FF Los Angeles Turns the Sound of Clinking Glasses into a Two Minute Melody

One Note Prelude composition, a project developed with FF Los Angeles, is a pioneering project that brings together a renowned jazz composer and advanced robotics to create a performance. When two LOUIS XIII cognac glasses are clinked together to make a toast, they produce a very specific sound – a clear, extended G-sharp note. One Note Prelude composition explores the multi-faceted nature of this distinctive sound with a specially commissioned piece of music written by the Paris-based Israeli pianist Yaron Herman, who composed a one-note symphony using only G-sharp.

“The symphony has a complex simplicity. It’s just one note, but with many dimensions – and many revelations. The idea that one note, like one drop of LOUIS XIII, can evolve over time and reveal itself was something that I found fascinating,” says Yaron Herman.

“This offers a perfect parallel for the long-lasting flavour of a single drop of LOUIS XIII cognac, which lasts for up to one hour on the palate,” adds Ludovic du Plessis, LOUIS XIII global executive director. The one-of-a-kind piece written by Yaron Herman begins with a single piano note, which cleverly draws you in. The piano is then joined by a string quartet playing the same note, but at different octaves and using contrasting rhythms, the individual instruments adding texture, structure and harmony to the composition. A violin provides the main melody, while a second violin and a viola add colour and harmony. A cello adds a rhythmic bass line, bringing structure to the melody, which rises to a crescendo.

One Note Prelude composition embraces future technology to recreate the perfect G-sharp sound thanks to a pair of specially choreographed robotic arms come together, in time with the music, to make a unique toast with two LOUIS XIII cognac glasses. The robots are going to give precisely the right angle and the right speed to make the toast, and to get that sound.

“Tasting LOUIS XIII cognac is all about the aromas, the depth of flavours, the texture and, of course, the sound. When you toast two glasses together you get this long, drawn-out note, which is part of the overall experience,” says Ludovic du Plessis. “One Note Prelude composition not only pays tribute to the musical note, but also expresses the complexity that can be found in a single note, as an echo to the tasting of just on drop of LOUIS XIII Cognac.”

As of April 2020, the unique robots’ arms will be displayed in the LOUIS XIII Boutiques first in Singapore, Beijing and Xi’an then will travel the world.