Dijon Diocesan Association wanted to commission an original musical work intended to show off the architectural heritage represented by the city's churches. This project has a double objective: to encourage the people of Dijon to visit these buildings, abandoned as a result of a lack of religious observance, and to provide a work suitable for use by the Association on any occasion. The piece will be formally premiered in three churches in the city centre: Saint-Bénigne cathedral, Saint-Michel church and Notre-Dame church. On that occasion, the work will be played in the three buildings simultaneously to allow people to go from one to the other.

The work is composed in three parts so that it can be played in the three buildings. Twenty minutes are allowed between each part to enable the public to move from one place to the other and appreciate their acoustics and the distinctive architectural configurations. The work in question is for an electronic device and œuvre. Pierre Henry notes: Very close to Béatitudes by César Franck and Couleurs de la Cité Céleste by Olivier Messiaen, I would like to locate this musical adventure Lumières in a context of mixedness: electro-acoustics and mysticism.

Pierre Henry

The mediator suggested bringing in Pierre Henry. He is today regarded by many as the greatest composer of electro-acoustic music, a genre to which he has dedicated himself completely, and of which he was a pioneer right from the start. He is one of the greatest creative artists of the present day. In the post-war period in 1949 he joined Pierre Schaeffer who had recently embarked on experimental research at Radio France, associated with what came to be called musique concrète. Together they were to produce powerful works that would leave their mark on the history of 20th-century music, such as Symphonie pour un homme seul (1949-1950). A great innovator in sound aesthetics seeking a new musical freedom, through his technological research Pierre Henry opened the way to many musical universes. His repertory which is extremely diverse includes nearly eighty works allying rigour, fantasy and poetry. Quite a few musicians of the current generation not only admire him unreservedly but also regard him as the person who changed acoustic exploration in such a way that every possibility is henceforth open to research.