En Noir & Blanc was born through a collaboration between the piano department and the composition department of the Conservatory of music of Montbéliard. The piece is based on the opposition of two very contrasted sections, each linked to a specific colored harmonic field, black or white according to the piano keys. The first black section is very slow, based on polarized intervallic apparitions spreading in the whole piano ambitus, always through very soft dynamics. The second white section is more agitated. It relies on the manipulation of two omni-intervallic chords, gradually shifting from the high register to the initial exploded distribution, closing the piece in a resulting grey mood. The contrast is also augmented by the specific use of the pedals. In the first black section, the third pedal is constantly pressed down, allowing the maximum of echo and depth in the sound propagation. In the white section, this resonance gets sometimes filtered though the use of the tonal pedal.

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It was premiered by Clara Boisset on June 23-2010, Le Palot, Montbéliard (Fr).

The piece is dedicated to Nathalie Sarrouy.

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