Jean-Francois Charles

This morning's version of the percussion part for Passage , a composition for percussion & live electronics: To be premièred in 2016!

I just finished a provisional version of Lapalu , a new work for viola and live electronics. In this composition, I used the musical formula technique. Lapalu musical formula Here is the manuscript of the Lapalu formula. You can read the four limbs of the formula, each inhabited by a particular musical character. I composed part of this formula after recording Garth Knox . I could then incorporate elements of his musical language. For instance, he ended the improvisation session with circular bowing, that he seemed to enjoy quite a lot: this is why I use this nice sound quality in the last bar. First projection of the formula On the next picture, you can see the how the Lapalu formula unfolds over the first section of the piece. In formula composition, musical material is not developed , but rather spread, unfolded . Each limb of the formula contaminates its character to the corresponding section. Each section contains one or more projection of the whole formula. Here, the first ...

Rêver is a composition for dancing clarinetist and singing dancer. It is the result of a great collaboration with choreographer and dancer Alice Gervais-Ragu. Enjoy the video (2004, Spirales tour of the Ensemble New Flore ): Karlheinz Stockhausen and Johann Sebastian Bach Rêver is the green piece from the Arc-en-ciel cycle . This pas de deux is of course influenced by the work of Karlheinz Stockhausen . Indeed, performing In Freundschaft was my first contact with a composition for moving musician. As a composer, Stockhausen is unique by the different ways in which he incorporated movement in his work. He asked several dancers to work with him (notably Michèle Noiret and Alain Louafi ), and notated movement in his musical scores. But I really composed Rêver as an homage to Johann Sebastian Bach . The piece is both a "Canon Contrarium Stricte Reversum" and a "Canon Cancrizans". It is a retrograde (or "crab") canon in contrary motion, that references...

In 2001, I composed the Arc-en-ciel Formula . It is both a musical work for Bb clarinet and double bass, and a "musical formula" on which I have based the Arc-en-ciel cycle. Here is the score: Page 1: red, orange, yellow Page 2: green, blue, indigo, purple A cycle in seven parts The Arc-en-ciel cycle is based upon the above formula. At the time, I was very interested in the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen and in his technique of Formula Composition , as well as in Fractals (Formula Composition is an application of fractal thinking to musical composition). Red Magma for contrabass clarinet, stones, and live electronics (2003) Orange Wu jú sè for clarinet, percussion (5 chinese gongs), double bass, and dance (2002) Yellow Zygomatic for voice and live electronics (2005) Risorius for six voices (2005-2006) Green Rêver for singing dancer and dancing clarinetist (2004) Blue Aqua for solo double bass, aquaphon, clarinet, and live electronics (2004) Aqua Solo ...

In fall 2002, still at Strasbourg Conservatory , I registered at the École nationale de musique du pays de Montbéliard (Montbéliard national music school). Ensemble New Flore had just invested in a new Apple Laptop (a Powerbook G4, 800 MHz, 756 Mo, at the time), and I wanted to learn interactive music with Max/MSP . I chose Montbéliard because of the composition faculty, Hans Tutschku and Jacopo Baboni Schilingi . Each other week, we met there during 2 intense days, with many great students. We were a creative and motivated community of young artists, including, for instance, Lorenzo "Lorbi" Bianchi and Daniele Segre Amar (now members of esc-crew ). Nice music school in Montbéliard , isn't it? My first composition with live electronics Plex is a composition for solo instrument and live electronics . The live electronics may be played either by the soloist, or by a second performer. I performed the premiere on clarinet and live electronics in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switz...

Sunday, November 18, 5:30 p.m. St. Paul's Cathedral, Tremont Street, Boston I am honored and excited that the Boston Microtonal Society included my piece Tilia for flute, violin, and cello, in the Fall concert of Notariotous (featuring Jessi Rosinski (flute), Gabriela Diaz (violin), David Russell (cello), and James Bergin (director)). Music in the form of a tree Like the tree , Tilia has roots, a trunk, and inflorescences twirling in the wind. I composed the piece in 2000 after a musical formula , designed as the musical image of a tree (click to enlarge): Here are the program notes : Tilia spreads as the tree develops. The roots, meeting resistance, penetrate the earth little by little. The trunk widens in the rhythm of the seasons; Spring, summer, autumn and winter bring an additional ring to it. The wind blows in the foliage and makes the inflorescences whirl. Listen to a live recording featuring Jessi Rosinski (flute), Gabriela Diaz (violin), Alexei Yupanqui Gonzales (cell...