“In darkness or in light, a song steps forward, taking over from another song that was getting tired.”

— Eugène Guillevic, Le chant, 1990 [our translation]

This piece expresses an inner garden, destruction and creation, dark and light. There’s slight inspiration from Japanese gardens, though interpreted in a very personal way, dramatically at times, striking a contrast with the expected tranquility of such places..

The piece is playing with the poetics and symbolism of the dark, but it is also exploring the instrumental persona of acousmatic music, notably through the cello here used both as a lyrical element and as source material for other sounds.

— Armando Balice [English translation: François Couture, v-25]

Black Garden was realized in 2018-19 at the studios of Ina-GRM in Paris (France), on a trip to Tokyo (Japan), and at the composer’s studio in Paris. It was premiered on 19 January 2019 during the concert Akousma 2 as part of the Multiphonies de l’Ina-GRM series at Auditorium Saint-Germain de la MPAA (Paris, France). It was commissioned by Ina-GRM. I would like to thank Lola Malique (cello recorded in October 2018 at the studio of Ina-GRM), Emmanuel Richier, François Bonnet, Jules Négrier, and Ina-GRM.

Preparation

• October 24, 2018, Lola Malique, cello; Armando Balice • Groupe de recherches musicales – Institut national de l’audiovisuel (Ina-GRM), Paris (France)
• October 29, 2018, Lola Malique, cello; Armando Balice • Groupe de recherches musicales – Institut national de l’audiovisuel (Ina-GRM), Paris (France)

Composition

• 2018 – 2019, Groupe de recherches musicales – Institut national de l’audiovisuel (Ina-GRM), Paris (France)
• 2018 – 2019, Tokyo (Japan)
• 2018 – 2019, Personal studio, Paris (France)

Premiere

• January 19, 2019, Multiphonies 2018-19: Akousma 5, Auditorium Saint-Germain — MPAA, Paris (France)