A giant creeps out of a keyhole (2021)

available in versions for 12 players, 6 players, and as a standalone film (subtitles in French, German or Portuguese)
12 players: fl, cl, a.sax, hrn, trb, tba, perc, 2vln, vla, vlc, db, tape, video
6 players: fl, cl, pf/kbd, vln, vla, vlc, tape, video
38 minutes

co-commissioned by Ensemble Contrechamps and Musica Festival Strasbourg
6-player version commissioned by Ensemble Mosaik

A giant creeps out of a keyhole is concerned with the idea of travelling in its widest sense. At the heart of the piece lie the stories of two different migrating artists, linked by a suburb in South West London, and a desire to depict mountain landscapes as convincingly as possible — one through paint the other via photography.

The title of the piece comes from an article about stereophony by the German writer and philosopher Günther Anders-Stern. It is a metaphor for the mediated experience, in which something boundless and multidimensional is forced into a format that circumscribes it. In many ways the piece is a celebration of these types of format. Paintings, photographs and field recordings, despite their limitations, have the power to immerse us, substituting for reality and allowing us to be transported from one place to another.

Please use the 2k settings when playing the video.