“Sudden occurrence of a brief fit of madness in a patient suffering from a slight mental instability.”

— Larousse

Bouffée délirante (Maddening Exhalation) is my first attempt to realize what has been coined ‘cinema for the ear.’ I began with a scenario: a person in search of his-her self falls prey to fatal madness. This piece would then be divided into two sections: escape/isolation and fantasm/madness. Glad to move beyond this limiting sketch, I decided to concentrate my efforts on internal space (that which is part of the recording) and how it relates to form. Bouffée délirante also marks the first time that I explored montage and the sudden jump-cut gesture that would become a regular part of my compositional palette.

Bouffée délirante was realized at the electroacoustic studio of Concordia University and of Université de Montréal and premiered in the spring of 1990 at Concordia University. Bouffée délirante was awarded a prize in both CAPAC and PROCAN Canadian composition competitions (1990). Thanks to Francis Dhomont.

Composition

• 1990, Electroacoustic Studios — Concordia University, Montréal (Québec)
• 1990, Faculté de musique – Université de Montréal, Montréal (Québec)

Premiere

• May 7, 1990, ÉuCuE VIII: Concert 10, Salle de concert — Campus Loyola — Université Concordia, Montréal (Québec)

Awards

• Prize, Hugh Le Caine Awards, CAPAC Awards for Young Composers 1990, Canada
• 2nd prize ex æquo, Electroacoustic and Computer Music, PROCAN Young Composers Competition 1990, Canada