Interstices, for solo piano and three percussionists (2009)
Interstices is dedicated to Françoise Thinat
Commissioned by the Orleans International Piano Competition (OCI) and the Percussions de Strasbourg, with support from the Central Regional Council and the Francis and Mica Salabert Foundation.
Written for solo piano and three percussionists, Interstices resembles a "mini concerto" with the percussion in the orchestral role. The piano, of course, does not only have a solo role and fuses with the percussion in certain sections to create a single and unique timbre.
As the title suggests, the piece is constructed in the form of large sections interrupted by periods during which highly identifiable elements appear. These elements, whether brief rhythmical incidents or true musical events, can in turn give rise to a new intelligible discourse, itself interrupted by new elements, and so forth. For example, a "loop" finishes the piece, with the principal element being inserted, like a parentheses, into the preceding section, which is itself composed of a short homo-rhythmic motive that had interrupted the work's slow section several times, just before.
In terms of the instrumental writing, I respected a relatively classical pianistic style. The piece having been written for an international piano competition, I wanted the instrumentalists to be able to take advantage of all of their technical resources. It is due to blending with the percussion as well as doublings with the keyboard or relatively pitched instruments that an overly direct and codified perception of the piano is avoided.
Interstices is a very energetic and rhythmical piece and even the most static and poetic moments are disrupted by interventions of very incisive rhythmic motives.
It is all a matter of tension, and when, from time to time, we wish for a bit of tranquillity, an event appears, putting into question the calm that we seemed to have found at last.
Philippe Hurel
Translated by Jacqueline Rose.
» Download the program note : interstices.rtf «