The collaboration between Frey and Quatuor Bozzini is close. Violinist Clemens Merkel and Frey have known each other since 1990. Furthermore, the quartet previously premiered the second string quartet from the late 1990s and recorded the first three quartets for Ediotion Wandelweiser. With this five-movement fourth quartet, the collaboration went a step further, Frey explicitly involving the string quartet in the process of composing. The first movement is very slow, but also very even, with the sounds coinciding remarkably. Also special are the subtle but very exciting string movements in this first movement. The second movement stands out in particular for its repetitive pattern, sounding pretty much like a siren, while the third movement, which begins quite brightly, stands out for its melodic content, something we don’t often encounter with Frey. Following this, the fourth movement again sounds broodingly exciting, with its hushed string movements. Finally, we hear the impressive fifth movement, which at over 30 minutes is about as long as the first four movements. Beautiful, quite similar patterns, like a quietly flowing river.

In the first decade of the new millennium, just as she was finally receiving attention for her groundbreaking electronic works, Éliane Radigue surprisingly turned to composing for acoustic instruments. These “Occams” are compositions based on the particular resonances of a given instrument, each score growing out of the relationship between performers and their instrument: Rivers (for solo performer), Deltas (for small ensemble), and Oceans (for large ensemble). Occam Delta XV was written for Montréal string quartet Quatuor Bozzini, who have made a name for themselves as the finest interpreters of 20th century and contemporary new and experimental music. The result is like flowing water, seemingly static and yet always changing, the rich timbres of the string quartet generating overtones as sensuous as those of any synthesizer.

Éliane Radigue is also among the founders of the musical movement we often refer to as minimalism, although by no means every composer agrees with this label either. She once started out with electronics, but some years back has devoted herself almost entirely to composing for acoustic instruments. Today, we focus on three recent pieces, performed by the musicians it was also written for. Quatuor Bozzini released a recording of ’Occam Delta XV’ on their own label; Ensemble Dedalus recorded ’Occam Hepta I’ and Ryoko Akama plays ’Occam XX’ on synthesiser. That second album was released by Montaigne Noire.

Even more than the other composers we count under this movement, Radigue seems interested in the essence of sound. La Monte Young’s music comes closest to this. So it can happen that in that ’Occam Delta XV’, which adds up to over an hour of music, we find remarkably little variation. Radigue is more concerned with the coherence of the sound between the various instruments of the string quartet. Sometimes those sounds run a little further apart and a stratification arises, but regularly there is also a fairly even drone. So music that lacks progression, which is the case with a lot of music within this movement anyway, but Radigue goes a few steps further than many others. However, this does not mean that the music is static; there is plenty happening for those who have an ear for it. Something that, incidentally, is also evidenced by the fact that this album contains two recordings of the piece, which, despite that lack of variety, sound quite different.

In certain circles, Éliane Radique needs no introduction. Among the first generation of composers to experiment with electroacoustic music, Radigue began her musical education in the mid-fifties alongside the legendary Pierre Schaeffer, becoming one of the few women involved in the emergence of musique concrète. After early experiments with tape and feedback in the late sixties, she found what would become her characteristic sound via the ARP 2500 synthesizer, which she used exclusively for the next twenty-five years. In the early 2000’s, she finally turned to composing for acoustic instruments, bringing some of the most respected names in experimental music along for the ride.

The Canadian string quartet Quatuor Bozzini have also carved out a niche for themselves as an ensemble dedicated to a specific current of 20th and 21st century experimental music. Stemming largely from American minimalism and the work of John Cage, this tradition might also include names like Morton Feldman, Alvin Lucier, and James Tenney. Despite their obvious aesthetic differences, what these composers and Radigue have in common is more an approach than a single style, a philosophy rather than a system. In this tradition, simple processes yield complex results, time is a material, and the act of listening takes center stage.

