De part et d’autre

Composed in 1995, De part et d’autre (On Both Sides) is a short piece of predominantly rhythmic and repetitive character. The instrumentation is deliberately unspecified, allowing significant freedom for the performers — not in terms of improvisation, but in their creative choices regarding timbre, instrumental effects, and even the clef (treble, bass, or alto) in which the score is read.

All the pitches used are derived from the acoustic scale (C, D, E, F♯, G, A, B♭), and this constraint, combined with the openness of interpretation, enables the realisation of thousands of radically different versions — even with the same instrumental forces. The work thus lies at the intersection of structured composition and interpretative flexibility.

A superb recorded version by the Soledad ensemble was released on Virgin Classics (7243 5 45503 2 4).

The world premiere of a version for instrumental ensemble under the direction of the composer took place on 5 November 1995 in Brussels.