Khalkomata - Jean-Michel Ferran

Khalkomata is a triptych for fourteen brass instruments, commissioned by tuba player Régis Boeykens and premiered by the Orchestre de la Police Nationale in 2010.

The title, taken from the ancient Greek, means “made of copper”. The first piece, Eruthros (red in ancient Greek), with its lively rhythms and repeated notes, evokes the flamboyance of brass, as well as that of mouthpiece instruments that can set the orchestra alight. The second piece, Khalkous, literally ‘ground with mines
of brass’, describes with its slow tempo the immobile power of ore deposits. The final section, Oreichalkos, mountain brass or brass (the material from which brass is made), with its repeated high-pitched assaults, refers to the legendary alloy that was central to the production of the philosopher's stone.

Duration: 10 minutes

Score and parts