Le Bal - Sax Quartet SATB

Premiere on July 8, 2003, at the World Saxophone Congress in Minneapolis (United States), by the Jean-Yves Fourmeau Quartet

An empty stage, still bathed in a fading light. At times, memories of past balls emerge with their procession of embracing couples, frenetic, repetitive rhythms... then this image blurs before diluting into the initial fixed shot. This is how one could describe this piece, taken from five "Ball Scenes" for string quartet and recomposed from the distant memory of the eponymous film by Ettore Scola. A waltz, a tango, a slow dance, and finally a more "disco" dance take shape at the level of the compositional material, then dilute into spaces of waiting and transformation of the structural elements serving as links between the different dances. If clarity and vitality, as well as a certain figuration of orchestral abundance characterize the piece, the dramatic center of the piece will be the central part of the slow and its obstinate and heavy bass overlooked by a dense polyphony which will leave an indelible mark until the denouement of the piece. (Thierry Escaich)