Tristan Murail - Vues Aériennes

Vues Aériennes, for four instruments (1988) Bruno Lhuissier, violin Véronique Martin, cello Patrice Petitdidier, horn Dominique My, piano Aerial Views (Vues Aériennes) attempts to depict four aspects of the same musical object, seen from different angles and under different lighting. Contemporary art has accustomed us to these kinds of perspectives, pioneered by Monet with his Cathedral and Haystack series. The initial "object" is actually located at the heart of the third part of the piece: there, it is revealed head-on, under a clear light. This is the only moment when the horn is heard in its fullness. Before and after, distortions of this object are perceived. It is, in fact, the interplay of light and shadow, the interplay of viewpoints revealing different realities, forming the true subject of the score, just as Monet's subject is light itself, rather than the cathedral that serves to reveal this light. Musically, this idea is translated into the technique of distortion, which is applied to all aspects of the music: overall form, microstructures, harmonic spectra, and durations. As in a game of anamorphosis, the angle of view changes constantly, producing colors that vary but are coherent due to their common source. Morning light (clear light, very obtuse angles, maximum distortion) Rain light (blurring effects, narrower angles, less distortion) Midday light (bright light, frontal viewpoint, no distortion) Evening light (warm light, long shadows, strong distortion) This can be compared to the structure of a musical sound – attack, sustain, decay. These phases are of unequal length each time, just as the shadow of an object shortens and lengthens with the hours of the day (the long wait for the morning light, the long fall for the evening light). The horn has a particular role: it only truly intervenes in the central phases of each section. It will be heard above all, in its full force, like a soloist, in the third section (the midday light) – before, it will be muted, after, it will play mainly with stopped notes. --Tristan Murail Art by Claude Monet