Eroticism is the theme of this work. Oaristys means love affair. The formal schematic of the work follows the stages of a hypothetical night of love. The work is divided into six movements. L’appel du désir (The Call of Desire): This movement describes the awakening of the senses at the thought of an embrace, like the restless caress of a wave from water to skin. Excerpted from a saraband for cello by JS Bach, the quote recalls how in one era this musical form was a licentious, erotic — and forbidden — dancing song. Nô music is used here as a mythic and dramatic connotation, an evocation in sound of Japanese prints. L’approche (The Approach): A tribute to Pierre Henry and Pierre Schaeffer in the form of a remake of the Érotica movement in their Symphonie pour un homme seul. Two beings come close, communicating their desire with laughter and its variations, insidious eloquence and intimist power. It is a game of approaches and false flights. Étreintes et voluptés (Embraces and Sensuous Delight): A carousel of urges and sensual delirium, it is a furtive look into the eye of death, a gesture of initiation into the passion for life. Pulsion animale (Animal Urges): The reign of instinct. Nothing in this movement resembles anything human. The animal side of man comes to life and shows all of its crudeness. L’éclatement (Scattering): A celebration of laughter and oblivion, a nose thumbed at the death wish, where the bodies fall in glissandi to an accompaniment of conniving humor. It is the long-awaited moment when desire makes fun of gratification, constantly rejecting greyness for grace. Désinence (Inflection): A long and drawn out finale, a last breath bringing us back to the intimacy of a couple. A return to the giggling dialogues of complicity, in which tension is dissolved with the ultimate release of bodies. |