Pentagramme

Pentagramme (2010) is structured in five thematic sections (A, B, C, D, and E), following an overall form of ABCB′DEA′D′. Section A is built around a motif reminiscent of a call or signal, echoed by each instrument in turn at various intervals. A short flute cadenza then introduces section B, where five highly melodic motifs gradually appear and overlap. Several modulations create abrupt shifts in color and atmosphere. Toward the end of B, only one of the five motifs remains, which then becomes the driving force of section C. This section is highly rhythmic and energetic, composed exclusively in irregular meters: 3/8, 5/8, and 7/8.

B returns abruptly, overlapping with the conclusion of C, whose turbulence gradually fades. The generative motif of D emerges at the end of this B return (B′). The relentless character of D is immediately apparent: the motif is treated canonically by four instruments, while the horn (or viola) enters in elongated note values (augmented motif). New themes gradually replace the generative motif, giving rise to section E, upon which the theme from C is superimposed.

Without transition, A′ is back, echoing section A but with imitations now occurring at the octave or in unison. The flow is disrupted three times by intrusions of motifs from E, the third of which acts as a bridge into D′—a freely constructed section using mirror writing and retrograde motion derived from D. Here, the long-note entries of the horn (or viola) are interspersed with recalls of motifs from E. The final coda layers the principal theme of B in counterpoint with elements from D′.

The world premiere of Pentagramme took place in South Korea on August 11, 2010, at Ilshin Hall (Seoul), and in Belgium on November 14, 2010, at the Chapelle de Boondael, performed by Ensemble Quartz, who commissioned and to whom the work is dedicated.

Pentagramme was selected by the NU Quintet for its 2024 season, as the only European work on the program. The U.S. premiere took place on September 22, 2024, at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music – Cary Hall in New York.

The piece is featured on the album Cosmographies, recorded in 2011 by Ensemble Quartz (Quartziade label 014,