To composer Hans Tutschku and our friendship

Premières traces du Choucas [First Traces of the Jackdaw] is a second preliminary work for Le cri du Choucas, a long work in progress about Franz Kafka’s world, works, and character.

“Kavka” is the Czech word for “jackdaw” (“choucas” in French), a kind of crow whose image adorned the storefront of Hermann Kafka, Franz’s father. The title came from the strong animal symbolics found in the works of Kafka: a deep, solitary, never-empathic, often-muted cry one can hear in each one of his novels and tales, even in the slightest fragmentary story. As for the capital C attributed to “Choucas” in my title, it confirms the presence of a proper noun.

No text yet in these Premières traces du Choucas, but you will find sonic research on and an impressionistic approach to the Kafkaian themes highlighted in the writings of Marthe Robert.

— Francis Dhomont [English translation: François Couture, i-09]

Premières traces du Choucas was realized in 2006 at the composer’s studio in Avignon (France) and was first premiered on October 21, 2006 during the 13th International Acousmatic Festival L’Espace du son (Brussels, Belgium), then on November 2, 2006 — the composer’s 80th anniversary — during the Akousma (3) festival at Monument-National’s Studio Hydro-Québec in Montréal. Premières traces du Choucas was co-commissioned by Réseaux des arts médiatiques with support from the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA), and Musiques & Recherches (Belgium). Premières traces du Choucas was awarded the Pubic Prize at the 7th Concurso Internacional de Música Eletroacústica de São Paulo (CIMESP ’07, Brazil) and was a finalist for the “Premiere of the Year” award at the 11th Prix Opus 2006-07 of the Conseil québécois de la musique (CQM).

Premiere

• October 21, 2006, L’Espace du son 2006: Concert portrait: Francis Dhomont, Théâtre Marni, Brussels (Belgium)

Awards

• Public prize, International Electroacoustic Music Contest of São Paulo 2007, São Paulo (Brazil)