Claron McFadden & Ensemble TaCTuS

Welcome to the 19th edition of Klarafestival! The theme Crossroads - Come Together keenly evokes the convergence of the audience, the artists and their inspiring concerts. A meeting place where the leading lights of international classical music enter into dialogue with challenging creations and young talent. 

The inspiration for this edition comes from festival artist Claron McFadden. As she told us in an interview, “I stand at a crossroads where styles and generations cross, meet, and collide”. This notion forms the core of the programme. We hope you will enjoy Klarafestival as a sanctuary of hope, polyphony and beauty in all its forms. As a place where the familiar takes on new meaning and where new experiences take you by surprise. 

Jan Raes, chairman

Joost Fonteyne, intendant

Chantal Pattyn, manager Klara

For the American composer David Lang (b.1957) there is unquestionably a period before and a period after 2008. In that year he won the Pulitzer prize for music with the little match girl passion, a work for vocal quartet (doubling on percussion), in which Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of the girl with the matchsticks is retold in musical and literary forms, influenced by Johann Sebastian Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion. Although the Pulitzer Prize for music is rather overshadowed by the Pulitzers for journalism, this was a momentous event in the American music world. Until then, such prizes were reserved almost exclusively for the musical establishment and went preferably to academic modernists or conservative symphonists – that part of the music world known in New Yorker geographical terms as ‘uptown’ (where the major institutions – the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School – are situated).

With David Lang, a ‘downtown’ composer stood for the first time on that podium, a representative of the gritty avant-garde with roots in the concerts organized in liberal arts colleges, artists’ lofts, or by small-scale concert promoters such as The Kitchen or Roulette. Steve Reich won the Pulitzer the following year and soon more postminimalists and the like were to follow: John Luther Adams, Caroline Shaw, Julia Wolfe. Decades when, although conspicuous internationally, anything experimental ( John Cage conspicuously absent here) or minimalistic was ignored, finally made way for a fresh perspective. Okay, some purists might whine that this demonstrates that the hitherto underground culture has now gone mainstream. David Lang’s website still trumpets a quote from The New Yorker magazine describing him as ‘once a minimalist enfant terrible’, adding that he has now earned the title of ‘an American master’. This concert programme combines works by David Lang from before and after his ‘promotion’ to acclaimed figurehead in a visual and auditory spectacle. An opportunity to hear whether Lang’s early and more recent works are so very different from each other.     

Stylistically, David Lang’s music builds on the accomplishments of minimal music. For him and his New York contemporaries, what is remarkable is that they didn’t only take the American minimal music scene and figureheads like Steve Reich and Philip Glass as their examples, but above all the far rawer, punchy variant of minimalism of, for example, Dutch composer Louis Andriessen. Like minimalists before him, the young Lang chose not to await commissions from orchestras and other ensembles, but instead took matters into his own hands. Together with his friends, fellow-composers Michael Gordon and Julia Wolfe, he set up the festival/collective/ensemble Bang on a Can, which caused a furore with new music created from a wide variety of influences, from Classical to Rock. Bang on a Can is still a musical sanctuary for those artists who refuse to play by the rules and are unwilling to be categorized. David Lang also refuses to choose between different styles, but makes music that can be both raw and complex, gentle and dissonant, or brutal yet melodious. His works vary from introverted, almost ethereal pieces (the passing measures) to hard rockesque items (how to pray). His music can contain furiously complex rhythmic elements (the anvil chorus, the so-called laws of nature) or remain (deceptively) simple (death speaks).   

This programme proffers a sampling of Lang’s work, coupled with an orientation point of American new music that, already five years before Lang’s birth, introduced in an utterly novel way the eclectic use of various musical styles. In John Cage’s Aria (1952) coloured lines denote not only the (approximate) pitch, but each colour represents a certain type of use of the voice. It is for the interpreter (originally the living legend Cathy Berberian, who made a playful vocal switch between belcanto, blues and folk music) to decide which colour to link with which colour of voice. The freedom that Cage offers ensures that the voice and talents of each performer quite literally create their own unique ‘body of work’.      

Lang’s works in this programme capture the breadth and evolution of his style. First and foremost, there is an accessible, melodious aspect, perhaps most prominent in ‘I was a woman’, the opening aria from his opera prisoner of the state (2019), in which Lang takes the plot (but not the music) from Beethoven’s Fidelio as his starting point, for a reflection on resistance, self-sacrifice and oppression. The aria’s simple, lyrical melody has an almost musical-like (apparent) matter of course.  

