By slowing down La Mort d'Åse by Edvard Grieg (from Peer Gynt), the work proposes to delay the moment of an announced ending.
The music is four times slower, as if a record were turning at the wrong speed. The initial piece being about 4 minutes long, it lasts 16 minutes. The ensemble shifts an octave, and distortions and artefacts appear.
Composer Ivane Béatrice Bellocq writes a new score from this temporality, interpreting the resulting deformations. She adapts the instruments accordingly — some violins become cellos, percussion and brass instruments appear.
The work is performed live by the Orchestre Symphonique de Haute Mayenne, conducted by Jean-Christophe Bergeon.
View of the performance at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 2015.