The Portulan concert invites you on multiple journeys between the past and the present, the intimate and the symbolic. It encompasses the journey that began 50 years ago with the creation of L'Itinéraire, an exploration and discovery of uncharted territories of sound, of which Tristan Murail was one of the founders. It also encompasses the journey proposed by the composer through this cycle written for eight instruments and initiated in 1999.

Portulans are ancient nautical charts, sometimes richly decorated, which helped navigators in the Middle Ages navigate at sea. Like a personal map, the twelve pieces of the cycle represent subjective stops at places, readings, and significant experiences in the composer's life. These include the Seven Lakes Drive in the United States or the garrigue near his places of residence, the correspondences of Van Gogh, Debussy, Jules Verne, André Gide, and Jorge Luis Borges... even the title of the work, which is also the title of a collection of poems by his father that left a mark on him during his adolescence. The last two pieces of Portulan, presented as world premieres, bring a final conclusion to the cycle, which is thus presented for the first time in its entirety.

The invitation is extended to follow Tristan Murail's autobiographical portulan, without a compass or GPS, in order to fully savor the charms and unexpected moments of the journey – even if one may get a little lost along the way, only to find oneself anew.

L’Itinéraire
Mathieu Romano, conductor

Tristan Murail,
Portulan (world premiere)

La Chambre des cartes
Seven Lakes Drive
Feuilles à travers les cloches
Dernières nouvelles du vent d’ouest
Une lettre de Vincent
Garrigue
Paludes
…les jours heureux…
Les Ruines circulaires
I would prefer not to…
ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς (L’aurore aux doigts de rose)*
Nouvelle œuvre*
*créations mondiales,
co-commandes L’Itinéraire / Festival Messiaen au Pays de la Meije