Blue Spine

About

Interview originally published in the concert program of the Orchestre de chambre de Paris.


As associate composer of the Orchestre de chambre de Paris for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons, the Franco-Spanish composer offers us some listening keys about her piece Blue Spine. What is the genesis of Blue Spine?

Clara Olivares. The piece was performed as part of the ManiFeste 2018 festival, during the IRCAM Academy for large orchestra. It was not a commission, and it is both a continuation of and a break from my previous works. In fact, it is the first score in which I explore orchestral texture. Blue Spine fully characterizes my personal sound aesthetic.


You have worked with several composers. Do you consider yourself part of a particular musical movement?

C.O. Certainly not. However, I do claim various influences, including Franck Bedrossian for his work on sound textures, Philippe Manoury for the structuring of musical language, and Philippe Schoeller for the poetic dimension of form.


How would you describe Blue Spine?

C.O. It is a rather short, single-movement piece. It can be described as a kind of wave in which “tableaux” are embedded within each other. For a while, I considered that Blue Spine could serve as the first movement of a larger work. Today, I think it works very well on its own.


You use the term “wave.” Does this precisely illustrate the poetic title of the piece?

C.O. Blue Spine corresponds to images related to the ocean, to great movements of water, and to the color blue. The notion of color is part of my synesthetic approach to writing. The evocation of a story or images is important in my music. It guides my composition in the background, without it being a figurative work per se. It is truly the combination of complementary intuitions: sound appears to me as emanating from shapes and colors, then the narrative structures the discourse and ensures its coherence.


What instrumentation did you choose for the large orchestra version and what challenges did you encounter in arranging the score for the Orchestre de chambre de Paris?

C.O. In the first version, I divided all the instruments. For the second version, I had to reduce the number of instruments without changing the structure of the work, without altering the density of the sound blends and the precision of the nuances. The large orchestra version notably calls for a timpanist and two percussionists. In the version we hear tonight, the timpanist integrates part of the score of the other two percussionists. This transcription work is a delicate balancing act.


How does Blue Spine fit into your current repertoire?

C.O. Between the composition of Blue Spine and my more recent works, I completed the IRCAM electronic music course. This has greatly influenced my current writing in the idea of blending timbres between acoustic and virtual instruments. I use mixed techniques in which electronics allow the audience to travel through a new sound space.



Clara Olivares, September 2020


Available orchestral versions:

v.1: 3.3.3.3 / 6.3.3.2 / 1timp2perc / 8.8.6.6.6
v.2: 3.3.3.3 / 4.3.3.2 / 1timp2perc / 8.8.6.6.6
v.3: 2.2.2.2 / 2.2.0.0 / 1timp playing perc / 8.7.6.5.3
v.4: 3.3.3.3 / 4.3.3.2 / 1timp2perc / 14.12.10.8.6