（致羅潤庭）

聲音，質地，能量

音樂的根本就在於聲音。廣義來說，音樂就是一個聲音、聲響體，它可以極度複雜，超越「音符」這個單純的概念。當聲音帶有複雜的頻譜與音色（經過電子原音技術處理的聲響往往如此）時，它便成了一種「質地（texture）」。它變成某種材質，像是一匹鮮艷的織布，或是天然的物質—如沙礫、石頭、紅寶石、大海、雲霧…接著，它便成了「詩意」的導引。因此我認為，電子原音音樂就根本上來說是一種「詩」的場域、時間裡的詩意結構體。

聲音或質地也是一種「能量」的表徵。在原音類型的音樂中，能量關係著二種力度：第一是呼吸的力道（如人聲，管樂器），第二則是肌力，包含壓力、衝擊力、敏捷性等（小提琴、打擊樂器、鋼琴…）。這些能量無法恆常持續，它們需要休止：可能是吸氣、換氣、或者中斷壓力或衝擊力，才能讓肌肉與關節暫歇，重新恢復力氣。

電子原音音樂的能量則來自電力，這能量是持續無限的，無需休止。因此（就我所理解的電子原音音樂）很自然地趨向創造持續、有時高度穩定的聲音結果：一種持續開展的「張力」。休止沒有了實際需要，因此也不再是基本要素。如今，聲音的發出（或休止）要如何變化，完全取決於作曲者的意志、心理情緒與心智波動，以及他行動與設計的自由。

能量（各種質地的張力係數）與詩意（材質的美學及聲學性質），此二者建立起我音樂作品中的某些重要基礎。

時間及其推移

若要正確地聆聽我的音樂，你需要保持耐心。讓音樂自然地來去。讓聲音穿透你的意識。自由地，緩慢地，不起波瀾，保持平靜，別帶有任何先入為主的偏見。

試著「理解」是徒勞的，尤其別想在一次心跳的片刻，憑著一次意識領會，就想要全盤理解。那反而是種刻意而為。

去理解一段演說或文章，則是另一回事。因為文字傳遞了具體的意義：一個客體、一種想法、某種觀念、某樣素質…然而，在音樂的領域內，聲音不帶有意義；唯有其結構，及其在時間內的變化，能代表些什麼。而這「什麼」往往是種抽象的本質，即便這本質能在情緒上感動你。我要我的音樂具備那種能夠產生「交流情感」的基本性質。對於將情感、詩意或戲劇性全數剔除的音樂，我從來不感任何興趣！

要正確的感受音樂，意味著去經歷時間的推移。因此它具有類似電影或劇場的特點，而迥異於繪畫、雕塑或建築。讓聲音與其質地緩慢地穿透你的意識。就算這曲子很長，也別將它分段著聽。這會打斷了延續的進程，讓聆聽中斷，使之失去作用。當時間流動、推進、走向盡頭，意義會慢慢地顯露出來。可能是樂曲最末的聲音，才令你回頭理解那一長段的聆聽過程。要是這結尾用的是不同聲音，你會對之前所聽的整段大為改觀。

認知的一種方式：記憶

聲音質地越是豐富而充滿變化，就越需要你專注地聆與聽。此時記憶便會發生作用。每次重新聆聽作品，你都會發現新的細節，是你第一次聽時未曾察覺到的。每次重聽，記憶都會設置好標記的網絡，而你會對樂曲的整個架構更為清晰。每次重新聆聽，其意義會變得更為深刻。

自然的力量

我盡力在音樂中表達各種自然的力量。有戰爭的力量，也有和平的力量；有衝突、混亂、戰鬥、暴力的力量，也有接受、吸收、消融、沉思或冥想的力量：這種種的力量與我切身相關，也與我們每個人息息相關，因為我們都屬於自然、宇宙的一部分。我們原是塵埃，來自星體、行星、銀河，來自我們日復一日、一點一點地探索與發現的這個浩瀚宇宙。這些創造了我們的力量、這些會將我們摧毀的力量，它們環繞在我們四周，充塞於天地之間。

在我的音樂裡，這些力量透過概念及標題表現它們自身，其靈感或來自科學（Equivalences、Faisceaux-Diffractions光之繞射）、哲學概念（Kâmakalâ、Shânti、Gaku-no-Michi）、美學形式（Approaching the Meditative Flame）、或來自各種與女性主義相關連的故事、詩歌、符號或象徵性人物（Butsumyôe、Sappho hikètis、Erkos…）(註1)

我會說，這所有的力量不能盡歸單一上帝的名下，但是它們必定都屬於「神聖」的範疇之內。它們全都與「辯證」有關（自然力量間的辯證—能量；歷史力量間的辯證—時間）。它們是陰與陽的力量，是冰與火之力，是相吸與相斥的原子力，是過去與未來的力量，兩者持續抗衡、持續或明或暗地衝突。偶有片刻達至平衡，創造出稀有而獨特的和諧狀態…

