Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles . Jean-Paul Dessy

During Ars Musica Brugge 2010, the Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles created 'Darker', a work for ensemble and lighting design by the American composer David Lang (1957), one of the founders of the New York festival/collective/ensemble 'Bang on a Can'. This unconventional company has caused a stir through the swagger with which it has created new music from a wide range of influences, from classical to rock. Although Lang refuses to nail his flag to any style camp's mast, his compositions can generally be called 'minimal'. They vary from introvert, virtually ethereal pieces ('The Passing Measures') to hard, rock-type creations ('How to pray'). It is music that is simultaneously rough and complex, soft and dissonant, brutal and melodious. In 2008, his 'The Little Match Girl Passion' won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize, a unique recognition of a composer who operates deliberately outside the traditional establishment. About 'Darker' Lang says, "I wanted to write a slow, static work that nevertheless had a dynamic aspect. It is music that is very rapid on the surface - the violins have a lot of notes to play - but which, in the broader context, in fact moves very slowly".