SOUNDS OF NOW: ÉLIANE RADIGUE FOR ORGAN

RADIGUE Occam XXV (45’) 

Éliane Radigue’s ‘Occam XXV’ – written for, and performed here by, the French organist Frédéric Blondy – envelops its listener in a rich and slowly evolving ocean of sound. Beginning with a low, timbral rumble, the music grows over its 45 minutes, always imperceptibly changing, to a richly layered, shimmering and luxuriant texture which then, as the piece draws to a close, dissolves into air. This is music as sensation: sound to be immersed in – expansive and vibrational. As Radigue herself said, “I imagine how we are all bathing in a galactic ocean of sound waves”. 

Save 20% when you book for 10 or more Music in the Round concerts in one transaction. 
Save 10% when you book for 5 or more Music in the Round concerts in one transaction. Find out more.

Part of: OCCAM OCEAN: THE MUSIC OF ÉLIANE RADIGUE 

“Radigue writes awesomely gradual music that is always on the move… It is music that flowers in some enchanted hinterland where sounds are sparse and mercurial, spiritual and grounded, narrative and abstract… she is always on the hunt for sound within sound – a realm of partials, harmonics, and subharmonics… the intangible cloud that makes up that note’s aura.”
Kate Molleson 

The French composer Éliane Radigue, now 93 years old, has dedicated the last quarter of a century to crafting her extraordinary, subtle and luminescent compositions for acoustic instruments. Each titled ‘Occam’ (after ‘Occam’s razor’, the idea that the simplest solution is often the best), these warm and generous works explore the essence of an instrument’s sound in gradually unfolding, richly present textures.  

For ‘Occam Ocean’, Music in the Round has curated a series of special events bringing together some of Radigue’s closest collaborators for two days of music and talks, offering a rare, immersive experience of this composer’s singular sound world. 

Presented in partnership with The University of Sheffield.