Introduction
Palearium is an album in which pieces of contemporary composers are re-orchestrated for the Ondes Martenot and electric guitar.
This project follows a first digital album named LANGVAGE XXIV which included collaborations with composers such as Anna Meredith, Paul Newland, and Laurence Crane, among others.
Collaborating with such established and influent composers has been an incredible opportunity for a young composer like me to explore the development of the production of a digital project. The positive outcome of the first album encouraged me to produce a new album following a similar concept, with wider ambitions, new influential composers, and more radical sound explorations.
Palearium aims to promote and give visibility to the little-known instrument of the Ondes Martenot, through the works of new generation composers and spread it to a popular audience through its musical accessibility.
Coming from an alternative pop music background, I feel implicated in giving to an alternative audience access to contemporary music. The peculiar sound of the ondes martenot creates a musical environment that can offer a ‘common ground’ between contemporary music and alternative styles.
The pieces can therefore be explored as a jump into the experimental music of the new generation of composers, or a simple exploratory journey.
The ondes martenot is a rare instrument, still seldom seen in the alternative music industry although it has the particularity to associate contemporary music (through its use by composers such as Messiaen or Varese) and the alternative pop and electronic scene (through its use by bands such as Radiohead and its common electronic sound). The sound of the ondes can be easily recognisable by many, but very few will know which instrument it is in reality, its appearance and how it works. This project will therefore promote and bring a new light on the instrument, even so that it has been adapted to an electric guitar. Indirectly, we can hope that raising awareness will inform and educate about the instrument, but also possibly trigger the listener’s interest in discovering the instrument as musicians.