Images stellaires Op. 161

Images stellaires, Op. 161, composed in 1973, is Jean Absil’s penultimate completed work and one of his rare ventures into the realm of string duos. Scored for violin and cello alone—a demanding ensemble due to its austere texture—it consists of five brief movements, or “images,” each evoking a poetic aspect of the starry heavens. Though the movements bear only numerical designations (I to V), the composer’s imagination clearly draws upon the mysteries of the cosmos and the sublime beauty of the night sky. Lasting approximately fifteen minutes, the suite presents a series of contrasting tableaux, unified by their lyrical restraint. From a musicological perspective, Images stellaires stands out for its pared-down contrapuntal writing: Absil employs the instruments in imitative dialogue or by juxtaposing high and low registers to suggest the spatial depth of the universe.

The first movement (Modéré) sets a contemplative tone, with wide intervals and gentle harmonics evoking the remote shimmer of stars. It is followed by a livelier movement characterised by dotted rhythms and leaping intervals, perhaps suggestive of stellar dance or restless twinkling. The third, more lyrical section features a cello cantilena supported by arpeggiated figures in the violin, conjuring a serene nocturnal mood. A return to rhythmic tension and harmonic dissonance marks the fourth movement, possibly alluding to cosmic vastness or stellar energy. The final image closes the cycle on a tranquil note, with slow, consonant chords dissolving into silence, like a star fading at dawn. Throughout, Absil remains faithful to his late compositional language: a freely modal idiom tempered by atonality and marked by textural clarity. Deprived of harmonic accompaniment, the music relies on melodic and rhythmic invention to sustain interest—through timbral effects (such as pizzicato figures in the cello or the violin’s ethereal harmonics), dynamic contrasts, and tightly woven dialogues.

Composed the year before Absil’s death, Images stellaires possesses the character of an artistic testament, imbued with introspection and timelessness. The work was likely premiered in 1974 in Brussels, perhaps in an intimate setting at the Etterbeek Academy, where Absil had served as director. Due to its unusual instrumentation and inward character, it attracted little public attention at the time. Nevertheless, the piece is now regarded by connoisseurs as a gem of chamber music, praised for its economy of means and a Stravinskian purity of expression.