Occam Delta XV is the latest work in the ever-expanding Occam Series, begun in 2011 and comprising over eighty unique pieces for a wide variety of instrumentations. Perhaps the defining feature of Radigue’s work throughout both her electronic and acoustic periods is an attention to microbeats, those rhythmic pulses that can emerge when interference patterns occur between similar frequencies. In Occam Delta XV, this is achieved via long, sustained tones that slowly change and recombine overtime. Yet the form of the piece remains something of a mystery: apparently, the performance instructions were conveyed to the ensemble by the composer herself without being written down, resulting in a piece that is never the same twice. For their part, Quatuor Bozzini describe the piece as something more like a state of mind than a score.

The album consists of two nearly equal halves, each comprising a performance of Occam Delta XV. The first rendition is akin to something like John Luther Adam’s Become Ocean or the opening movements of Radigue’s own Kyema (1988) from her epic Trilogie de la Mort. You feel the sun on your skin and the wind in your hair, the dawning of a new and solitary day. The second rendition is harmonically “darker” than the first, yet retains the contemplative air that characterizes Radigue’s work, with a seriousness that brings to mind her interest in Tibetan Buddhism. That the performers are able to coax such an orchestral texture from only four instruments is a testament to their skill and Radigue’s longtime-preoccupation with conjuring up these acoustic phenomena, yet it’s clear that the true work can only be experienced live, where the reverberations of the space create their own acoustic variations.

This is a slow listen: put it on in the background and you’ll completely miss the point. Take the time, listen to each track fully, and try to catch those shimmering tones as they go by. Something like a different mode of listening is possible here, if only you’ll let it emerge.

Les premières notes de Long Gradus (strings) sont si fragiles qu’elles peuvent se briser à tout moment. Chaque membre du quatuor à cordes Quatuor Bozzini s’incline sur un long ton sans vibrato ni autre ornementation, l’étirant jusqu’à ce qu’il devienne mince comme du papier. C’est comme le squelette d’un morceau de Sarah Davachi: juste les notes, aucune réverbération. Pour écrire Diplôme long, la compositrice basée à Los Angeles s’inspire de nombreuses idées qui ont façonné son travail au fil des années: des tempos lents, une intonation juste, des harmonies inspirées de la polyphonie médiévale et de la Renaissance. Mais là où ses albums précédents semblaient caverneux, Diplôme long dépouille sa musique jusqu’à ses os, en se concentrant sur le timbre de chaque note individuelle.

Davachi a composé Diplôme long alors qu’elle était en résidence au Composer’s Kitchen du Quatuor Bozzini. Les artistes ont travaillé en étroite collaboration pour développer cette pièce qui explore la psychoacoustique, la science du son et de la perception, à travers des sons soutenus. Il est composé de quatre mouvements, chacun d’une durée comprise entre 15 et 17 minutes, qui progressent à travers une série d’intervalles, suivant leur évolution dans le temps. Conçu comme un travail ouvert, Diplôme long propose des lignes directrices mais pas de règles strictes, il peut donc être joué par n’importe quel groupe de quatre instruments.

Dans la version album, Davachi montre l’adaptabilité de la composition en présentant des enregistrements de quatuor à cordes, de bois, de cuivres et d’orgue, de chœur et d’électronique, démontrant comment la pièce se traduit à travers les instrumentations. Davachi n’a jamais hésité à écrire de longs morceaux (ses albums durent souvent une heure ou plus), mais Diplôme long pousse son travail à un nouvel extrême. Ses quatre disques s’étalent sur quatre heures et demie, examinant les contours de l’œuvre sous toutes les coutures.

Partout, les tons entrent et s’estompent avec la facilité de la respiration. Chaque mouvement passe des tons graves aux aigus de manière presque imperceptible, à l’exception de quelques conflits occasionnels entre les fréquences, et de longues pauses entre les notes confèrent à la musique une qualité glaciale. Davachi a toujours exploré le mouvement mesuré et subtil: ses progressions prolongées semblent souvent exister en dehors du temps, se déplaçant à un rythme guidé par l’intuition. Mais c’est une image agrandie, et Diplôme long montre le granuleux: Avec cette composition, Davachi nous invite à faire le point sur chaque tonalité dans les moindres détails.