... aux cendres [study II for orchestra]

One would not be mistaken in discerning a surreptitious link between the two orchestral works, Des flammes… (2023-24) and … aux cendres (2024). Even under the rubric of being conceived as a short, ‘one-off’ work, Des flammes… – premiered in June 2024 – was intended as part of a larger, multi-movement orchestral composition; as such, I am grateful to have the opportunity to create a companion piece with … aux cendres, which is dedicated to Elim Chan.

If Des flammes… exposes the visceral dimension of an imaginary ‘event’ by placing the listener in situ, … aux cendres explores instead the memory of the said event. Specifically, the piece represents an attempt to overcome a repressed, traumatic memory. It is unsurprising, therefore, that … aux cendres is permeated by forces and dynamics of attraction and repulsion, of evasion and confrontation. The tension that binds the musical materials, however, is never cathartically resolved; instead, it is infinitely prolonged in an insurmountable state of suspense, which is mourning itself. The event is, as the colloquial expression would have it, injuriously and involuntarily “burnt” into memory; this traumatic scarring, a residual, “visual” trace, continues to haunt, such that an insidious past persists into the present, foreclosing any possibilities for unforeseeable futures.

It would be remiss, however, to read … aux cendres exclusively as – to borrow a term from Jacques Derrida – a “work of mourning.”Rather, if one is to lend credibility to the notion that works of art cannot be comprehended without taking into account the environment which their creators inhabit, then the soundscapes in … aux cendres – in turn tempestuous and desolate(descriptions used, incidentally,as expressive markings at various sections of the piece) – portray a world left in ruins and ashes, ravaged by violent geopolitical military conflict and frequent financial crises,not to mention the looming threat of humanity’s total capitulation to increasingly “intelligent” digital technology. … aux cendres is, so to speak, a work born of the flames of our times. It does not purport to narrate any “truths,” nor does it seek to dramatise any “event”; its resonances are merely reflections – and refractions – of an “experience”.

The two orchestral works, Des flammes… and … aux cendres form an orchestral diptych that pays homage to the memory of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho (1952-2023). The title of the diptych references Saariaho’s own orchestral diptych comprising the works Du cristal (1989-90) for orchestra and electronics and ... à la Fumée (1990) for solo alto flute, cello and orchestra.