Dialogue de l'ombre double

Dialogue de l'ombre double (Dialogue of the double shadow) is a mixed work by Pierre Boulez for clarinet and electroacoustic device composed in 1985. The play is dedicated to Luciano Berio for his sixtieth birthday.[1] There exists a version for bassoon, for saxophone, for traverse flute and for recorder, each made by the performer themself.

Dialogue de l'ombre double is based on the scene "double shadow" of Paul Claudel's 11-hour play The Satin Slipper.[2] The clarinetist dialogues with his/her shadow, represented by a part of clarinet pre-recorded on magnetic tape and spatialized by means of loudspeakers dispersed around the audience.[2]

The work was premiered on October 28, 1985, in Florence by Alain Damiens. The version for saxophone was premiered on June 23, 2001, at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, by Vincent David [fr].[2] The version for traverse flute was premiered in May 2002 in San Francisco by Cécile Daroux [fr]. In 2015, a version by Jorrit Tamminga [nl] and Erik Bosgraaf for recorder was premiered by Bosgraaf.[3]

The performance lasts about 15 to 20 minutes.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Dialogue de l'ombre double, Pierre Boulez (1985)" (work details) (in French and English). IRCAM.
  2. ^ a b c Berio, Boulez, Vincent David, Ensemble Quærendo Invenietis: Dialogue, Chemins, Récit..., æon records AECD 0860, 2008, liner notes
  3. ^ "Boulez Dialogue de l'ombre Double", review by Richard Whitehouse of 2015 Bosgraaf recording, Gramophone
  4. ^ Jean Henri Huber, Les Amis de la Musique Contemporaine (April 5, 2021). "Dialogue de l'ombre double". musiquecontemporaine.info (in French). Retrieved July 25, 2022.