11-13/60 - Play Along 1, 2, 3 - Clarinet Duets

Lionel Liebe was a clarinet student of mine, and I am doubly thrilled that he took part to the 60/60 interactive composition project. Thank you Lionel for your participation, and the really active part you played in this project. Thanks for the three presents, for the discussion, and for the music you made me discover!

Premiere Concert

Petra Stump and Heinz-Peter Linshalm will perform an amazing concert on June 13th, 2008 in Vienna. The event is entitled Short Cuts, and will feature short works by 27 living composers!

I am honored that these two amazing clarinetists gave me the opportunity to take part to this project, and so glad that they will perform these duets. Remember, we played together in Karlheinz Stockhausen's Rechter Augenbrauentanz, his own excerpt/arrangement of Samstag aus Licht.

Clarinet duets for teacher and student

Play Along 1, 2, and 3 are three pedagogical pieces. After the premiere, I will make the parts available, so that clarinet teachers can use them freely.

In Play Along 1, the student learns to play with the mouthpiece only, and later to sing and play at the same time. Development of embouchure and ear.

Play Along 2 introduces quarter-tones and contrast between fast straight 8th notes and slow swung ones.

Play Along 3 must be played with much energy, much sound, much rhythmical precision, and much pleasure. "Estradally" is a reference to the group Estradasphere that Lionel Liebe likes and had me listen to. Check out their Hunger Strike.

Harvard Group for New Music Concert starring flutist Mario Caroli

Mario Caroli has been in Cambridge since Sunday, and we are in the middle of rehearsals to prepare this concert:

Saturday, May 24th, 2008 - 8 p.m.
Paine Hall - Harvard Music Department

You will hear new music for flute, or flute and electronic music:

• Hillary Zipper: Point de neige for flute and live electronics
• Gabriele Vanoni: Space Oddities for solo flute
• Bert Van Herck: Articulations colorées for solo flute
• Dominique Schafer: Cendre for flute and live electronics
• Karola Obermüller: ...sibbern for bass flute
• Peter Gilbert: Elegie for flute and tape
• Jean-François Charles: Live Saturation for flute and electronic music
• Edgar Barroso: Kapsis for solo flute

Premiere of Live Saturation

I finished the program notes yesterday evening:

Live Saturation is a musical setting of Ruth Lepson’s poem Saturation (published in the literary review "Carve – poems" in August 2006.)
Ruth Lepson is a poet & poet-in-residence at the New England Conservatory. We met during the summer of 2007, and performed together for the launch party of the book Morphology (co-authored by photographer Walter Crump.)
On January 9th, we recorded Ruth's poem in the Huseac studio. Thank you Ruth for letting me record and remix your words!
I met Mario Caroli in Strasbourg, where I studied before moving to Cambridge. We recorded samples for Live Saturation on October 30th, 2007. Thank you Mario for letting me record and remix your music!

Live Saturation is part of 60/60, a web-based interactive composition project. The first minute of the electronic music is dedicated to the project participant Katherine Lee, the next four minutes to Brigitte Urien. Thank you for your inspirational support!
I invite you to join the creation of 60/60 on http://www.jeanfrancoischarles.com, ou à discuter en français sur http://www.jeanfrancoischarles.fr.
Listen to and read more of Ruth's words on http://www.ruthlepson.org.

Contest: win Morphology!
The last two verses of Ruth Lepson's poem are:
I love
Arthur Dove
In my sonic work, Ruth doesn't speak these words. Be the first to find out how these two verses are suggested! The prize is Ruth Lepson and Walter Crump's recent book. Hint: you are looking for two references, one for "I love", another for "Arthur Dove". Good luck!

In a couple days, I will release the samples of the Mario Caroli Drum Kit. Stay tuned!

Ballade for clarinetist dancer

May has been a great dance season at Harvard.

I invite you to Dancers' Dozen - New dances by 12 student choreographers created in Dramatic Arts 14a, a course taught by Lecturer Elizabeth Bergmann, with Assistant Joshua Legg (meet the Dance Staff).

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 7PM - Free.
Harvard Dance Center - 60 Garden Street - Cambridge, MA

I will perform for the first time my composition Ballade for clarinetist dancer (or dancing clarinetist?), and there will be awesome choreographers and dancers.

In the meantime, have a look at Liz Bergmann's great little book: Connecting to Creativity: Ten Keys to Unlocking Your Creative Potential

More information about Dance at Harvard.

The Man With The Movie Camera - New Score

Last Sunday, April 27th, the Dudley House Big Band performed a brand new score to The Man With The Movie Camera. The first short feature was The Great Train Robbery, with a new score performed by the Dudley House Improvisation Workshop.

The concert took place in Paine Hall, Harvard Music Department. Nicolas Sidoroff - trumpeter, composer, and educator, was invited by Dudley House for this exciting project.

Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery (1903)

In 1993, I played clarinet in Nicolas's first version of this score (for 5 horns.) Last Sunday, we played a great updated version, with:

• Clarinet: Jean-François Charles
• Trumpet: Nicolas Sidoroff
• Tenor Sax: Michael Heller
• Baritone Sax: Alan Lenarcic
• Piano: Nathan Fosse
• Upright Bass: Nathan Haselby
• Drums: Ben Stanton

It was a real treat to play with such awesome musicians!

Dziga Vertov's The Man With The Movie Camera (1929)

Dziga Vertov's 1929 masterpiece pulses with a boundless energy, and the virtuoso performance of camera and editing techniques was only matched by the involvement of the musicians.

