Michel Chion - 24 Préludes à la vie (24 Preludes to Life) (1989-90)

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https://electrocd.com/en/piste/imed_9523-1.3--vingt-quatre-preludes-la-vie

Premier Cahier (First Book):

1. Linceul (Shroud) 00:00
2. Libera Me (Set Me Free) 00:58
3. Aux Morts (To The Dead) 02:36
4. Piazza (The Piazza) 03:11
5. Éveil (Awakening) 03:44
6. Dans La Nurserie (In The Nursery) 04:37
7. Chant Simple (Simple Song) 05:52
8. La Source (The Spring) 06:30
9. Oubli (Forgotten) 07:49
10. Matines (Matins) 08:11
11. Danse De L'Ombre (Dance Of The Shadow) 09:38
12. Qu'est-ce Que? (What Is?) 12:34

Deuxième Cahier (Second Book):

13. Ronde De Nuit (Song In The Night) 13:22
14. En Songe (In A Dream) 16:12
15. Sursauts (Startled) 17:27
16. Les Pleurs (Tears) 19:40
17. Des Hauts Et Des Bas (Highs And Lows) 20:28
18. Terre Et Ciel (Earth And Heaven) 21:21
19. À Pierre Schaeffer (To Pierre Schaeffer) 22:12
20. Tumulte (Uproar) 23:38
21. Le Couple (The Couple) 25:33
22. Rêve de valse (Waltz Dream) 26:52
23. Annonce (Declaration) 30:14
24. Nous Sommes Vivants (We Are Alive) 31:14

“He cried out in a loud voice: Lazarus, come out! And the dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a shroud.” — John, 11, 43-44

The 24 préludes à la vie (24 Preludes to Life) conceived, along with Dix études de musique concrète, 1988, Variations, 1990, and the Sonate, 1990, as part of a series of works of a technical character, formal and demonstrative, its purpose being to illustrate the resources of musique concrète and especially to explore the possibilities of concision appropriate to this means of expression, to fight against its distinct tendencyand mineto become stagnant. More colourful and diversified than the Dix études de musique concrète, which tend to be graphic draughts, the 24 préludes à la vie once again take up abstract and pictorial inspiration while at the same time being inspired in their form by the homonymous collection of Frédéric Chopin: a unified group of short pieces of very varying dimensions, from the sketch of several notes to more developed excursions.

In keeping with the above requirements, the work revealed itself during the course of composition to be for me a sort of echo of the Requiem and other preceding works and assumed a particular meaning that I could summarize by these four words: “Despite all, the Joy.” A religious meaning — provided that one understands this word outside of religious institutions.

The evangelical episode of the resurrection of Lazarus, already evoked in the Requiem, inspired certain pieces, notably the first and last, and the fifth prelude Éveil (Awakening) makes reference to the trembling which John mentions that Jesus experienced before the tomb of his friend.

“It is about life. About being alive, in flesh and in spirit.”
— Christiane Sacco Zagaroli

Nous Sommes Vivants (We Are Alive)

And our humanity is recounted to us once again
People pass by, ancient, an archaic tribe
Who seek to overcome the forgotten, they are insistent
A city is built up, is destroyed, is built up again
We are the people on the march, children of this city

Each moment, now and such as we are in fine and proper form
We are this primate who crosses the forests
Plunges, seeking the rivers, the clearings
This shrouded one thinks of the day
The way he has dreamed it in the dead of night
Cities of the swamps or the deserts
The crowds pass by, standing out, then melting away

There is a trace of footsteps in the soil
Ours perhaps to recognize
And an imprint in us
We know it and that is all

Before we were children
It is well known that apart from several recited images
We don't remember anything
Here is the musician who brings us the noises of childhood
Sketched out, obliging us to listen
With just enough time for us to be sure
For once that we have existed before

Life, the musician tempts us
And gives us desire, music

We are alive and music told us this
Music has opened for us a gap of eternity