine n’a de sens que dans ces sentiments qui nous touchent profondément.
Regina Majestis, op.9
SATB chorus a cappella.
In Latin, inspired by the liturgy, this piece is not fundamentally sacred.
A Queen of Majesty? Is this piece a Marian praise?...
No. A Queen. A female figure. Saving. Nature, Earth, a Goodess, a Woman, a Destiny, maybe Mary, but definitely not an injunction.
Performed by François Bourlon, Coline Bouton, Marc Falempin-Creusot, Henri Faur, Charles d'Hubert, Christophe Juniet, Charlotte Kouby, Clément Lanfranchi, Thaïs Lescoul, Juliette Mey, Eva Tamisier, Antoine Vervier-Dasque. Recorded 27th February 2021 by Lorry Delatie and Jean-Elie Eftekhari.
Three Little Songs in the Blood, op.8
SATB chorus a cappella.
From the work of Jacques Prévert « Paroles ».
This text is a powerful look on the affliction we feel facing the world misery, and our incapacity on it.
Here Jacques Prévert wonderfully plays with scales: from the astronomical Earth, always rotating, we dive to the coagulated blood cell, « blood curdled like milk ».
Performed by François Bourlon, Coline Bouton, Marc Falempin-Creusot, Henri Faur, Charles d'Hubert, Christophe Juniet, Charlotte Kouby, Clément Lanfranchi, Thaïs Lescoul, Juliette Mey, Eva Tamisier, Antoine Vervier-Dasque. Recorded 27th February 2021 by Lorry Delatie and Jean-Elie Eftekhari.
Two Autumn Views, op.7
For piano
Inspired by two pastoral and ingenue visions, those Two Autumn Views develop an inherent pianistic and compositional game where the extramusical vision feed semantics and a formal structure. The theme of the leaf and the theme of the tree create some poetic and symbolic paths.
Performed by Jahye Euh 10th Mars 2018 at the Concours International d'Orléans 2018,
prix A. Chevillion - Y. Bonnaud. http://www.oci-piano.com
Adagio for Strings and Electronics, op.6
Op.6, for strings orchestra and electronics
Around scales based on the exponential function, here as a representation of the contemporary destruction, this piece deploys an iambic rhythm in an acoustic and electroacoustic double-space. Once the apex is reached, the harmonical opening follows its inevitable destiny of contraction, to found back its primal form.
Adagio for strings orchestra and quadriphonic recording, Op.6. Created 21st may 2012 at CNSMD Lyon conduct by Nicolas André.
Around scales based on the exponential function, here as a representation of the contemporary destruction, this piece deploys an iambic rhythm in an acoustic and electroacoustic double-space. Once the apex is reached, the harmonical opening follows its inevitable destiny of contraction, to found back its primal form.
Adagio for strings orchestra and quadriphonic recording, Op.6. Created 21st may 2012 at CNSMD Lyon conduct by Nicolas André.
Lost Piece n°2, op.5
For violon, cello, piano, and electronics
Create 17th January 2011 at CNSMD Lyon, directed by Michele Tadini and Robert Pascal. Recorded here 24th April 2012. Cello: Raphael Guinzburg. Violin: Nicolas Sublet. Piano: Vincent Mardon.
Five United Miniatures, op.4
For piano
Lucas Sonzogni, Five United Miniatures for piano, Op.4
Performed live at CNSMD Lyon by Jahye Euh 21st May 2012.
Stereophonic Piece, op.3
Acousmatic piece
Lucas Sonzogni, Stereophonic Piece, Op.3.
Create at Conservatoire de Toulouse June 2010.
Acknowledgements to Bertrand Dubedout.
Lost Piece n°1 «In Company», op.2
For two clarinets, piano, and electronics
Lost Piece n°1 "In Company", Opus 2, for two clarinets, piano et stereophonic recording. éOle order.
Create at the Conservatoire de Toulouse 6th Mars 2010 directed by Bertrand Dubedout. Piano: Marie-Laure Dupont, Clarinets: Anthony Lézian and Guillaume Pastre.
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