L'Enfer Arrive - for String Orchestra (2023)

"L'Enfer Arrive" - rough translation: "Hell Rising" was inspired by the catacombs in Paris, which extend from the "Barrière d'Enfe" - "Gates of Hell". The scene that the piece depicts is quite literally hell rising from the grounds of the catacombs. The piece is split into three sections;"The Gathering"High tremolo strings open the piece, in an almost timeless feel, as almost inaudible double basses gently ring in the background, steadily in march-like crotchets. Slowly, more of the orchestra joins, and the texture gets denser, as the harmonic speed of the upper strings gets faster, eventually matching the marching bass pizz. The cellos play the dies irae theme, and it gets quoted in fragments by other instruments, building in intensity towards a final dissonant F# minor-ish chord."The Seige"Hell has finally broken loose, and the chaos of the infernal deep starts rising to the surface, spreading disorder around the world. The section is faster, inspired by Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, with its disordered, syncopated rhythms and aggressive, unexpected changes. The siege ends with some form of white noise, where the orchestra slowly descends into complete chaos, grounded by a low E on the basses. Performers can choose what to play within given options, and together they create a wall of absolute overwhelming noise. Then, silence."Sirens"The last section reminisces on a world, now broken and destroyed. It opens with very quiet strings, swaying back and forth between microtones around it very slowly, creating this siren-like effect that emulates a nuclear alarm sound distress alarm. The section explores numerous ways of creating this haunting soundworld, such as having a note played across the orchestra desk by desk, to make it seem like it's gradually moving in space. It also features 2 solo violins, (preferably the first desk of the first violins) representing a kind of lost voice amidst the destruction, as if longing nostalgically for a time that has gone.

Recorded at the Royal Academy of Music Duke's Hall