Fringes

The title "Fringes" refers to several aspects that are central to this project. The first aspect is spatial; the piece is scored for 22 instruments, 13 on stage and 3 groups of 3 instruments spatialized in the concert hall. In other words, the audience is in the center and the music travels in the fringes, the edges of the space. This idea was inspired and in many ways custom made to celebrate the spatial qualities of the Philharmonie de Paris 2. However, the title also explores and celebrates other aspects and preoccupations which very much resonate with particularly French sensibilities. It explores, for example, the fringes between pitched sound and noise, timbre, harmony, and polyphony, as well as the edges of written and oral music traditions (drones, syncopation, repetition, metallic sounds), and even vocal and instrumental sounds. The work also explores fringes of traditional composition and electroacoustic paradigm, which often serve as as catalysts for large-scale as well as local structures. These fringes are in many ways a humble homage to French music, particularly to composers who explored such transitional states such as Messiaen, Boulez, Murail, and Grisey, thus creating extremely original works from the interpretation of foreign or even contradictory musical elements. On a personal level, it is dedicated to the birth of my first child, Pietra Rose, and my wife Nikola.