This work brings to mind diatoms, a remarkable member of the phytoplankton. Diatoms are microscopic algae. There are so many of them that they colour the ocean and become visible from space. I imagined the point of view of someone posted in a space station observing Earth and the blooms of diatoms that seem to be stationary, like large blots of light-hued paint in the deep blue of the ocean.

To illustrate this idea, I composed a contemplative piece of music made of a long, continuous swaths of sound. It consists of pure waves and unfolds with potentially infinite duration. Less pure elements are added for contrast. I wanted to create a shadowy world where nothing is clearly detectable. The title is a reference to the Asphodel Meadows, a section of the Greek underworld, which I understand as a vast plain where nothing is happening, nothing is standing out, everything is underlying.

— Ana Dall’Ara-Majek [English translation: François Couture, xii-23]

Canticum asphodeli was realized in 2023 at Studio Blue Spider in Montréal (Québec) from recordings made in 2022 at the Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) in Stockholm (Sweden). Thanks to the entire EMS team. The realization of this piece was made possible thanks to the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ).

Preparation

• June 27 – July 10, 2022, Elektronmusikstudion (EMS), Stockholm (Sweden)

Composition

• June – August 2023, Studio Blue Spider, Montréal (Québec)

Mastering

• February 14, 2024, Dominique Bassal • Studio Inverse, Montréal (Québec)