Action Painting is a manifesto of the early phase of musical saturation. The radical complexity of the writing, the virtuosity, the screams from the instruments and musicians, and the excessive use of sound masses all combine to create an immense cry of almost unbearable violence. Inspired by Jackson Pollock and influenced by rock and punk, Cendo channels these energies into this work. The second part explores saturation in minute details, foreshadowing the "infra-saturated" period—a post-apocalyptic vision of musical material.

Action painting is constructed around the idea of “saturation.” The saturation of colours, pitches and events or musical gestures plays a crucial role. The allusion in the title to a technique of fine art is to be found at several levels: different instrumentation textures (always full and compact colours), a kind of musical “dripping,” and instrumental drawing or gestures of musicians are an integral part of the composition. As the first of my works to generalise the principle of instrumental “saturation,” Action Painting shows playing techniques that are developed further in my following works: the use of distorted sounds in the strings, multiphonics in the woodwind and brass, use of oboe and clarinet mouthpieces by brass instruments, and so forth. The work is dedicated to Nouvel Ensemble Moderne. 

- Raphaël Cendo

Action Painting is a manifesto of the early phase of musical saturation. The radical complexity of the writing, the virtuosity, the screams from the instruments and musicians, and the excessive use of sound masses all combine to create an immense cry of almost unbearable violence. Inspired by Jackson Pollock and influenced by rock and punk, Cendo channels these energies into this work. The second part explores saturation in minute details, foreshadowing the "infra-saturated" period—a post-apocalyptic vision of musical material.

Action painting is constructed around the idea of “saturation.” The saturation of colours, pitches and events or musical gestures plays a crucial role. The allusion in the title to a technique of fine art is to be found at several levels: different instrumentation textures (always full and compact colours), a kind of musical “dripping,” and instrumental drawing or gestures of musicians are an integral part of the composition. As the first of my works to generalise the principle of instrumental “saturation,” Action Painting shows playing techniques that are developed further in my following works: the use of distorted sounds in the strings, multiphonics in the woodwind and brass, use of oboe and clarinet mouthpieces by brass instruments, and so forth. The work is dedicated to Nouvel Ensemble Moderne. 

- Raphaël Cendo

Romitelli, aware of the end of grand historical narratives, revisits the modes of expression of psychedelic rock and techno, fueling a contemporary sound universe. His writing, steeped in electric sounds, reflects the shared listening experiences of modern society.

Romitelli, aware of the end of grand historical narratives, revisits the modes of expression of psychedelic rock and techno, fueling a contemporary sound universe. His writing, steeped in electric sounds, reflects the shared listening experiences of modern society.

Nymphea, a string quartet with electronics, processes sounds in real time and incorporates recited fragments of Tarkovsky’s poem toward the end. This piece is part of a series exploring computer technologies developed by Saariaho.

Nymphea, a string quartet with electronics, processes sounds in real time and incorporates recited fragments of Tarkovsky’s poem toward the end. This piece is part of a series exploring computer technologies developed by Saariaho.

This work explores a pulsed spectrum moving towards an irregular rhythm, transforming into counterpoint before returning to minimal orchestration. Vivier's spectral writing concludes with a sudden rupture followed by a pure interval.

This work explores a pulsed spectrum moving towards an irregular rhythm, transforming into counterpoint before returning to minimal orchestration. Vivier's spectral writing concludes with a sudden rupture followed by a pure interval.