UM souverain moteur de toute chose
In this sonorous meditation inspired by the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo thödol) where voice, instrument, and electronics share a stage, the Lebanese composer Zad Moultaka explores the notion of the sacred in the West. Six singers, surrounded by eleven musicians and loudspeakers—either suspended around the singers or placed on the floor—weave connections between the limits of the sound spectrum, infrabasses and extreme highs. UM is not only a mantra, it is also an acronym for United Motors that can be taken literally. From the sound a car motor, inordinately slowed down, an unforeseen poetic and incantatory path is born.
Music and conception by Zad Moultaka
Ars Nova ensemble instrumental
Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart
Philippe Nahon Conductor
Gilbert Nouno IRCAM Computer-Music Design
Zad Moultaka UM souverain moteur de toutes choses
Co-commissioned by IRCAM-Centre Pompidou, the Festival d'Ile de France, and Ars Nova ensemble instrumental
