Product Description
Juan María Solare: Espaces infinis
For mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Text: Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
Le silence éternel de ces espaces infinis meffraie./lə/ /si.lɑ̃s/ /e.tɛʁ.nɛl/ /də/ /sɛ/ /ɛs.pas/ /ɛ̃.fi.ni/ /mɛ.fʁɛ/
(The eternal silence of these infinite spaces frightens me.)
It is often assumed that this thought refers to the silence of interstellar space.
But what if it referred to inner spaces?
Music composed in Worpswede (25 May 2025) and Bremen (26 May 2025).
Approximate duration: 3'00"
I estimate the level of difficulty at around 3 to 4 on a scale of 1 to 10. The piece is suitable for concerts as well as for thematic programmes with a philosophical or literary reference.
This famous phrase by the philosopher and mathematician
Blaise Pascal comes from his
Pensées, a collection of reflections on the human condition, faith, and reason. Here, Pascal expresses his dismay at the immensity of the universe, perceived in his time as a cold and silent abyss that reduced the human being to a tiny and vulnerable existence. This existential anguish -a precursor to modern vertigo before the cosmos- has commonly been read as a reaction to the silence of outer space.
However, the present work proposes an alternative reading:
what if that silence did not belong to the physical universe, but to the inner universe? What happens when a human being is confronted with the unfathomable abyss of their own self - with bare, undistracted consciousness? This interpretation turns Pascals phrase into a meditation on introspection, spiritual vertigo, and the fragility of identity.
The music, written in a sober and intimate tone, rests on the purity of consonances and the recurrent use of perfect fifths. This stylistic choice reflects the search for an essential, stripped-down truth - one that may reveal itself in the solitude of thought.
Juan María SolareBremen, May 2025
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.