This is the first installment in a cycle of three pieces: Matério_*, Matério_** et Matério_***. This cycle experiments with “sound” matter (as part of the collective Montréal Sound Matter: Aimé Dontigny, Louis Dufort, Chantal Dumas, Steve Heimbecker, Mathieu Lévesque, Francisco López, Tomas Phillips, Hélène Prévost), approaching sound matter from its organicity. Musically, these pieces experiment with tone, of course, but also with harmony, rhythm, and movement. The harmonic aspect reaches its peak in the third installment, after being foretold at the end of the second one, where acoustic instrumental bodies go through the same manipulations as the sound matter, thus ensuring both dichotomy and symbiosis (even more striking in version 5.1).

In a concert setting, these pieces can be presented separately.

— Louis Dufort [English translation: François Couture, viii-07]

Matério_* was realized in 2006 at the composer’s studio in Montréal and premiered on February 24, 2007 as part of “Spatio Lumino,” the opening concert of the Montréal / Nouvelles musiques (MNM) festival at Société des arts technologiques (SAT) in Montréal. The piece was commissioned by Francisco López, in collaboration with Quartier Éphémère in Montréal. My thanks to Esther Bourdages. Matério_* was first recorded in 2006 for the compact disc Montreal Sound Matter / Montréal matière sonore released by Pogus (P 21041-2).

Premiere

• February 24, 2007, Montréal / Nouvelles Musiques 2007: Spatio lumino, Société des arts technologiques, Montréal (Québec)