NEW RELEASE CYPRES | NOVEMBER 2014
michel fourgon | filigranes liège royal philharmonic | pascal rophé jean-‐pierre peuvion | namur chamber choir
1_Le tracé s’envole for four-‐voices mixed chorus and orchestra (2010) 2_Filigranes “concert” for orchestra (2006) 3_La Brise du Roseau “concert” for clarinet and orchestra (2004) 4_Cori Spezzati for orchestra (2001)
The first disc entirely devoted to the Belgian composer Michel Fourgon, Filigranes leads the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège (OPRL) ‘adrift’ yet under the priceless guidance of Pascal Rophé with his “amazing ability to convey a new score in minute detail and with an expression that make him a conductor with whom every composer today would want to collaborate” (Michel Fourgon). To the perennial question of the most inquisitive and “what about musical creation?”, Filigranes is a tree bearing the fruits of more than ten years of collaboration between the composer and one of the most high-‐profile of European orchestras. With Filigranes, the listener is plunged directly into the very heart of an orchestral morphing that is at once dense and nuanced, a playful patchwork highlighted by inspiration that erupts ‘en filigrane’ -‐ as a watermark. From the cori spezzati of the Renaissance to the indeterminacy of the American avant-‐garde, Filigranes also shows a playful Luigi Nono engaging with Clara Schumann and others. Quite particular attention is paid to the Belgian poet Corinne Hoex – her text sung by the Namur Chamber Choir (CCN), revealing the mysteries of an utterly remarkable correspondence. To this compass rose of contemporary music formed by Michel Fourgon, the OPRL, Pascal Rophé and the CCN, is added the prodigiously inspirational breath of the clarinettist Jean-‐Pierre Peuvion (already the first performer of many works by composers such as Pousseur, Scelsi, Cage, Messiaen, Radulescu, etc.). Listeners, you have a favourable wind! Filigranes will carry you off like the waves of the North Sea “with neither return nor backwash.” DDD | Total time: 65'40 | Booklet: 24 pages Live recording at the Salle philharmonique de Liège on 7 November 2008 (track 4), on 21 January 2005 (track 3) and on 10 June 2011 (track 1), as well as at Maison de Radio France (Salle Olivier Messiaen) during Festival Présences on 16 February 2007 (track 2) Recording, editing and mastering: RTBF/Musiq’3, France Musique – Denis Guerdon Reference: CYP4641 | Bar code: 5412217046415 Cypres-‐Kastafior sprl. | 7, rue d’Alost | B-‐1000 Brussels +32 2 213 36 65 | www.cypres-‐records.com
_Bios_ Michel Fourgon
Born in Liège, Michel Fourgon was a student at the Royal Conservatory of Liège. He studied composition with Claude Ledoux and electro-‐acoustic composition with Patrick Lenfant. In 1992, he graduated from Liège University in the Arts and Science of Music, where he worked from 1993 to 1995 as a researcher for Henri Pousseur. He is particularly interested in the relationship between text and music and has directed several musicals. Recently, he has been working on other kinds of multidisciplinary projects. Since 2001, he has frequently collaborated with the Liège Royal Philharmonic. He has composed an opera based on the life of Lolo Ferrari (world premiere at the Opéra de Rouen, France, March 2013). His music attempts to create a personal synthesis of the discoveries of the recent past while seeking new paths through speech and expression. The foundations of his work lie in combinatory techniques touched with poetic lyricism which reveal his interest in literature. The music refuses radical systematization or shutting out of different styles or practices and is intended to be open to abrupt and harsh tones as well as soft or shimmering sounds. He has recorded several pieces for the Cypres label. Michel Fourgon teaches composition and music history at the Royal Conservatory of Liège.
© isabelle françaix
Liège Royal Philharmonic Christian Arming, Music Director Founded in 1960, the OPRL (which has 100 musicians) is recognized today as “the best orchestra in Belgium”. It has a powerful, recognizable identity in the European musical world, linked to its distinctive artistic and geographical position at the crossroads of the Germanic and Romance spheres, reflecting the age-‐old history of Liège: it combines the density of Germanic orchestras with the transparency of their French counterparts. Over more than half a century, the OPRL has shown its openness to different repertoires and has developed a reputation, in particular, for its performances of French music and of contemporary works. The OPRL has recorded more than 80 discs; most have been widely acclaimed by the international press. It tours regularly: since 1999 it has undertaken nine tours, which have taken it to, for example, Spain, South America, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Théâtre des Champs-‐ Élysées in Paris, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The OPRL currently gives more than 80 concerts a year, of which half take place in Liège. Since 2000 it has also run the Salle Philharmonique in Liège and expanded the range of concerts there to include baroque music, world music, chamber music, and major recitals on piano and organ. www.oprl.be
© pierre remacle
Pascal Rophé Although known as one of the foremost exponents of the 20th century repertoire and invited regularly by all the major European ensembles dedicated to contemporary music, Pascal Rophé has also built up an enviable reputation for his interpretations of the great symphonic repertoire of the 18th and 19th centuries. This balance is in perfect coherence with the shock he received on discovering the three scores that acted as the catalyst to his conducting career: the Rite of Spring by Stravinsky, Le Marteau sans maître by Pierre Boulez and the Ninth Symphony by Beethoven. From 1992, after studying at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and winning second prize at the 1988 Besançon International Competition, he collaborated closely with Pierre Boulez and the Ensemble intercontemporain. Pascal also served for three years as Music Director of the Liège Royal Philharmonic from 2006 till 2009. Pascal Rophé is committed to the operatic repertoire which he considers, like contemporary music, should be as accessible to audiences as the more mainstream repertoire. He devotes himself, on average, to two operatic productions per season. In April 2011 he premiered Akhmatova, the latest opera by Bruno Mantovani at the Opera national de Paris to great acclaim. Pascal Rophé has been named Music Director of the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, effective from the 2014-‐15 season, prior to which he is Music Director Designate commencing in October 2013. For his extensive discography of recordings made with the orchestras of Radio France, BBC Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Liège Royal Philharmonic, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI Torino, Pascal Rophé has received numerous awards and been unanimously praised by the music press.
© benjamin ealovega
_Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège @ Cypres_ th
50 anniversary COLLECTOR Liège Royal Philharmonic (Ref.: CYP7650) 50 years of symphonic audacity must be celebrated. The Liège Royal Philharmonic takes this opportunity to leave a lasting legacy as part of the many memorable events in celebration of this anniversary. The end-‐result is a 50 CD luxury box-‐set commemorating the 50 years, at a sale price of 50 (euros) and containing all of the unpublished recordings. This is a chance to appreciate the discographic production unfolded in various musical directions, to hear again legendary recordings no longer available, and even to compare some works performed in two different periods (Franck’s symphony, the Symphonie concertante pour orgue et orchestra by Jongen....). All with the best sound quality thanks to the restoration work done on the different sources gathered for this project. This limited edition will give those who acquire it the opportunity to rediscover the unique sound of this orchestra within a repertory of yesterday and today.