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The Gabrielis also experimented with placing clusters of singers and instrumentalists in different pockets of the building, a technique known as antiphony, meaning ‘voices against each other’, or poly choral, ‘many choirs’.

Toads sing to each other, and their friends sing back in antiphony.

The antiphony of char and fat, cool leaves and warm grease, fish sauce and green herbs is in the end a simple thing.

It was originally written in 1941 for two pianos and presents a dizzy dialogue of antiphony as snapping rhythms and pianistic glitter are tossed from one keyboard to the other in an exchange of witticisms.

The massive space of the Albert Hall was perfect for this work, evoking not just the strophic religious responses on which Boulez based the piece but the antiphony of the Italian baroque, too.