Boulez: Pli selon pli

Pli selon pli (Fold by Fold) was inspired by the words of the French Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé. It’s a stunning demonstration of Boulez’s powers as a composer-conductor, which here had him conjuring extraordinary, sharp-focus virtuosity from his performers. The piece is written for a solo soprano voice and various instrumental groupings, with the largest ensembles used in the first and last movements, “Don” (“Gift”) and “Tombeau” (“Tomb”). At the beginning, a huge orchestral chord explodes out of the silence, launching a cascade of musical invention that’s delivered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra with nonstop brilliance and precision. The same chord finishes the whole work. The three central movements are each entitled “Improvisation sur Mallarmé.” Here the soprano part, spectacularly sung by Halina Łukomska, is accompanied by smaller instrumental groupings; listen out here for Boulez’s masterly deployment of multiple kinds of bell sounds.