PRESS PLAY Episode 64: Heurts – Aspérités – Desseins

June 26, 2025
Heurts – Aspérités – Desseins*
Émilie Girard-Charest (CA), composer

Leslie Newman, flute
Anthony Thompson, clarinet
Carol Fujino, violin
Paul Widner, cello
Gregory Oh, piano
Ryan Scott, percussion

Programme Note:

Forming a trilogy, Heurts, Aspérités and Desseins can be performed together or separately. The pieces are united by their use of noisy elements as raw material but are shaped differently in terms of energy.

In Heurts, I explored the notion of rupture. I was interested in the moment when a breaking point is reached, occurring from forces within or due to an external force. The piece is a series of failed attempts to channel an energy that is slipping away from our grasp, expressed by raw and playful undomesticated sonorities. It has been inspired by improvisations in duet with my friend and colleague Sergio Castrillón.

Aspérités is based on the notion of texture. It is an exploration of the “inside” of sound, bringing to light the underlying lyricism of the rough sonorities exposed in Heurts. The elements unfold more slowly and delicately, inviting a change in listening perspective that allows us to perceive the melodies that emanate from the sonic artefacts – the noise of the bows, the irregularities of the surfaces, beatings, resulting harmonics, etc.

*world premiere