for clarinet, accordion, cello – 10′ – 2026
Commissioned by United Instruments of Lucilin in 2026 to be performed at the Caves Sunnen-Hoffmann in Remerschen (Luxembourg). Dedicated to Marie Kox and the Domaine Sunnen-Hoffmann. Premiered on 12 July 2026.
I. Crémant: Le tableau de la méthode traditionelle (3’30”)
II. Rivaner: Musique de dégustation (3’30”)
III. Pinotin: Rêves de la Moselle (3’00”)
I. Crémant: Le tableau de la méthode traditionelle
This movement attempts to describe the ‘méthode traditionelle’ of making crémant, a sparkling wine which is drunk regularly in Luxembourg. In painting the scenes from the harvest (’récolte’), to the fermentation, ageing (élevage), riddling (’remuage), disgorging (’dégorgement’), and corking (‘embouchage’), I have drawn inspiration from Marin Marais’ Le tableau de l’opération de la taille (1725) which vividly illustrates a surgery through music.
II. Rivaner: Musique de degustation
Rivaner is an underrated wine that is considered less sophisticated than other varieties, yet is produced at a higher rate than any other variety in Luxembourg since its introduction in the 1950’s. It is actually a cross between Riesling and Sylvaner varieties and was known as Riesling x Sylvaner, which is also the name of a 1964 song by Will Reuland and Nikolas Entringer. Inspired by Erik Satie’s Musique d’ameublement (1917), the movement should accompany the drinking of a glass of Rivaner as intended: in good company and with catchy tunes. Songs about the Musel river by Nikolas Entringer, Pir Kremer, Fernand Wark and Paul Sontag have contributed to the music.
III. Pinotin: Rêves de la Moselle
The Domaine Sunnen-Hoffmann is a woman-led winery that specialises in organic viticulture while maintaining a family tradition dating back to 1872. They have adapted to the climate change that the region has experienced, with higher temperatures and more extreme weather, as it is now possible to grow red varieties too – such as the Pinotin. The movement pays tribute to the winery through the reworking of Lou Koster’s Moselträume (1920’s)through the method of ’sonification’. The yearly average temperature in Remich from and the annual production of grapes in Luxembourg from 1991 (year of the invention/crossing of the Pinotin variety) to 2016 are used to determine the tempo of the music and the degree of deviation from the original material. The resulting piece reveals a cyclical nature to the changes in temperature (which is nevertheless rising on average) and a declining grapes production.
Sonically, I have drawn inspiration from a marvellous short feature on SR1 called ‘Weinsegnung in Greiveldange, Luxemburg’ (02/01/1963—available on ardmediathek.de); a wine barrel (of Riesling x Sylvaner) is blessed in the church, an entire wind band plays in a wine cellar, locals enjoy a convivial glass of wine.