In numerous myths, the creation of the universe occurs with a breath or a cry. From primitive African cultures to the Vedic texts of India, throughout China and amongst the Inuit People… the universality of a sound as the basis for the various cosmogonies is striking. And don’t the astrophysical theories of the 20th-century designate the first few seconds of the universe with the expression ‘Big Bang’? In the space of a few minutes, Murmure (Murmur) weaves the long journey from the original breath to the human voice.

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Murmure was produced using mainly voice sounds and the Yamaha DX-7II synthesizer, at the Bruit vert studio in Montréal in 1989. It was commissioned by David Olds for his radio program Transfigured Night on CKLN FM in Toronto, premiering on December 4, 1989. Murmure was produced with support from the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA). Many thanks to Marie-France Lambert and David Olds. Murmure is part of the Anthology of Canadian Music: Electroacoustic Music on the Radio Canada International label (ACM 37).

Composition

• 1989, Studio Bruit vert, Montréal (Québec)

Premiere

• December 4, 1989, Concert, CKLN FM, Toronto (Ontario, Canada)