Athanor [conductor’s score]

Composed in 2019, Athanor is a single-movement orchestral work that seeks to evoke, through sound, the “philosophical furnace” of the alchemists.

The piece opens in a dark, mysterious atmosphere — with timpani, string harmonics and other shadowy timbres — from which various elements gradually emerge. These seemingly chaotic fragments begin to coalesce, slowly assembling into more defined structures. A highly expressive melodic motif eventually rises to the surface, forming the core material for the first section of the work.

This is followed by a much more rhythmically driven and animated section in 7/8 metre: fast-paced, colourful, and full of unexpected turns. Sudden shifts in mode and dynamics, virtuosic writing, and striking sonic contrasts generate a sense of perpetual transformation. The opening material returns at the close, but now enriched and layered with all that has preceded it, giving the impression that the Materia Prima — the raw material of alchemical tradition — has undergone transmutation into light.

The world premiere took place on 17 July 2019 at the Institut du monde arabe in Paris, performed by the Arab Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (AYPO) under the direction of French conductor Mathieu Braud.

The Belgian premiere was held at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels on 1 November 2022, performed by the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by David Navarro Turres.