Ô

In 2022, French novelist and Académie Française member Erik Orsenna published La Terre a soif, a global journey along the world’s great rivers. The book captivated Claire Gibault, who invited the author to write an original text on the theme of freshwater for Orchestre Au Bahut, the Paris Mozart Orchestra’s educational program.

Ô is a poetic tale by Erik Orsenna, with freshwater as its heroine — tracing its adventures from spring to estuary, through mountains, forests, and plains. This living, rhythmic, ever-changing water inspired composer Orlando Bass to create a vibrant melologue for eleven instruments and narrator. The music rushes through the lively rapids of a small stream before flowing, in the end, into the majestic curves of a great river.