Broadcast of MATRA

MATRA Cantata for vocal ensemble, instrumental ensemble, trio concertante and electronics. Three layers of sound: the six members of Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart (three female voices and three male voices) project the often homorhythmically sung texts in a commendatory spirit with long echoes. The vocal style is rich of short and rapid ornaments (often linked to exhalation phenomenons) introducing musical phrases with glottal effects until they get engulfed by long and luminous chords. A cornucopia of "close harmonies", diatonic quasi-clusters that become brighter thanks to carefully balanced quarter-tones adorning the texture. The instrumental ensemble is a breathing, spitting force of nature, weaving rhythms and punctuating the pace of things. Bianchi explored the theory of charkas: motion and circulation of energy underlies his conception of spirituality, a combination of labour and struggle. A few fine spectral chords at the woodwinds, conjuring up the sound of bells or gongs, as well as a transparent but unstable instrumental harmony, remind us that Bianchi studied with Tristan Murail at Columbia University. At the electric guitar: instrumental ''bone fragments'', lurking infrabass shadows, a few saturated textures... The young man is in tune with his time! Completed in 2007, this roughly 50 minutes long cantata is brimming with burning passion. Written for three low-register instruments, vocal ensemble, instrumental ensemble and electronics, the work already has successfully toured Europe (Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Brussels). Tantric Shivaism, Gnostic writings and De Rerum Natura by Lucretius are intertwined to sing in MATRA the endless dimensions of material life (> see the libretto). The result is a long, exalted prayer (35 minutes) that pits smooth harmonies against turbulent yet concentrated rhythms and bursts of implosive energy. Lastly, a trio of low-register instruments - tubax (contrabass saxophone), contrabass Paetzold recorder, and bass flute - calls to mind the tireless inward-looking and inescapable flurry of Samsara, a place of ignorant passions (or of a passion for ignorance). We processed these three instruments with almost no reverb in contrast to the human voices. What a sweet sound for sore ears! Courtesy Jean Luc Plouvier, ICTUS ensemble.