As Shylock helped me defining my musical vocation, Philharmonie has been for me as an improvisation and research workshop. Still based on collective composition, our work has been in a large part founded on melodic interplays, Steve Reich's music being the source of this development.
As I was studying composition and harmony at the Nice conservatory, from 1983 to 1987, I was only using philharmonic orchestra instruments in my works: strings, woodwinds, brasses etc... Guitar practicing was limited to classical pieces.
The consequence of these years of abstinence has been a deep frustration of electric guitar sonorities. Therefore, as I was finishing my last year of studies I created Philharmonie, at first made of 5 guitarists: Jean-Philippe Calestrini, Laurent Chalef, Bernard Ros, Alain Sanner and myself.
The first work we undertook was a transcription that I've done for guitars of the Vivaldi concerto in F minor « The Winter » from « The Four Seasons ». Only an exercise actually, because we never performed the piece on stage.
Soon, a first title began to take shape: «Les Sentinelles du Désert (the Desert Sentinels, CD Beausoleil) ». While working on it, Alain, who was not only guitarist, had to make a professional choice, leaving the band.
Only four then, we composed the 9 following titles:
Promenade Intérieure (Inner Promenade, unreleased), Automne (Fall, CD Beausoleil), Campanile (CD The last Word, Cuneiform Records, Rune 124), Intermède (Intermezzo, unreleased), Le Sixième Voyage (The Sixth Trip, unreleased), Saturne (CD Beausoleil), De l'Aube à Midi (From Dawn to Midday, CD Beausoleil), Terre de Feu (Fire Land, unreleased), L'Éternel Murmure (The Eternal Whisper, CD Beausoleil).
