I wrote my first quintet for clarinet and string quartet at the request of Jean-Guy Boisvert. After sightreading the score, he suggested that the untitled piece be called Je vous ai vue rêver. I immediately liked the suggested title that seemed to support the work by offering a first layer of interpretation, which echoes the spirit of the music.
In recent years, I’ve developed a heightened awareness of the energy curves that are emerging, among other things, through the arrangement of harmonic colours, the dividing up and density of textures, the rhythmic intensity and the very important play of nuances. These curves work in the background of the form, animating and structuring it beyond its customary parameters. Attention to their evolution allows for a certain perspective in the composition process. Thus, the dynamics in the phases of energy stability, accumulation and liberation guided the conception of each of the five movements. How they are linked is based on the same principle, upon which character indications are superimposed.
1. Avec élan (With Momentum)
2. Aérien (Ethereal)
3. Paisible (Peaceful)
4. Vigoureux (Vigorous)
5. Nostalgique (Nostalgic)
Je vous ai vue rêver is dedicated to Joannie Lajeunesse.
Isabelle Panneton
2024
