For saxophone, percussion and electronics (2026)(23′)

Commissioned by Centre Henri Pousseur

The electronic part of Nachtlied was created in collaboration with Patrick Delges (Centre Henri Pousseur)

First performance: 24/10/2026, Leuven, Festival 20/21 – TRANSIT Festival

Nele Tiebout (saxophone), Tom De Cock (percussion) & Centre Henri Pousseur (electronics)

Score and performance material available from the composer

Almost all of my pieces involving electronics have grown out of a close collaboration with the musicians for whom they were written. Each musician brings their own ideas and energy, which can be a source of inspiration and often helps shape the direction a piece takes.
When I began searching for material together with percussionist Tom De Cock, I became fascinated by the many metal instruments he had collected over the years: bells, metal plates, singing bowls… This world of metallic sounds would become an important part of the sonic landscape of the piece.
For Nele Tiebout, I wrote a series of short fragments, which she recorded and sent back to me. I then rewrote these fragments, and we continued exchanging recordings. Together with recordings I made of the percussion instruments, this material became part of the electronics, often without much processing. I wanted to preserve the immediacy and physical presence of the sounds themselves.
Nachtlied is a fragile piece in which different elements come together. It draws on both musical references and personal memories — bells were a strong presence in my hometown of Bruges. At its heart, the piece is about resonance – what remains when something is no longer there – and about a musical space in a state of slow, almost imperceptible transformation.