In recent years, Lang has written more frequently for voice (both solo and chorus) and, besides musical theatre, his own Jewish spiritual background certainly plays a role here. Prayers for night and sleep (2018) and just (after song of songs) (2014) belong in this category. Just (after song of songs) is one of five works since for love is strong (2008) inspired by the Hebrew Bible’s Song of Songs. As so often, he first assembles the text – in this case, a compilation of moments where the man and the woman in the text name qualities and attributes that endear each to the other. Lang indicates a triple-voice vocal texture in parallel voicing that strongly reminds one of the little match girl passion. He also compiled the text for prayers for night and sleep, this time based on internet search results for the first part (‘night’), to arrive at contemporary wording for incantations that protect us from our fears.  As a counterpart, ‘sleep’ contains a selection of Jewish bedtime prayers.           

Facing these recent works are two Lang classics. In little eye, from the child cycle (2001), he revisits memories of childhood experience. This work – the final part of the cycle – is essentially a melody for single voice, subtly destabilized by the percussion which, according to the score, should be performed by ‘non-percussionists’. In cheating, lying, stealing (1993) – a classic from the Bang on a Can repertoire – he was seeking a way to translate non-exalted ideas into music. ‘An ominous funk’ is the instruction for tempo and character on the score, which floats on a cadenza-like form, always narrowly changing rhythmically, with notes between kick drums and anvils (yes, really), that in the stereo image bounce back and forth from left to right, an instant homage to Hoketus by his great inspirer, Louis Andriessen, with which it also shares a dark, spiky, dissonant sphere. The (then still) young Lang asserted that his postminimalism sprang from a different source than the consonance of American precursors such as Philip Glass.

Maarten Beirens, translated by Patrick Goddard

Claron McFadden

The versatile American soprano Claron McFadden is best known for her interpretations of contemporary music, but is also at home in baroque music and jazz. McFadden has appeared on the largest international opera stages and has performed the title roles of Cavalli's Didone and Berg's Lulu, in addition to roles in creations such as The Time of our Singing by Kris Defoort and prisoner of the state by David Lang. As a resident artist at Muziektheater Transparant, she devised, directed and performed several multidisciplinary projects, such as Lilith, Secrets and Nachtschade: Aubergine. She recently paid tribute to the life and work of Nina Simone in the music theatre production NINA.

Maris Pajuste 

The Estonian soprano Maris Pajuste studied musicology in Tallinn and Berlin and then classical singing in Rotterdam with Charlotte Riedijk and in Antwerp with Anne Cambier. She specialised in contemporary music through the master-after-master at the KASK & Conservatory Ghent, supervised by ensemble Ictus, with whom she has since regularly collaborated. After her studies, she settled in Brussels, where she founded the contemporary music ensemble TUUM with Marina Delicado (piano), Lucas Messler (percussion) and Anita Cappuccinelli (percussion). As a singer, Pajuste's interest is primarily in the sonic richness of the voice and the collaborative process between composer and performer.

Maria Eichler 

German mezzo-soprano Maria Eichler graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp in 2021. She has sung in opera productions for Theater Bamberg and Opera Accelerator (Lithuania), among others, and worked with ensembles such as Studium Chorale and Ensemble Reflection. Since 2023, she has been a permanent member of the Symfonischer Chor Bamberg. In 2022-2023 she was part of NKK NXT, a development programme for young artists of the Netherlands Chamber Choir, with which she has collaborated on projects such as the King's Night concert at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and on Minaminotori, a choreographic work for eight singers and tape. She will soon be appearing in the production WASPS by her own music theatre collective EXSTO.

Ensemble TACTUS  

The French percussion ensemble TACTUS was founded in 2011. Since then, they have created multidisciplinary performances that explore the relationship between sound, the body and space in dialogue with other art forms. To this end, TACTUS has collaborated with numerous artists, such as choreographers Yuval Pick and Maud Le Pladec, director and actor Jacques Bonnaffé, illustrator and scenographer Marion Cluzel and circus collective Petit Travers. TACTUS focuses mainly on contemporary repertoire by Steve Reich, Julia Wolfe, Eunho Chang and Francesco Filidei, among others, but has also made a recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations in an arrangement for percussion.

Raphaël Aggery

The French percussionist Raphaël Aggery studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique et Danse de Lyon. He has played with contemporary music ensemble Les Percussions de Strasbourg and was part of Percussions Claviers de Lyon from 2001 to 2018, where he participated in numerous concerts and music theatre projects. He is also involved in making orchestrations, transcriptions and arrangements for various groups of players. He is co-founder of Ensemble TACTUS, for which he composed the music for the performance Dédale(s) (2016) and made an arrangement for the recording of the Goldberg Variations. Since 2019 he has taught percussion at the Conservatoire de Nice.

