“… since then, he has long tried to forget these abominable memories…” — Enki Bilal, La chose à venir in Memories of Outer Space and Memories of Other Times

L’Odyssée (The Odyssey) draws inspiration from the comic short story La chose à venir by Yugoslavian cartoonist Enki Bilal (1951). The comic book’s world is characterized by science fiction, surrealism, and the psycho-dramatic aspect of both characters and plot. From my analysis of the comic book, I have drawn out a few affects; coldness, anxiety, horror, and madness. For each affect, I have selected a number of sounds that illustrate it on a metaphorical level. However, the book’s plot is used very freely and musically transposed in the form of a program in five tableaux.

— Martin Leclerc [English translation: François Couture, x-07]

L’Odyssée was realized in 2002-03 at the studio of the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and at the composer’s studio. It was premiered in June 2003 at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. It was awarded the 2nd prize at the Hugh Le Caine Award of the SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers (Canada, 2005).

Premiere

• June 2003, Concert, Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, Montréal (Québec)

Awards

• 2nd prize, Hugh Le Caine Awards, SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers 2005, Canada