Composer's Note When I considered the ensemble of eight cellos I first thought of matt and dark textures. I also wanted to go back to some ideas on symmetry. While I was pondering all that I saw snow flakes fallingfrom the dark sky of the Finnish autumn. Focusing on the snow the idea of writing variations on it and its various forms became clearer in my mind.Nuages de neige is a uniform and linear texture in which I realise my firstimpressions of that ensemble. The two Etoiles de neige are based on the idea of symmetry and repetition: the first one develops up to a certain point where it doubles back as in a mirror image the second one consists of eightsections in which the harmonic structure is repeated as well as a linear gesture that becomes ever more present. Aguilles de glace focuses on different pizzicati and superimposed ostinati. With Fleurs de neige I sought to recallthe texture of those harmonic trills at the end of the first section although more airy and diversified here. Kaija Saariaho

Folk Strings is a collection of folk melodies from around the world arranged for strings. Unlike classical music, which normally has an authentic version, folk music often exists in many versions, with differences in the melody or lyrics. Sometimes several countries lay claim to a melody because a group of people moved to a new country and took their music with them. Most folk songs were sung and played for many years before they were written down, and their original composer is usually unknown. This collection includes melodies in a variety of moods and with rhythmic patterns which are representative of their country of origin. The arrangements in Folk Strings can be effective with players at a variety of levels. In order to provide maximum flexibility, the collection is available in a number of instrumentations.

Par MANTOVANI BRUNO. O salutaris hostia est le titre d'une hymne chrétienne composée par Saint Thomas d'Aquin. Cette hymne a inspiré nombre de compositeurs de la renaissance dont Josquin des Prés, Thomas Tallis et un de mes musiciens favoris, Pierre de la Rue, qui vécut à la lisière entre les 15e et 16e siècles. Le 'O salutaris hostia' de ce dernier est une courte pièce à quatre voix à laquelle j'ai appliqué, chose inédite chez moi, des principes d'écriture automatique. J'ai tout d'abord étiré le 'squelette harmonique' de l'oeuvre originale sur 7 minutes et 30 secondes (ce qui multiplie la durée totale par 5 par rapport à l'original) puis j'ai défini une liste d'une vingtaine de modes de jeux. Ensuite, j'ai appliqué ces modes de jeux à l'harmonie existante en organisant des transitions progressives d'une configuration à une autre. De ce fait, malgré l'activité instrumentale permanente et la transformation perpétuelle de la texture, un sentiment de temps étiré et de contemplation s'installe par la régularité du propos. Je me suis souvent inspiré de modèles du passé pour écrire des oeuvres (Gesualdo, Schubert, Schumann) mais c'est la première fois que le modèle est aussi prégnant malgré les traitements qui lui sont appliqués. / Contemporain / Répertoire / 7 Violoncelles