Timbres, espace, mouvement

Timbres, espace, mouvement (Timbre, space, movement) is a work for orchestra composed by Henri Dutilleux in 1978. It is subtitled La Nuit Etoilée (The Starry Night) in reference to a painting by Vincent Van Gogh. The composer wanted to translate in his composition the "almost cosmic whirling effect which (the painting) produces" This work is written for an orchestra that comprises 16 woodwinds (4 flutes, 4 oboes, 4 clarinets, 4 bassoons), 11 bras... more

Timbres, espace, mouvement (Timbre, space, movement) is a work for orchestra composed by Henri Dutilleux in 1978. It is subtitled La Nuit Etoilée (The Starry Night) in reference to a painting by Vincent Van Gogh. The composer wanted to translate in his composition the "almost cosmic whirling effect which (the painting) produces" This work is written for an orchestra that comprises 16 woodwinds (4 flutes, 4 oboes, 4 clarinets, 4 bassoons), 11 brass instruments (4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba), 12 celli, 10 double basses, percussions, harp, celesta, and timpani. Interestingly, there are no violins or violas. Their absence was meant to translate the impression of relative emptiness and immobility conveyed by the lower half of the painting. On the other hand, the wind instruments and percussions are particularly prominent. Their solos represent the movements of the clouds and the light of the stars and the moon. Space is represented by an unusual distribution of the celli. They... less