Le Génie Humain

The French title of this work refers to a brass sculpture by the 19th century, French sculptor, Emile Louis Picault (1833-1915). The taut, arched form of a winged man chained to a rock, arm outstretched to the heavens and its rhyming inscription, Esclave sur le sol où l’étreint la matière, Son esprit dans la nuit va chercher la lumière, was the inspiration for this work.  Le Génie Humain was commissioned by conductor Marlon Daniel in 2013 as a work for String Quartet as well as for String Orchestra for his Ensemble du Monde. It was premiered in Nassau, The Bahamas in March 2013 at the first symposium on Caribbean Art Music convened by Professor Christine Ganglehoff.

Hearing it performed by both a string quartet and a full string orchestra opened questions of colour, contrasting palettes, dynamics and forces. Orchestrating this piece, allowed me to consider it afresh for larger forces to retain the agility between voices that this work requires, but also to extend certain motifs and allow space for themes to evolve.  The orchestral version explores dynamic extremes, giving full expression to the conflict that drives this work; the struggle to transcend oneself.

© 2024 Dominique Le Gendre