Pneuma, for solo flute

Pneuma, for solo flute, was composed in 2019 and dedicated to the Belgian flutist and teacher Berten D’Hollander.

The title refers to the Greek term pneuma, which denotes the vital breath, spirit, or force that animates existence. The work is based on the idea of breath as a primordial element, preceding both language and the very organization of sound as music.

The sonic resources employed throughout the piece — air sounds, multiphonics, timbral transformations, and other techniques often referred to as “extended” — are not intended as decorative or virtuosic elements. They constitute the very structure of the work. In Pneuma, these sounds do not occupy an exceptional or peripheral place within the flute language; they are treated as an integral part of the instrument, explored in continuity with what Western classical tradition has conventionally defined as “ordinary” sound.

Victor Somma