Ying-Yu Chang

Ying-Yu Chang is one of the founding members of Ensemble TACTUS. She obtained her master's degree in percussion from Taipei National University of the Arts and started her career with the Taiwanese Ju Percussion Group, with which she has performed on various international stages. In 2005 she settled in France and continued her studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique et Danse de Lyon. Since then, she has performed regularly as a percussionist for, among others, Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain, Opéra de Lyon, Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse and Les Percussions de Strasbourg. She has also worked closely with composers such as Ivo Malec, Peter Eötvös, Julia Wolfe and Julia Blondeau.

Paul Changarnier

French percussionist Paul Changarnier is co-founder of Ensemble TACTUS and wrote the music for their production Encore la vie (2019). Together with Nicolas Cousin and Alexandre Esperet, in 2010 he founded the Trio SR9, with which he won the first prize at the IPCL (International Percussion Competition Luxembourg) in 2012. With vibraphonist David Fourdrinoy he also forms the ensemble Dog Food, which creates sound experiments through improvisation and electronics. In addition, Changarnier has a special interest in the relationship between music and dance. For example, he develops the music and choreography for the performances of Collectif A/R, which he founded together with dancers Thomas Demay and Julia Moncla.

Quentin Dubois 

Quentin Dubois studied percussion at the Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique et Danse de Lyon. With the percussion duo Orion, he won third prize and a prize for best interpretation at the IPCL (International Percussion Competition Luxembourg) in 2009. In 2011, he co-founded the Ensemble TACTUS, for which he provided the music and directing for the performances Visages (2014), which won the composition prize at the Vacances Percutantes festival, L'Appel de la Forêt (2016), and Reset (2021), which he made together with Paul Changarnier. He is also regularly invited to play with, among others, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse and Opéra de Lyon.

Jean-Marc Foltz

The French clarinettist Jean-Marc Foltz is active in both contemporary music and jazz. He was a member of Ensemble InterContemporain and Accroche Note for more than ten years and has also played with the ensembles MusikFabrik, United Instruments of Lucilin and Alternance. In the jazz world he has worked with Claude Tchamitchian, Bill Carrothers and Joe McPhee, among others, in addition to his regular musical partners Stéphan Oliva and Bruno Chevillon. Since 2005, he has formed the Jean-Marc Foltz Trio together with double bassist Sébastien Boisseau and drummer Cristophe Marquet. He teaches at the Académie supérieure de musique de Strasbourg and the Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique et Danse de Lyon.

Jérôme Lopez

The French video artist Jérôme Lopez has been developing his own visual language since 2009, with a special interest in the relationship between image and sound. He created the images for several video concerts, including À La Vie La Mort (2010), based on Pieter Bruegel's painting The Triumph of Death, Entomolo Vox (2013) about the sonic world of insects and Avril l'enchanteur (2014) about the work of French artist Armand Avril. Since 2019, he has been working on a participatory project with the 'vidéo-mallette', an illuminated glass plate that is filmed from below and thus generates live audiovisual creations made up of photos, objects and written text.

John Cage (1912-1992) 

Aria 

[graphic score]

David Lang (1957) 

Words and music by the composer 

‘I was a woman’, from the opera prisoner of the state 

I was a woman once
It was so long ago
I barely remember it

But I remember it
I was a woman once

I did what women do
I lived as women live
I felt as women feel
I dressed the way a woman does I was a woman once

I wore my hair the way a woman does
I sang the way a woman does
I breathed the air the way a woman breathes the air 

And I loved the way a woman loves

When they took my love away I died the way a woman dies

I don’t remember his face
I don’t remember his name

I don’t remember his love 

But I remember

I was a woman once

let me come in 

a sound
a voice

and my hair is damp from the mist
and my hair with the dampness of the night
and my locks of the drops of the nights
and my locks with the drops of the night

and saying

for my head is covered with dew
for my head is drenched with dew
for my head is filled with dew
for my head is full of dew
for my head is wet with dew

let me come in
let me

I dreamed my lover knocked at the door
I sleep, but my heart is awake
I sleep, but my heart wakes
I sleep, but my mind is awake
I slept but my heart was awake
I was asleep but my heart was awake
I was asleep, but dreaming
I was asleep, but my heart waked
I was asleep, but my heart was awake
I was asleep, but my mind was dreaming
I was sleeping, but my heart was awake

it is the voice of my beloved
it is the voice of my beloved that knocks

let me come in

listen

my beloved is knocking
my beloved was knocking
my darling, my sweetheart, my dove
my darling, my very own, my flawless dove,
my hair with droplets of the night
my hair with the dampness of the night
my hair with the dewdrops of night.
my head is drenched with dew
my head is drenched with evening dew.
my head is wet with dew
my locks with drops of the night
my locks with the damp of the night
my locks with the drops of the night
my love is knocking
my love was knocking
my lover is knocking at the door

