Hugues Dufourt (durée : 5'08''14)

extrait de "Erlkönig" pour piano, interprété par François - Frédéric Guy - Enregistrement : France Musique - Editeur de partition : Editions Henry Lemoine - Paris

" When you are a child, you make a wish, each time you see a shooting star. My only wish, since my early childhood, was to become a composer. The work of a composer is to create Time. There is nothing, more difficult than creating time, because it isn’t natural for man. But, if you want to compose, you have to reposition yourself each and every day in this dimension of time, reconquer all the conditions of time ; this almost amounts to a spiritual exercise and, at the same time, it requires a physical preparation similar to an athlete. Composing music implies a power of projection and a muscular effort, a tension of the whole body taking its roots in the soles of your feet… I don’t compose well sitting down.
So, I have this table with all my tools on it. In fact, I work almost like an architect, using tracing paper. The working day of a musician is a kind of levitation. That’s what you need to aim at : a state of mind where you are sort of detached from matter, when your imagination starts running by itself, when the notes come down to you on their own, without you making an effort. I need absolute silence, utmost concentration and no physical presence at all. A composer is an impossible person to live with. I have been strongly influenced and shaped by German musical traditions ; this is why I decided  to reexplore the temporality of the « Lied ». I have chosen the title of Goethe's most famous ballad, and what does Goethe talk about in « Erlkönig » ? He talks about a legend, and in substance, the relationship prehistory had with death. The first minute of this piece is like the very first discussion with a psychoanalyst : there is solemnity, shaking, hope, and shuffling about, because you harp on... It’s a serious, tragic and legendary affair."

PRODUCTION : PANDORE/LGM - REALISATION : Yan PROEFROCK (PANDORE) - POSTPRODUCTION : PANDORE - DIFFUSION : MEZZO