Jean-Louis Florentz: Laudes (Kidân Za-Nageh), Op. 5

After receiving initial degrees in ethnomusicology, natural sciences, and Arab literature, Jean-Louis Florentz (1947-2004) studied with Olivier Messiaen at the Conservatoire Nationale de Paris. Throughout his life, Florentz traveled all over Africa, absorbing musical and religious cultures. He infused his compositions with findings from these travels. 

Laudes (Kidân Za-Nageh) is the central component of a musical triptych and is the first of Florentz’s three major organ compositions. The subtitle “Kidân” references the Ethiopian Morning Office, and each movement corresponds with a magico-religious Ethiopian text. In Laudes, Florentz innovated a technique he termed champs vibatoires: mutations playing against fundamental stops at same pitch, resulting in audible beats within the sonorities. In this lecture-performance, Dr. Caroline Robinson will provide a detailed overview of Laudes and explore the compositional techniques that resulted in a piece bursting with freshness and modernity as well as devotion and reverence. Dr. Robinson will perform selections from Laudes at the conclusion of the lecture.