A Conversation Series
on the making of Alexandre Joly's Le Souffle de Sequerciani (The Breath of Sequerciani)

Le Souffle de Sequerciani (The Breath of Sequerciani) is a Sequerciani Arte Clima commissioned work.

"The stone, weighing around 760 kg, is suspended by 40 steel piano strings. The load is distributed by an ingenious set of springs, and the positioning of these strings follows the lines drawn by the architecture.
The eight strings at the ends of the axles extend under the crossbeams that join the eight pillars.

Thanks to the precise placement of 16 small resonance boxes and 8 electromagnetic activators, the strings are tuned to create a major chord. These small devices, called Ebows or "electronic bows", set the strings in vibration without touching them, producing notes similar to slow, deep breaths.

Random algorithmic sequences control the activation of these Ebows, each sequence lasting 12 minutes, with three minutes of "silence" in between.

The installation also reveals the presence of the wind, which whistles through the strings, and all other surrounding noises intrude on this flow of sound, contributing to this unique musical experience.

The Sequerciani stones are spirits that transmit ancient memories to those who know how to listen with joy. The stone celebrated under the kiosk at the top of the hill embodies one of these spirits. It lies suspended between two worlds: the physical world, with its laws and gravity, and the magical world of dreams. This stone reminds us of our subtle body, the one that knows how to fly, dissolve, melt, cry, listen and embrace the things around us.

Many thanks to Ruedi Gerber and the Sequerciani team, to Marianne Burki and Zhenhua Li, to my dream team Samuel Virard and Arthur Holfer, and to the brilliant Daniel Zea." -- Alexandre Joly