“I, my soul is flawed…” — Baudelaire, Spleen and Ideal, Flowers of Evil.

A very beautiful sonnet by Baudelaire, with serene and contemplative quatrains. Then, everything topples into grimly depressive tercets. Transposed in music, these images of anyone’s life suddenly become so personal. Everything topples.

la cloche fêlée [The Cracked Bell] was realized in 2004 at the composer’s studio and premiered on March 6, 2004 during the De Natura Sonorum concert of the Birmingham ElectroAcoustic Sound Theatre (BEAST) in Birmingham (UK). Thanks to abbé Maurice Contant, Saint-Antonin Church, Montréal, for authorizing the recording of the Sainte-Trinité (C), Sainte-Marie (E), and Saint-Antonin (G) bells.

Preparation

• Église Saint-Antonin, Montréal (Québec)

Composition

• 2004, Personal studio, Birmingham (England, UK)

Premiere

• March 6, 2004, De natura sonorum: Event 3 — BEAST presents…, CBSO Centre, Birmingham (England, UK)