Les Moutons de Panurge
for open instrumentation
By Fredric Rzewski
American
American
Les Moutons de Panurge is inspiredby Rabelais’ fable of Panurge’s sheep, who follow each other blindly off the side of a ship. Here the performers are given a tune and instructions on how that tune is to be repeated. Not unlike well-intentioned sheep, the players begin together in perfect unison. However, as each player begins unintentionally “falling off” the tuneone at a time, what results is an increasingly chaotic, semi-improvised counterpoint.
The work is dedicated to Frans Brüggen, and was completed in March 1969.
“It is thus possible to create a tradition that is held together by strict rules, and that is also successful, to some extent. But is it desirable to support such a tradition to the exclusion of everything else?...These are questions I intend to ask...And to these questions my answer will be a firm and resounding NO.
”
--Paul K. Feyerabend, Against Method