Florentine Mulsant

Ivoire op. 81

The 11-minute work was composed in autumn 2018 and is dedicated to the duo Lydia Jardon and Alexandra Matvieskaya. It is written almost orchestrally and offers possibilities for extended dialogues as well as rich harmonies. The work consists of three movements. The first movement, with a more harmonic character, is in a mysterious and gentle atmosphere. Two parts are connected: The first part, from bar 1 to bar 22, gives a modal character mode as well as a melodic element from bar 8 to 10. The second part extends from bar 23 to bar 38. At bar 39 there is a re-exposure of the first part, a minor third above. The coda at bar 65 concludes the movement in a gentle atmosphere.

The second movement, with an expressive character, offers on the one hand a theme played with both hands in octaves. This theme is supported by chords of five sounds. In bar 10, a development of the theme appears, represented in right-hand crotchets. Then, in bar 17, this theme is harmonised with six-note chords. A second development is proposed from bar 25 to bar 54 in a mysterious atmosphere.

The third movement consists of two interconnected parts: The first part from bar 1 to bar 19 is slow and offers a restatement of the theme of the second movement. The second part is written in a lively and playful tempo and is a restatement of the theme of the beginning of the third movement. It ends IVOIRE in an energetic and luminous atmosphere.