Waves

for theremin, vibraphone and two pianos (2017)

Waves was composed in 2017 and first performed on the 9th December of that year at a concert of the Music School of Auderghem (Belgium) by Grégoire Blanc (theremin), Laurent Beeckmans (vibraphone), Alexandra Ectors and Sabine Lawalrée (pianos).

The title refers to the resonant waves implied in the operating principles of the theremin, but also and more poetically to the natural waves that drive on the sea or the ocean.

The harmonic background consists mainly of two oscillating perfect chords, one major and one minor, that share the same third degree (as E flat major and E minor at the beginning of the piece). A melodic pattern appears from the theremin, and the music proceeds by ascending major thirds as the texture weaved by the two pianos and vibraphone becomes more and more dense.

The general form is that of an arch, at which summit the music suddenly breaks leading into a nightmarish section in which each player is running up and down over his instrument in a desynchronized way, the theremin displaying glissandi over a range of 3 octaves.

In the last section, the mood of the first part recovers progressively, leaving at the end the theremin and vibraphone alone on the E flat major/E minor oscillation. This end is also an undisguised and vibrant homage to the British composer Vaughan Williams, whose tremendous Sixth Symphony ends in a likewise manner.

Listen on YouTube

Performed by Grégoire Blanc (theremin), Olivier Denis (vibraphone), Laurent Beeckmans and Pieter Dhoore (Mahler Piano Duo).

Recording

CD/LP available from The New York Theremin Society

Score

Score available at Geyser Music Edition