Musicians

• Voice: Mariam Nazarian
• Alto Sax: Kimberly August
• Alto Sax: Jillian DeMair
• Clarinet and Alto Sax: Lisa Rosenfeld
• Tenor Sax: Eric Diebold
• Flute, Clarinet and Tenor Sax: Marlene Cohen
• Baritone Sax: Aaron Silberstein
• Trumpet: Stephen Furqueron
• Trumpet: Gary smiley
• Trumpet: Evan Biela
• Trombone: Ethan Fenn
• Trombone: Rob Cautillo
• Sousaphone: Alan Lenarcic
• Guitar: Jonathan Buonocore
• Piano: Nathan Fosse
• Bass: Eric Leibensperger
• Drums: Sven Seuken

Tunes

The complete score consists in:

• The Eye-Opener (JF Charles / N Sidoroff)
• 29' Printemps '29 (N Sidoroff)
• Wake' N' Wash (N Sidoroff)
• The City Is Not Mine (JF Charles)
• Weddingorce (Kimberly August / Alan Lenarcic / JF Charles / N Sidoroff)
• Dark Lips (JF Charles)
• Dark Eyes (Traditional / JF Charles)
• Workegy (N Sidoroff)
• 1st KinoPlaiz (N Sidoroff)
• 2nd KinoPlaiz (N Sidoroff)
• re1st KinoPlaiz (N Sidoroff)
• re2nd KinoPlaiz (N Sidoroff)
• Bublitchki (Traditional / JF Charles)
• Take The "V" Train (JF Charles)

Thanks to Jim Hogle, Doreen M. Hogle, Susan Zawalich, Chad Conlan, the team of the Dudley Fellows, and Ean White, for their support. Above, Nicolas Sidoroff and half the screen during the set-up, Sunday morning around 11 a.m.

Spring Swing - In The Tradition

Saturday, April 12, 2008
Dance Lesson 8:30-9:30pm - Dance 9:30-12:30
Dudley House Dining Hall - Harvard Yard

The Dudley House Big Band will play for you to dance: Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Dizzy Gillespie, and more!
Tickets are $10 in advance at the House Office, or $12 at the door. Dance open to Dudley House members and their guests.

Make sure you have a look at the awesome pictures that Jonathan took during our February concert.

Fulbright Afternoon of Music 2008

This Sunday, March 9th, 2008, at 3 p.m., I will take part in the "Fulbright Afternoon of Music" organized by the Massachusetts Chapter of the Fulbright Association and the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Enrichment Program.

I will present my Leblanc contrabass clarinet, perform Lina for contrabass clarinet solo, and play a work-in-progress live version of Saturation.
We will surely end the concert with a jazz improvisation over Autumn Leaves (Les Feuilles Mortes), with two great musicians: pianist Cedric Hanriot and violinist Leslie Levi.
The other artists will be June Park (piano), Syeda Masood (voice), Jeff Miles (guitar), and a pianist I will meet tomorrow.

• In 2006, I presented the basset-horn, and performed Backofen and Stockhausen's Seven Songs of the Days (Die Sieben Lieder der Tage, from the cycle Licht). Read the article that a fellow Fulbrighter posted shortly after the concert: Incredible Music.
• In 2007, I was lucky enough to play my composition Nigritella Nigra, for clarinet and string quartet. The string quartet featured Ariadna Rodriguez and Peter Deckers (violins), Sidney Solow (viola), and Blaise Dejardin (cello.)

I have always much enjoyed this fun event. It enables musicians with very diverse levels, origins, and styles to meet together and
make     music     happen.

Dudley House Jazz Bands - Concert!

Since September 2007, I have been leading the Dudley House Jazz Bands at Harvard University. I am a so-called "Dudley Fellow", and my exciting job includes leading a full Big Band, taking care of a smaller and freer Improvisation Workshop, and organizing the concerts.

You are invited to our winter concert: Wednesday, February 20th at Dudley House, 8:45 p.m. Free.

Public rehearsal

On December 12th, 2007, Nathan (bass) brought a recorder to the rehearsal. Hit the button "play" to hear Chant Bien Fatal by Maurice Merle.

You are listening to:

• Michael Heller, alto sax
• Alan Lenarcic, tenor sax
• Jean-François Charles, contrabass clarinet
• Nathan Fosse, piano
• Nathan Haselby, upright bass
• Dan Jeffs, drums

Program of the concert

• Big Band
• Egyptian (Carla Bley)
• All of Me (Simons & Marks)
• Hercab (Gianluigi Trovesi, arrangement Corrado Guarino)
• Choro Dançado (Maria Schneider)
• Combo
• Moving Parts (Ethan Fenn, world premiere)
• Improvisation Workshop
• Xiao-Li Meng (Alan Lenarcic, world premiere)
• Chant Bien Fatal (Maurice Merle)
• Strange Days Follow Victories (Michael Heller, world premiere)
• Big Band
• Exaltation / Religious Experience / Major (Carl Ruggles / Carla Bley)
• It's Oh So Quiet (Lang & Reisfeld)
• Dedalo (Gianluigi Trovesi, arrangement Corrado Guarino)

Bleu 3 - Premiere - Inside the score

Bleu 3, my recent composition for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano, will be premiered on Saturday, Feb. 9th. The concert takes place in Paine Hall, Harvard University Music Department, at 8 p.m. The great performers will be:

• Rane Moore, clarinet
• Gabby Diaz, violin
• Benjamin Schwartz, cello
• Yoko Hagino, piano
• Eric Hewitt, conductor

New music

This concert is organized by the Harvard Group for New Music. The program includes also new music by composers:

• Ashley Fure
• Ulrich Kreppein
• Matthew Mendez
• Dominique Schafer
• Bert Van Herck
• Tolga Yayalar

Look inside the score!

Have a look inside the score of Bleu 3. It will be available for purchase very soon.
The instrumentation is the same as Olivier Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du Temps (Quartet for the End of Time), and you will find allusions to this piece in the score. If you can come to the concert, make sure we talk together during the after-concert reception!