這是一場迄今依舊沒有盡頭、沒有邊際、亦沒有終局的追尋，人類的命運及發展也是如此，它是我們所有人皆須持續探究的謎團、不斷闡明的神秘。若要達成，我們必須重視：富創意的想像力、前瞻的方法、各式各樣專精通透的研究計劃、不受限制的探索、認知、發現…在我的音樂背後的根本因，可能就是想盡力表現出這些細膩的面向。

To Edwin Lo

Sound, textures, energies

Above all, music is about sound, a sound and acoustic entity in the broader meaning of the term, which can be very complex and go beyond the mere concept of “music note”. The sound, when complex in the area of spectrum and timbre (as it is often the case through electro-acoustic techniques), becomes a “texture”. It becomes a material like a bright-colored piece of fabric or a natural material – e.g. sand, a stone, a ruby, the sea, clouds… Then it becomes a vector of “poetry”. As a result I would say that electro-acoustic music is primarily a place for “poetry”, for poetic construction in time.

Sounds or textures are also a sign of “energy”. In acoustic types of music the energy is related either to the power of the breath (voice, wind instruments) or to muscular strength: pressure force, impact force, agility force (violin, percussion, piano…). Those energies are not constant: they need rests, either to inhale, catch their breath or interrupt pressure or impacts so as to let the muscles and joints relax and regain strength.

In electro-acoustic types of music, the energy is the electricity. That energy is constant, infinite, it needs no rest. Hence the natural tendencies (in electro-acoustic music as I understand it) to produce a constant, sometimes quite steady, output: an ongoing “tension” for which rests no longer be a practical need, thus are no longer essential. Now the various articulations (or rests) will solely depend on the will of the composer, on his psychoemotional and mental fluctuations as well as on his freedom of action and design.

The energy (or the tensile factors of the textures) and the poetry (or the aesthetic and acoustic quality of the materials) thus establish some of the critical foundations of my music.

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Time and its passage

To listen to my music correctly you have to remain patient. Let the music come quite naturally. Let the sound penetrate your consciousness. Freely. Slowly. Without a stir, with great serenity, without any mental preconception. It is useless to try and “understand”, especially to understand at once, in a heartbeat, with only one grasp of consciousness. That would be an artificial way of doing it.

In order to understand a speech, a text, things are different because words convey a concrete meaning: an object, an idea, a concept, a qualification… However, in the area of music, sounds have no meaning; only their structure and their changes in time mean something. That something is most often of an abstract essence, even when that essence moves you emotionally. I want my music to provide that essential quality of being able to generate a “communicative emotion”. I have no interest whatsoever in music devoid of any emotion, any poetry, and any drama!

The correct perception of music implies the passing of time. As such there is a movielike and theater-like dimension to it, clearly distancing itself from painting, sculpture or architecture. Let the sound and its textures slowly penetrate into your consciousness. Even when the piece is a long one, any interruption of the ongoing process, listening to it bit by bit will only cause to break such listening, making it useless. The meaning will gradually unfold as time goes by, progresses, runs its course. It may be that only the last sound helps retroactively understand a long listening sequence. Should that sound conclusion be different then the whole stretch previously listened to could be modified.

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Memory as a means of knowledge

The more the texture is rich and fluctuating, the more you will have to listen to and hear it. That is when memory comes into play. For one work, every new listening will unveil new details, not yet perceived when first listened to. With each new hearing session of one work memory will set up a whole network of marks and the construction will seem clearer to you. With each new listening the meaning will become deeper.

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The forces of the nature

My music endeavors to convey all forces of nature. The forces of war like the forces of peace. The forces of conflicts, upheavals, fights and violence, as the forces of acceptance, absorption, dissolution, the contemplative or meditation: all those forces concern me and concern us all as we are part of nature, part of the cosmos. We are dusts from the stars, planets, galaxies, dusts from that universe that we are discovering, exploring a little more day after day. Those forces that created us and that will destroy us are all around throughout nature.

In my music those forces express themselves through concepts and titles that are inspired either by science (Equivalences, Faisceaux-Diffractions), by selected philosophical concepts (Kâmakalâ, Shânti, Gaku-no-Michi), by selected aesthetic forms (Approaching the Meditative Flame…), or by selected stories, poems, symbolic or emblematic figures, connected to feminism through various channels (Butsumyôe, Sappho hikètis, Erkos…).

I would say that all those forces could not bear the name of one God but they all definitely fall within that which is “sacred”. They are all about “dialectic” (the dialectic of the forces of nature − energies; the dialectic of historic forces − time). They are the forces of the Yin and the Yang, of fire and ice, the atomic forces of attraction and revulsion, the forces of the past and future, faced with continuing rivalries, with continuing, more or less open, conflicts. Only sometimes do their balance prevail, creating those rare and unique states of harmony… A quest that, to this day, has remained unlimited, infinite, with no outcome. The same goes for the fate of all mankind and its development. An enigma that we all need to make some sense of. A mystery that needs clarifying through the following values: creative imagination, a forward-looking approach, various and thorough research projects, unlimited exploration, knowledge, discoveries… The rationale behind my music is probably about trying to express all those sensitive aspects.

Jean-Claude Eloy: 28-01-15 (English translation: J-C-Eloy / Hélène Demortier)