Instrumentation: string quartet
Duration: 17 minutes
Year composed: 2014
Performers: Quatuor Molinari
First performance: Quatuor Molinari, April 1, 2016, Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, Canada
Program note: The discovery of sound in space was the inspiration for A whisper from space. This piece was conceived as an evocation of the paradoxical situation of the universe, illustrating the emptiness and also the life present in space. The principal material for the piece comes from an Indian raga expressing the birth and destruction of the universe. The pivoting notes A and D are recurring pitches all along the six movements of the piece. These six movements represent the different ambiances and activities in space illuminating each in their own way silence, circular movements, constellations of high pitched notes, and a finale full of violence like a super nova.
