Arrangement in Gray and Black

Nota bene: This piece exists in more than one version, with different instrumentations; please see for instance "Arrangement in Black", which has no percussion and no electronics
Arrangement in Gray and Black was commissioned by Ensemble l'Itinéraire, for La Nuit de l’Itinéraire 2005.
The title of the work is adapted from a chapter of the novel Underworld by Don DeLillo (1997), entitled “Arrangement in Gray and Black”, focusing particularly on one aspect of this massive work: the idea of a current which is just barely perceptible from a certain perspective, having a richness and complexity but only appearing as a suggestion of itself, a fleeting image. In order to contribute to the vibrant and dynamic nature of the musical objects which are barely audible, they are set apart in a different temporal space, and there is some degree of independence allowed by an open notation. Noise is an important element in this work; it may appear as interference, or on the contrary, may be illuminated and elaborated, as different shades of black.
The work is dedicated to the memory of Earl Brown, with gratefulness for his beautiful music, his daring ideas, and his kindness and generosity of spirit.
The other influence on this piece was a conference at the University of Barcelona on silence.  It was not only the discourse of the conference that contributed to this work, but a practical circumstance: two of the pieces I played in my presentation had to compete with the air conditioning system, and this produced some unfortunate but also some interesting results.  This is what prompted me to represent different degrees of silence, with and without additional white noise, what the noise may detract or add.