The 13th letter
String quartet. Composed in 2014. Written for the Tana String Quartet. Unpublished. Duration: 13m.
There is a recurring notion in my work as a composer: a special attention to the expression of the fluidity, the constant permeability between all the sounds of the boundless continuum of the universe. This work, like all music and sounds of the past, present and future, is only a fragment of this absolute continuum that transcends any temporality, any aesthetic, any reference. Therefore, it seems essential to understand The 13th letter, not as a hard-edged bubble of music, that one look-at-with-the-ears from outside, but to sense it as a part of its environment. The piece is to be associated to intimately personal sounds and those of the neighbors (breathing, tiny noises due to movements), the false silence full of crunches of the concert hall, the diffuse sound that seeps in from outside, and further, to the gush of sounds of the city, the world, and the universe. The 13th letter invites the listener to experience the mindfulness of sound. The quartet (which includes the Tulse Luper Suitcase #13: Food drop) was premiered by the Tana String Quartet on November 19, 2014, at the auditorium Jongen, Brussels.