SPIRAL IN BLUE，pour quintette à vent（2016）

I composed Spiral in Blue in 2016 while I was staying in Rome for a year in a historic villa that once belonged to the Medici family and is now home to the Académie de France in the Italian capital. The Villa Médicis is situated on a small hill and offered a view from my studio inside the building over the whole of Rome，including the Vatican. The idea for this piece came from the flocks of birds that I could see prancing in the clear blue sky.
Represented by each of the wind instruments，the birds soar through the sky，rotating repeatedly in large formation as they flutter their wings and peck. The individual virtuoso passages are conceived as imitations of birdsong，with each instrument being entrusted with a solo role at some stage in the work. The slow harmonic progressions inserted at various points are intended to evoke the clear，majestic scenery and bells of Rome. The work thus depicts the view over Rome that opened up from my studio，beginning at dawn and ending at dusk.
Spiral in Blue is dedicated to Les Vents Français.