For a long time, I have been fascinated by mechanical clocks. From the large clocks of churches to modern wristwatches, these are objects which measure time and seem to give it life, like the mysterious music of the spheres.
The whirling of a clock's hands is enchanting. It resembles the circular melodies and self-reflecting modes I theorized on years ago and have often used in my works.
The most mechanically complex instrument is probably the organ, and thus it seemed natural for me to associate it with this mechanical universe.
The initial theme, energetic, undulating and fanciful, is associated with several "mechanical" musical ideas: swirling melodies, imperturbable ostinatos and sonorities which evoke the movement of a pendulum, portrayed by the strings and the timpani.
At the center of this work, the solo organ plays the initial theme lyrically. A confrontation with the mechanical an whimsical world follows, building to a final paroxysm.