Les Espaces du sommeil is a work for baritone and orchestra set to a poem of Robert Desnos[1]: 539–540 [2] by the Polish composer Witold Lutosławski.
[4] The piece is Lutosławski's first composition set to the poetry of Robert Desnos, to which the composer returned in 1990's Chantefleurs et Chantefables.
[5][6] Les Espaces du sommeil lasts 15 minutes and is composed in one movement but with a three-section scheme: The work is scored for solo baritone and an orchestra consisting of 3 flutes (2 & 3 doubling piccolo), 3 oboes, 3 clarinets in B-flat (3 doubling bass clarinet in B-flat), 3 bassoons, 3 trumpets in C, 4 horns in F, 3 trombones, tuba, percussion, timpani, harp, piano (doubling celesta), and strings.
Andrew Clements of The Guardian stated that "the orchestral forces of Les Espaces du sommeil, dedicated to the baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, are substantial and refined.
"[7] George Hall of BBC Music Magazine mentioned "the atmospheric (...) setting of Robert Desnos exploring the borderland between waking and dreaming.