This concert is a tribute to the light that returns each year with the end of winter.

The piece draws its inspiration from the medieval tradition of books of hours, richly illuminated works (intended for the faithful, not the clergy) containing prayers for each day of the year and each moment of the day.

The twelve movements are structured like the twelve hours of a half-day, in dialogue with works by the great masters of early music (Gilles Binchois, Philippe de Vitry, Guillaume de Machaut...). 

Dances, prayers, love songs, lamenti (and much more besides) all seem to come to life in the light of the sun's rays. 

Livre d'heures (pour un oiseau) reveals sensitive music that is both ancient and contemporary, a hymn to spring and the eternal renewal of life.

"Having lived in Marseille for some time, I was struck by the quality of the light, whose strength and color evolve as it bounces off the white rock, the surface of the sea, in ever-surprising ways. This inspired me to write a piece in several movements. Each is dedicated to a different hour of a sunny day: dawn, with its birdsong and freshness; midday, whose vertical light accepts no compromise, no shade; dusk, when the cicadas and scorching heat give way to the crickets... The piece is dedicated to a bird I was lucky enough to meet during those luminous months, and which I thank for its song."
Matteo Gualandi, 2024