Occam XXV

Occam XXV (2018), the only soloist organ piece from renowned French composer Éliane Radigue, created in collaboration with pianist, organist, composer, and improviser Frédéric Blondy. This piece is part of the enormous OCCAM Ocean series, an exploration that began in 2011 to study the interaction between acoustic harmonics inspired by the movements of different bodies of water. Radigue creates these pieces for certain specific instruments through intensive oral transmission collaboration sessions (without using sheet music), with OCCAM XXV being the artist´s second collaboration with Blondy.

Speaking about OCCAM Ocean, Radigue notes: “We live in a universe full of waves. Not just between the Earth and the Sun, but even the most minuscule microwaves. Between them is a tiny band spanning 60 Hz to 15,000 Hz that our ears transform into sound. There are many wavelengths in the ocean as well, ones that we come into contact with physically, mentally, and spiritually. That explains the title of this series, OCCAM Ocean. The main aim of these pieces is to explore how partial harmonics are treated, whether microrhythms, beats, or undertones (which are quite infrequent yet transcendentally beautiful). It’s about that intangible aspect of sound that makes it so rich”.