Philippe Chamouard

Mandala

The mandala, a medium used primarily for Buddhist meditation, is a diagram painted or traced on the ground with grains of rice or coloured powders, giving it an ephemeral character. As a symbol of the forces that make up the universe, its construction requires extreme meticulousness. Its structure generally consists of a square palace in the centre and four gates facing the four cardinal points. Like a score that unfolds over time, its materiality is ephemeral, with a beginning and an end. A piece of music can be a form of sound representation of a mandala. I wanted to transcribe this analogy to the orchestra. At the end of the ceremony, the mandala is erased. Similarly, in the coda, the retrograde presentation of the introduction gradually eliminates the notes. This continues until they disappear altogether.


Details: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, strings