Éliane Radigue: ASYMPTOTE VERSATILE

Tickets £21 // Concession £17 // Under 30 £5
Advance booking required

Xavier Charles clarinet
Bertrand Gauguet sarrusophone
Carol Robinson bass clarinet
Thierry Madiot bass trombone
Angharad Davies violin
Dominic Lash double bass
Julia Eckhardt viola
Rhodri Davies harp
Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh viola
Aonghus McEvoy guitar
Susan Geaney bass flute
Hannah Miller french horn

Éliane Radigue (France, 1932)
ASYMPTOTE VERSATILE (1963-64) 90’ World Premiere

Widely recognised as the oldest surviving composition by Éliane Radigue, ASYMPTOTE VERSATILE will be performed for the very first time at hcmf// 2023. The pioneering French artist referred to her 1960s works as propositions sonores, rather than compositions, and this piece is the only one she kept from the period. The graphic score comprises logarithmic curves devised from the Fibonacci sequence, superimposed over sheets of additional notation, to be performed as sustained tones by up to four groups of acoustic instrumentalists spanning the full range of the audible spectrum. ASYMPTOTE VERSATILE sows the seeds of Radigue’s exploration of long durational forms, bridging a 50-year gap between the school of composers she met in 1960s New York and her 2011-onwards OCCAM OCEAN series, where she composes for individual instrumentalists.

Convened by Rhodri Davies, this ensemble features many of the OCCAM soloists who have worked closely with Radigue, steeped in the aesthetics and methods of her practice. Davies himself has performed eighteen of the composer’s pieces over the years, though his fascination with ASYMPTOTE VERSATILE stems as far back as 2005, when he came across it in a feature in the Wire. This World Premiere comes 60 years in the making, and is not to be missed.

Produced by hcmf// with the support of Diaphonique, Franco-British-Irish fund for classical contemporary music in partnership with the SACEM, the Friends of the French Institute Trust, the British Council, the Institut français, the Institut français du Royaume-Uni, the Centre National de la Musique, Culture Ireland and the Salabert Foundation