La mort des amants

Premiered by the Solistes de L’Orchestre de Tours; Donatienne Michel-

Dansac, soprano;
Jacques Pési, conductor. Based upon Charles Baudelaire's poem with the

same title, La mort des amants reflects its connection with its literary

source in various ways. The composition follows the poetic tension of the

source which resolves into an inevitable tragic event; accompanied with

utilization of subtle or explicit word-painting techniques. The formal

structure of the piece is divided by interludes called parenthèses, a

formal device borrowed from Henri Dutilleux's Ainsi la nuit. First two

parenthèses carry premonitions of the future by ambiguously reflecting

elements that will be fully introduced in later phases of the work.
Another connection with the source work appears at a different level:

certain rhymes of the poem are “simulated” by mimicking the consonants

with extended techniques and also by imitating the vowels via utilization

of their primary and secondary formant frequencies. The piece also uses

“singing formants”; spectral fingerprints of the voice of the piece's

dedicatee, American musicologist and vocalist Sarah Kolat.
1 Awarded the 2nd Prize in 7ème Concours International Henri Dutilleux