Live recording of the premiere by Paul Roe
Instrumentation: clarinet in A
Type: solo
Year: 2013
Premiere: Performed by Paul Roe, at ICC Solo Series, 17th May 2013, Kevin Barry Room, National Concert Hall, Dublin.
Duration: 5’20
The title comes from the phrase qui va contre la coeur, meaning which goes against the heart.
I began writing this piece with contrasting motifs in different registers of the clarinet. The low end or chalumeau register features long sustained notes which grow and fade to nothing. Just above this in the paler throat tones we hear shorter repeated notes which then develop into melodic shapes higher in the clarino register. As the music unfolds these designations soon begin to cross-over and blur resulting in a dialogue which plays on the register of the clarinet.