L’Œuvre au Rouge (2019) is the composer’s second piece using this very special instrumental formation, the first being Couleurs Noires. The title refers to one of the main stages of the alchemical work.

Musically speaking, the piece opens with the slow presentation of a series of chords on which the variations that follow will be built. Each one has a very marked character, whether melodic, rhythmic, harmonic or timbral. The end is similar to the collected mood of the beginning, but is different, since the alchemical process has symbolically transformed the various elements that appear during the performance, bringing them to incandescence.

This work was created by Tetracelli on 19 Octobre 2019 in Mons (Belgium). It appears on the CD Tetracelli: Belgian Works for Cello Quartet (Pavane Records).