Connesson:
\nCosmic Trilogy
\nL’Être de lumière

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Recognised as one of the youngest and most gifted contemporary\ncomposers, Guillaume Connesson brings together an imaginatively\ndiffuse range of influences, from the riches of the musical\ntraditions of his native France to John Adams, Steve Reich and the\nfunk of James Brown. During the composition of the works making up\nthe Cosmic Trilogy Connesson also drew inspiration from such\nsources as the paintings of Kandinsky and the physics of Stephen\nHawking.

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After first discovering Connesson’s music in 2001, Stéphane\nDenève remarked on its ‘amazing orchestration… the quality of\nwriting for large orchestra on the level of a Ravel or Stravinsky!’\nDuring his tenure at the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Denève\nhas regularly championed Connesson’s works and two parts of the\nCosmic Trilogy, ‘Aleph’ and ‘Une lueur dans l’âge sombre’, were\ncommissioned by the RSNO. These are dedicated to Denève; in fact,\nthe symphonic dance ‘Aleph’ was a marriage gift.

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The Cosmic Trilogy evokes three moments in the history of the\nuniverse: the Big Bang in ‘Aleph’, the appearance of light and the\nstars in ‘Une lueur dans l’âge sombre’, and finally the explosion\nand death of a star in ‘Supernova’. Connesson’s works have been\nquickly appreciated by music lovers and performers for the exciting\nvitality they imbue, and the easy-going tonal strains that permeate\nthem. The Guardian described the work as ‘bright-toned and\nimaginatively scored… crowd-pleasing, colourful music’. Chandos is\ndelighted to presents the first recording of the complete\ntrilogy.

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Guillaume Connesson studied piano, history of music, choir\nanalysis and direction at the Conservatoire National de Région de\nBoulogne-Billancourt, as well as orchestration at the Conservatoire\nNational de Paris. He is currently professor of orchestration at\nthe Conservatoire National de Région d’Aubervilliers.

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