PROGRAMME

Jinwook Jung

Plan à vol de corbeau, poème n°1

Trio for voice, e-guitar and gamba

Julia Emmery

Hoquetus

for electric guitar & percussion

commissioned by Ictus & Opéra de Lille

Maya Verlaak

Roulette

for electric guitar, piano and electronics

Maya Verlaak

Anticipation
 

Jinwook Jung

Plan à vol de corbeau, poème n°15

for voice, e-guitar, gamba, keyboard and double bass

World premiere (✳︎)

Pierre Slinckx

i#1

for percussion and electronics

(✳︎) commissioned by Ictus & Royaumont foundation

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CAST

Géry Cambier, double bass

Alexandre Fostier, sound

Ruben Orio, percussion

Maris Pajuste, voice

Tom Pauwels, electric guitar

Jean-Luc Plouvier, piano

Eva Reiter, viola da gamba

Pierre Slinckx, electronics

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PROGRAMME NOTES 

JINWOOK JUNG puts to music the poems of Yi Sang, a significant yet little-known poet from 1930s Korea. Sang’s poems resonate with dark surrealism; each word conjures the oppressive and troubled colonial era. The atmosphere is intimate, shifting, breathless. The exquisite refinement of Jung’s compositions is evident, for example, in his blend of viola da gamba and electric guitar.

JINWOOK JUNG is born in 1994 in Seoul, South Korea. 

Read more on: jinwookjung.com

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JULIA EMMERY was inspired by Guillaume de Machaut’s ‘Hoquetus David’ and used medieval techniques to emphasize her fascination for hidden melodies. (For example isorhythmic processes: a repeated rhythmic pattern, talea, is applied to a melodic pattern, color, of a different length). A memory came to mind: Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, filmed solo, tracing a perfect geometric shape in the sand, yet dancing in an atmosphere of total intimacy. Based on choreographic sensations, the sounds are approached here as “energies in motion”, creating voices that express themselves, sincere and vulnerable.

JULIA EMMERY is born in Gent in 1989. Several of her works can be heard on her soundcloud page: soundcloud.com/julia-emmery

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MAYA VERLAAK subtly and artfully combines experimental ethics, playfulness and instrumental sensibility. In “Roulette”, a computer listens and then redirects “in real-time” a duo for piano and electric guitar, conveying delightful harmonic surprises.

MAYA VERLAAK is born in Gent in 1990. She runs a Youtube channel: youtube.com/@MayaVerlaak

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Although a craftsman of written music, PIERRE SLINCKX has nevertheless adopted numerous traits from electronic practices: getting down to the core, pondering repetition and length, not being afraid of the sublime moment (the killing sound). Here, Ictus presents its first collaboration with Slinckx: i#1 (i as in ictus).

PIERRE SLINCKX is born in Brussels 1988. Read more on: pierre.slinckx.net

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ICTUS

Ictus is a contemporary music ensemble based in Brussels, born in 1994 as the live band for Rosas dance company. Founded at a time when ensembles were considered mini-orchestras made up of virtuoso soloists, Ictus emerges today as a collective of creative musicians dedicated to experimental music in its broadest sense: written music, sound art, improvisation and electronics. Ictus is an artist-driven structure consisting of some 30 people spread over three generations. It has become a regular partner of numerous curators, choreographers and large-scale groups, such as Brussels Philharmonic and Collegium Vocale Gent, while developing its own projects in a variety of formats - from the most intimate to the monumental. Its work is available on a Youtube channel as well as a rich web archive, ictus.be, with almost 300 documented projects. Ictus is conducting an advanced Master’s programme for young musicians with the School of Arts Gent.

Bozar présente un concert exceptionnel du Belgian National Orchestra, dans le cadre des  Belgian Music Days avec trois créations de compositeurs belges : Apolline Jesupret, Wim Henderickx et Eugène Ysaÿe. L’œuvre d’Ysaÿe est particulière car sa partition – autographe - a été retrouvée début 2023 dans les archives de Bozar dans le cadre d’un partenariat avec la Bibliothèque royale de Belgique (KBR). Eugène Ysaÿe compose son Ouverture sur des thèmes d’Atala en 1919 en hommage à son défunt frère Théo, pianiste et compositeur, s’inspirant d’une cantate que ce dernier lui a dédiée en 1892. L’œuvre n’a été jouée qu’une seule fois en 1920 à Cincinnati, sous la direction du compositeur. Au-delà de la création d'une œuvre oubliée, ce concert met en dialogue des compositeurs belges dont le travail constitue un patrimoine artistique exceptionnel. En partenariat avec Bozar, KBR organise, avant le concert, une journée d'étude dédiée aux frères Ysaÿe.