It is an arrangement for orchestra of the eighth movement the `eighth station` from Saariaho`s oratorio `La Passion de Simone`.
Written as a gift to conductor Ese-Pekka Salonen after he conducted `La Passion de Simone` in Los Angeles in January 2009.
The title is taken from Simone Weil`s work of the same name `L`Pesanteur et la grâce`. The music explores the contrast between `heaviness` dense low layers of sound and `light` ethereal shimmering high timbres.
The premiere took place on 22 August 2009 at the Helsinki Festival performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra under the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen.