Immobility and Contemplation
Work: Sospeso
Composer: Juan Arroyo
Instruments: 2 microtonal accordions
Duration: 8 minutes
World premiere: 2019 by the duo XAMP (Fanny Vicens and Jean-Etienne Sotty) at the Perspectives XXI Festival, Perpignan, France
Commission: Ensemble Regards with the support of SACEM
Rome is, for many people, a spectacular city with beautiful views and a fascinating history. In 2017, I had the chance to be selected for an artistic residency at the prestigious Villa Médicis. This beautiful residence, where Berlioz, Debussy, and Bizet once lived, among others, was a place of inspiration and hard work during my stay. However, the Roman winter, social obligations, and the weariness of a nomadic life began to influence my musical work. The need to suspend time and contemplate its stillness became crucial. During this period, I began composing a work commissioned by the Ensemble Regards and dedicated to the duo XAMP. Like in painting, I represented various landscapes in which the matter, almost immobile, would lead the listener to a contemplative state. The opportunity to unfold a fabric of microtonal chords allowed me to create a harmonic trajectory of microscopic progressions. Finally, in a kabbalistic manner, I sent the score to Fanny Vicens and Jean-Etienne Sotty (duo XAMP) on December 31, 2017, at midnight.Sospeso was premiered at the Festival Prospective XXI in Perpignan in 2019 and invites the listener to a sonic meditation on immobility and contemplation, through subtle microtonal chords and meticulous harmonic progression.