Work
...du second infini
for piano
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About
This piece, composed in 2000 for Xenia Pestova, evolves from the overtone series of the lowest E-flat on the piano, the first chord being composed of the fifth, eighth, ninth, and fifteenth partials. More partials are added, and eventually inharmonic (non-integer) partials are incorporated into the sound. As the piece continues other fundamentals with their respective series are introduced, enriching the harmonic territory. The earlier part of the piece is dominated by isolated chords of changing harmonicity, which are then displaced by clouded events. These give way to a passage of continuous fluctuating resonance, which acts as a kind of catalyst for the final emergence of the most complex 'meta-notes' – mass events whose morphology has a perceptual affinity with the individual note or chord, but which (unlike individual notes on the piano) are amenable to variation and transformation after the onset. The title is taken from the title of a poem by Robert Desnos, perhaps suggesting the ‘inward’ infinity that seeks (perversely, in the case of the piano) to delve into the interior of the sound, in contrast to the infinity of unending space.
Performance history
21 Oct 2014: Performed by Mark Knoop at the Rare Earth Concert at City University London, in London.