Monochrone

The acoustic scale (C, D, E, F sharp, G, A, B flat) provides the melodic and harmonic material for Monochrone (1990). The piece opens with an impression of chaos (play on short cells in the low register), but this “molten magma” ends up organizing itself little by little.

A “mute” chord (pressing the keys without resonance) runs through the entire work and represents the imperceptible unfolding of time. Various variations are grafted onto this unique and motionless time, which symbolize the events of life. This piece alternates passages requiring a very great rhythmic and technical precision on the part of the performer, with others where the poetry of the sonorities allows the latter to give free rein to his imagination and sense of colour. Imposed at the piano competition of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in 1998 and in 2010, Monochrone has been the subject of two CD recordings, the first by Mireille Gleizes (label AVK Productions 001), the second by Stéphane De May (label René Gailly, out of print).