Fafchamps, Jean-Luc - Décalcomanie de Reich et Ligeti (avec Piazolla en surimpression)
Jean-Luc Fafchamps is a Belgian pianist and composer who has etched out his own unique voice which, although informed by the schools of minimalism and atonality, epitomises the true post-modern artist. Fafchamps describes his style as “outlined by rhythmic and polyphonic continuity, a semblance of free association, the use of non-recurrent melody focus[ing] on harmonic mobility, and a taste for oblique logics of an esoteric nature and their mathematical projections.” Typically eclectic, Fafchamps cites interests in theatre, improvisation, gastronomy and sociology in addition to his broad musical tastes. He currently teaches at the Academy of Mons and performs with the Ictus ensemble.
Décalcomanie moves through several stylistic territories with seeming ease, starting with the titular Reichian minimalism which gradually disintegrates into the aesthetic sonorities of Ligeti before emerging into a Piazolla-esque conclusion imbued with tempestuous dissonance. Decalcomania was a surrealist art technique in which gouache was spread thinly over a sheet of paper or glass and then pressed onto a canvas. Obviously the form of this piece follows an equivalent musical process. Although the piece is clearly very precisely structured and assembled from mathematical systems, there is always a strong expressive quality that holds the listener's interest. Employing a fantastic array of extended techniques for saxophone, Fafchamps uses the instrument's full potential to create neo-sonic colours and shapes.
Décalcomanie moves through several stylistic territories with seeming ease, starting with the titular Reichian minimalism which gradually disintegrates into the aesthetic sonorities of Ligeti before emerging into a Piazolla-esque conclusion imbued with tempestuous dissonance. Decalcomania was a surrealist art technique in which gouache was spread thinly over a sheet of paper or glass and then pressed onto a canvas. Obviously the form of this piece follows an equivalent musical process. Although the piece is clearly very precisely structured and assembled from mathematical systems, there is always a strong expressive quality that holds the listener's interest. Employing a fantastic array of extended techniques for saxophone, Fafchamps uses the instrument's full potential to create neo-sonic colours and shapes.