Jean-Luc Fafchamps (Brussels,1960) is pianist and composer. As founding member of the Ictus Ensemble, he took part in many concert performances in large ensembles or chamber groups and in mixed performances, particularly accompanying dance and theatre (Rosas/De Keersmaeker, Vandekeybus, Bonté-Mossoux).
His compositions, played by many famous ensembles and orchestras in most international festivals of music, in Europe, Asia or in America won him the Octave des Musiques Classiques 2006, the Octave de la musique contemporaine 2016 and the Magritte of the original score for the film Insyriated.
His work has been the subject of several monographic recordings for Sub Rosa, Cypres and Fuga Libera. As a pianist, he recorded music by Feldman, Berio, Liszt, Dallapiccolla, Bowles, Scelsi…
He teaches musical analysis at Arts2 (Mons) and film music analysis at IAD. He is membre of the Royal Academy of Belgium since 2019.
| Source: | https://www.ictus.be/fafchamps |
Is This The End?
| Period: | 21st century |
| Composed in: | 2020 |
| Musical form: | free |
| Text/libretto: | by Éric Brucher |
| Duration: | 54' |
| In memory of: | conductor Patrick Davin (1962 - 2020) |
Is This The End? A pop requiem. The year 2020 has been very different. Belgian composer Jean-Luc Fafchamps opens the new season at the La Monnaie opera house in Brussels with his “pop requiem” Is This The End? Combining opera with cinema, the project was conceived for those watching at home, unable to attend live performances on stage.
Éric Brucher's libretto turns on a young woman caught in a twilight zone between life and death. There she meets other people in a kind of transitional state, all of whom are acutely conscious of taking their leave of the world. Thus, Brucher references the corona crisis that has forced many families to bid farewell to their loved-ones amid the very limited possibilities afforded by the pandemic.
The staging of this “pop requiem” is the work of Ingrid von Wantoch Rekowski, who contrasts the live action on stage with film sequences shot inside the theatre and then integrated into the live performance.
During a rehearsal for Is This The End? just a few days before the premiere, the Belgian conductor Patrick Davin suffered a fatal heart attack. With the consent of his family, La Monnaie is to dedicate its production to the memory of this internationally acclaimed musician. His place at the rostrum will be taken by the Israeli conductor, Ouri Bronchti.
| Source: | https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/099873-000-A/is-this-the-end/ |
| Contributor: | Arye Kendi |
 |
Patrick Davin
(dedicatee) |