Polyphony of Hours

Polyphony of Hours in C Major is a deeply personal sonic architecture, born from the composer's life-changing three-day and three-night residency at the monastery three decades ago. Scored for a 53-piece orchestra with electronics prelay, the piece translates memories of that sacred space into a continuous, intensifying seven-part narrative. The journey begins with the approach to the beautiful facade, moves into the solitary introspection of the cellular room—voiced by a poignant cello solo—and travels through the iconic window corridors, including those designed by fellow composer-architect Iannis Xenakis. As the music navigates the rhythmic, narrow horizontal slot windows, the altar room, and crypt, the orchestra and electronic sound design accelerates and layers, mirroring the ever-deepening daily monastic hours. This spatial progression is ultimately a spiritual one: a journey through the architecture toward increasingly compressed, focused, and brilliant light. The piece culminates in a grand finale that celebrates a profound closeness with God, inspired by the monastery's magnificent light cannons flooding the space with transcendent brilliance.