SILLAGES , pour quatuor de contrebasses , composé par Veronika Krausas – double bass quartet

played by Chris Hanulik , David Moore , Oscar Meza , Peter Rofe , ( Los Angeles Philharmonic members) VIDEOGRAPHY: Martin Chalifour

Veronika has written the following note about sillages:

In French sillage literally means wake or trail. In perfumery it’s the degree to which a perfume’s fragrance lingers in the air when worn. When I first heard the term I knew I would use it for the title of a piece. Then David Moore asked me to write a work for double bass quartet and I started with that as the title. To combine two seemingly disparate ideas — large double basses and the delicate waft of a scent — I asked Canadian writer André Alexis to write a poem that did just that. His text is the poetic inspiration for this work for the four amazing bassists of the LA Phil: David Moore, Christopher Hanulik, Oscar Meza, and Peter Rofé.

Sillages

A roar carves into the land
rumbling something floral.

Under last year’s straw
the civet comes to life

While plows with fragrant wrists
stutter and dig the crumbling fields.

Lumbering beasts with delicate minds,
They leave quartz and citrus, almonds and rust.

— André Alexis