Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil, which roughly translates to Four Songs for Crossing the Threshold, explores the boundary between life and death – a significance that is elevated by Grisey’s passing soon after its completion, preventing his attendance at the world premiere of the piece by the London Sinfonietta and George Benjamin in 1999.

Grisey: Quatre Chants

Southbank Centre

A rare opportunity awaits to experience French composer Gérard Grisey's stunningly dark and disorienting Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil, presented by the London Sinfonietta. This masterpiece offers a journey through intricate collisions of fragmented melody and harmony.  

Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil, which roughly translates to Four Songs for Crossing the Threshold, explores the boundary between life and death – a significance that is elevated by Grisey's passing soon after its completion, preventing his attendance at the world premiere of the piece by the London Sinfonietta and George Benjamin in 1999. 

What do insect molting and large-scale tree fungi have in common? They follow a clear process, both intoxicating and fragile. Take Stefan Wirth's "Eleusis," for example: Like tree mycelia, which can form a vast fungal network, the orchestra spreads throughout the entire space. The Swiss composer, who teaches in Lucerne, speaks of a "ritual act." A trance-like state is expressly desired.

Rausch / Mushrooms

Philharmonic Essen

Intoxication / Mushrooms

Stadtcasino Basel

EPSG:4326

Rameau Grisey Djordjević

Opernhaus Zürich

To highlight the development of French music, and to draw a parallel between a beloved work by Gabriel Fauré and a groundbreaking modern work by Gérard Grisey, the Fauré Requiem will be performed by De Anza Chorale and Vintage Singers, and Voices of Silicon Valley will collaborate with Center for New Music and Audio Technologies at UC Berkeley (CNMAT) on the US premiere performance of Grisey’s piece “Les Chants de L’Amour” and world premiere of “Symbionts” by Edmund Campion.

French Universe: from Faure to Grisey

Grace Cathedral

Oberlin Percussion Group (OPG), led by Ross Karre '05, will present Le Noir de l’Étoile by Gérard Grisey in Hales Gym.

OCLIPSE Concert Series: Oberlin Percussion Group

Oberlin College

»Fadenspiele«. Die Bedeutung von Netz-Werken beleuchtet das Festival »cresc... 2024«. Das Eröffnungskonzert des Ensemble Moderns und des hr-Sinfonieorchesters präsentiert eines der monumentalen Schlüsselwerke des 20. Jahrhunderts. Mit seinem abendfüllenden Orchesterwerk »Les Espaces Acoustiques« schuf der Franzose Gérard Grisey im Zeitraum von elf Jahren einen Zyklus, bei dem jeder folgende Teil den akustischen Raum des vorangegangenen erweitert und vergrößert. »Nicht mit Noten, sondern mit Tönen komponieren« und »der Relativität unserer Wahrnehmung Rechnung tragen« sind zwei der Forderungen Gérard Griseys an das Komponieren. Eine künstlerische Vision, der er vermutlich mit »Les Espaces Acoustiques« am nächsten kam. Jedes der sechs Instrumentalwerke des Zyklus‘ erweitert die akustischen Dimensionen des vorherigen: beginnend mit einem Prolog für Bratsche solo steigert sich die Besetzung bis hin zum großen Orchester mit vier Solohörnern: Die Zuhörer*innen erleben ein sich allmählich aufbauendes, riesiges akustisches Netzwerk. Haben sie anfangs eine kleine Kammer betreten, stehen sie am Ende in einer gigantischen Kathedrale der Klänge.

Espaces Acoustiques

Bertramstraße 8

On Sunday 11th June, our 22-23 NEXTies will be performing their last concert with us! Join in the celebration for only a fiver, and hear the works of composers Gérard Grisey and Aureliano Cattaneo, with a piece by one of our very own NEXTIES, Rob Hao. 

BCMG NEXT 22-23 Final Concert

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

This concert focuses on our perceptions of time, through two very different yet complementary masterpieces. The London Sinfonietta and Daniel Pioro will perform Gérard Grisey’s Vortex Temporum, a work that takes us through three time frames: ‘normal’, human time, the ‘expanded’ time of whales and the ‘compressed’ time of birds, via this pioneering spectralist composer’s virtuoso imagination. This late masterwork fulfilled Grisey’s vision of a music that transfigures our experience of time. On a symphonic scale, revealing dizzying dances and lavish harmonic language, the music carries us on a journey through boundary-breaking sound-worlds.

Vortex Temporum

Concert and workshop of contemporary percussion by Christophe Bredeloup and David Mengelle (Ensemble L'Itinéraire). For all audiences from age 6 and up.

Gérard Grisey

Events

Upcoming events

Nov 8, 2026

Amaze Your Ears – Clapping · Théâtre Antoine Watteau

Past events

Nov 28, 2025

Grisey: Quatre Chants · Southbank Centre

Nov 28, 2025

Grisey: Quatre Chants · London Sinfonietta

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