l’abîme

It’s difficult to say where and when the idea for L’Abîme originated. To put it very simply it is a piece that attempts to portray the sense of danger brought on by the world’s inevitably rising sea levels.

The title, meaning “the abyss”, is a nod to Debussy’s La Mer, which as you’ll see has an immense influence on almost every aspect of this work.

I first set about depicting the ocean after encountering the work of Winslow Homer, an influential American painter and fellow New Englander. l’Abîme uses three paintings of his, Northeaster, Cannon Rock, and Maine Coast to inform the atmosphere and form of each movement. But as the music progresses, it is gradually engulfed by material from Debussy’s La Mer. What begins as an apparent influence, with Debussy’s motivic content and pentatonic language bleeding into my own, grows across the piece into something that overwhelms the content native to L’Abîme. By the second movement the music begins pivoting back and forth without preparation to direct quotes of Debussy’s work, gradually doing so with greater frequency. In the finale, pre-recorded excerpts play back atop the ensemble, piling up on itself to create an ever heightening wave of sound. The piece ends at the crest of this sonic wave, with its catastrophic effects yet to be decided.

~ September 20th , 2019 | New York, NY~