CARTE POSTALE SONORE II
- anaisnourguitarles
- Aug 6
- 2 min read
A musical piece born from a journey of listening
Over the past few months, I travelled through Southeast Asia with a microphone as my companion. I recorded everything that crossed my path, street markets, temples, food stalls, rainstorms, chants, engines, voices, moments of stillness. Not searching for melodies, just listening to the textures of daily life.
From these fragments, I composed Carte Postale Sonore, a piece for 12 musicians, written for ensemble 2e2m and the Loo collective, premiering on April 9th at La Marbrerie (Montreuil, Paris).
An open score between composition and improvisation
The piece is built like a series of sonic landscape. Each section is based on a field recording captured in a different place. Over these soundscapes, the musicians are invited to improvise, guided by a “chaos scale” I created, from total stillness (Level 6) to full noise and disorder (Level 1). As well as a fixed orchestration and playings modes. This gives them a sense of direction, without limiting their creativity or interaction.
The structure of the piece is intentionally open. Transitions, durations, energies, all of that is shaped together in rehearsal. The score becomes something that lives and breathes with the ensemble.
Between humour, spirituality, and collective listening
Between each section, the vocalist inserts short improvised moments using absurd and slightly surreal phrases from my travel diary, personal notes and tourist mishaps such as:
“Today I got bitten by a monkey”“My moustache is sweating continuously”
These humorous snippets create lightness, and remind us that traveling often means being overwhelmed, out of place, or surprised by the smallest things. Everyone goes through the same mishaps in new places, and they become part of the memory.
But the piece also holds space for contemplative and spiritual moments: a Buddhist chant, a Hindu sacred dance, the call to prayer drifting through a narrow alley.It reflects how chaos and harmony constantly coexist, and how, in the middle of it all, there’s often a quiet balance that appears, if you take the time to listen.
A piece to experience live
Carte Postale Sonore is an invitation to listen differently, to travel through sound, to follow unexpected paths, and to stay open to the poetry of real life, even when it’s a bit messy.
📍 Premiere: April 9th at La Marbrerie (Montreuil)🎧 With ensemble 2e2m & collectif Loo
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