Armando Balice's 'Du noir tout autour' Explores the Garden as Sonic Metaphor

Acousmatic composer Armando Balice has unveiled his latest album, 'Du noir tout autour,' through the Canadian label empreintes DIGITALes. This work features a triptych comprising three pieces: 'Black Garden,' 'Empty Garden,' and 'Light Garden,' each lasting just over twenty minutes. Balice employs the garden as a metaphor for inner perceptions of reality, delving into themes of darkness, emptiness, and light rather than depicting a physical landscape. Each composition consists of eight interconnected movements. 'Black Garden' evokes dark presences and resonances, blending destruction with creation. 'Empty Garden' presents suspended sounds, hinting at a void from which sonic elements arise. 'Light Garden' brightens progressively, integrating ambient sounds and cello, symbolizing emergence and balance. The album, available on Bandcamp, creates an immersive soundscape where light and dark coexist, continuing the cultural exploration of gardens from the 20th to the 21st century.