open for me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one
open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one
open the door for me
open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one
open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my perfect one
open to me, my sister, my friend, my dove, my perfect one
open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, mine undefiled
open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one
open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled
open to me, my treasure, my darling, my dove, my perfect one
open to me, my true love, my sister, my dove, my perfect one
open up for me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my perfect one
open, open to me, my companion, my sister, my dove, my perfect one

the one I love was at the door
the sound of my beloved knocking
the voice of my beloved
the voice of my beloved knocking

there’s a sound

when I heard my lover knocking and calling

while I slept, my heart was awake

prayers for night and sleep 

1. night

when night falls
I can barely see
I can certainly see some people I can enter it
I can feel the dread coming
I can hear
I can hear it in the distance
I can imagine it
I can light up my whole body
I can move
I can put on whatever I like
I can see the flames
I can walk out into the darkness I can watch the stars
I can’t fall asleep
I can’t see anything

I feel ashamed
I feel hungry
I feel life is getting shorter I feel lost
I feel sad and alone
I feel the temptation
I feel uneasy
I feel very much alone

I will be awake
I will be released
I will be with you
I will complete my plan
I will crawl
I will defend
I will figure something out
I will go there
I will lead the attack
I will look up to see the new moon I will seek answers
I will share your company again
I will sneak in
I will tell the stars
I will tell you something
I will wake up

2. sleep

when sleep falls upon my eyes

let me lie down in peace
let me rise up again in peace

no evil dreams no sleep of death

no snare
no sorrow
no terror by night no arrow by day

no thousand at my left
no ten thousand at my right

let me lie down in peace
let me rise up again in peace let me find my better self

when I go out when I come in when I lie down when I rise up

in life
in peace
now and forever by day
by night
when I lie down when I rise upt

let me lie down in peace
let me rise up again in peace

at my right hand at my left hand before me behind me above me

just (after song of songs) 

just your mouth
just your love
just your anointing oils
just your name
just your chambers
just your love

and my mother’s sons
and my own vineyard
and my soul

just your flock
just your companions
just your kids
just your cheeks
just your neck
just your couch

and my perfume
and my beloved
and my breasts
and my beloved
and my love

just your eyes

and my beloved

our couch
our house
our rafters

and my love
and my beloved

just your shadow
just your fruit
just your banner over me
just your left hand
just your right hand

and my beloved
and my beloved

our wall

and my beloved
and my love
and my fair one
and my love
and my fair one
and my dove

just your face
just your voice
just your voice
just your face

our vineyards

and my beloved

just your flock

and my beloved
and my bed
and my soul
and my soul
and my soul
and my soul
any my mother’s house

just your sword
just your mother
just your wedding
just your heart

and my love

just your eyes
just your veil
just your hair

just your teeth
just your lips
just your mouth
just your cheeks
just your veil
just your neck
just your two breasts

and my love
and my bride
and my heart
and my sister
and my bride
and my heart

just your eyes
just your necklace
just your love

and my sister
and my bride

just your love
just your oils
just your lips

and my bride

just your tongue
just your garments

and my sister
and my bride

just your shoots

and my garden
and by beloved
and my garden
and my sister
and my bride

and my myrrh
and my spice
and my honeycomb
and my honey
and my wine
and my milk
and my heart
and my beloved
and my sister
and my love
and my dove
and my perfect one
and my head
and my locks
and my garment
and my feet
and my beloved
and my hand
and my heart
and my beloved
and my hands
and my fingers
and my beloved
and my beloved
and my soul
and my beloved

just your beloved
just your beloved

and my beloved

just your head
just your locks
just your eyes
just your cheeks
just your lips
just your arms
just your body
just you legs
just your appearance
just your speech

and my beloved
and my friend

just your beloved

and my beloved
just your garden
just your flock

and my beloved
and my beloved

just your flock
and my love

just your eyes j
ust your hair
just your teeth
just your cheeks

and my dove
and my perfect one
and my mother
and my fancy
and my prince

just your feet
just your rounded thighs
just your navel
just your belly
just your two breasts
just your neck
just your eyes
just your nose
just your head
just your flowing locks
just your breasts
just your breasts
just your breath
just your kisses

and my beloved

just your desire

and my beloved
and my love

our doors

and my beloved
and my mother’s breast
and my mother
and my pomegranates

just your left hand
just your right hand

and my beloved

just your mother
just your heart
just your arm

our sister
and my breasts
just your eyes

and my vineyard
and my very own
and my self

just your voice
and my beloved