Program note
POÉTIQUE DES FLUIDES was composed in 2006 for a consortium of piano trios: the Eroica and Mannes trios in New York, the Mojave trio in Los Angeles, and the Kungsbacka trio in Sweden.
The 15 minutes of the first movement alternate joyous launches and static phases. The second movement is a lyric meditation lasting 6 minutes, while the last is a devilish finale accelerating throughout its 4 minutes.
In the first movement the two strings imitate each other constantly, with the cello often pretending to be a violin. Inversion canons abound. Structurally, several musical characters are presented and developed in an immutable order, following a scheme "by addition" (A, ABA, (A)BCBA…) reaching a freer developmental section. The last third follows the reverse order, giving the movement an overall palindromic design.
The second movement opens with an inverted canon in the strings, followed by two solos, after which the initial canon returns with the two voices exchanged. The piano accompanies throughout in second-species counterpoint.
The third movement (attacca) opens with a low vibration in the cello, which turns out to be expressing a 12/8. With the violin's entrance, the meter shrinks to 11/8 while the register expands. This scheme of shrinking meter and widening ambitus continues, alternating peaks (10/8, 8/8, 6/8) and transitory episodes (9/8, 7/8). The movement takes this frenetic trip all the way to 3/8.
The Mojave Trio, Pasadena, CA
Details
Instrumentation
Piano trio (violin, cello, piano)
Duration
25'
Date
2006
Commissioned by
Co-commissioned by the Eroica Trio, Mannes Trio, and Mojave Trio (USA) and the Kungsbacka Trio (Sweden)
Recording
Lost Dog New Music Ensemble
Chamber Music of Philippe Bodin
Sheet music
Available upon request
First performance
Partial premiere: The Eroica Trio, Los Angeles, CA, February 2006
Full premiere: The Mojave Trio, Los Angeles, CA, April 2006
Selected performances
The Mannes Trio, New York, NY, April 2014
The Kungsbacka Trio, Göteborg, Sweden, June 2015