London, 2019

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"Grace" is a 2019 duet for cello & piano. Initially composed in 2014 as a duet for cello & guitar, it has gone through many modifications and arrangements before its final version.

 

The piece was written when I started composing seriously, and was my first attempt at creating music that was simpler and that followed the ethics of minimalism—something I kept working on during the following years. As I evolved as a composer and discovered where I wanted to go musically, I rewrote the piece several times—and made an arrangement for solo piano, as well as other duets. Up to this day there are five different versions of the piece.

 

Grace is all about refraining myself from over-writing ,and stripping the music to its most essential. It is during that part—while strongly influenced by Pärt and holy minimalism—that I discovered the importance of space and letting the voices breath by themselves. 

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The virtual duet is performed by Canadian composer and pianist Jesse Brown.

 

The wonderful artwork has been created by Laia Miralles, a Barcelona based artist. When I  contacted her, I discovered that she had been inspired by some of my pieces—especially the ones from Ballades and The Seasons; it then felt natural for us to collaborate on "Grace"!