Julien Libeer, Fabian Fiorini & Amélie Hayoz

Pilgrims. Sounds of Travel

22.03.2025 — 17:00

KMSKB, Auditorium 490

Preface

Welcome to the 20th Klarafestival!

Under the title We Are Now, this special anniversary edition pays tribute to the here and now. No one embraces the magic of the moment more fearlessly than festival artist Patricia Kopatchinskaja. Wherever and whatever she plays, this Moldovan violinist and composer sets the stage alight. For her, every concert is a new beginning, a full moment in which anything can happen. Klarafestival 2025 paints a multifaceted portrait of Patricia Kopatchinskaja as a violinist, composer and inspiring presence.

In honour of our 20th anniversary, we are launching a new tradition: for one day, Mont des Arts will be transformed into the Muziekberg /Mont des Musiques. Alongside concerts and performances at various venues, a new ensemble will also see the light. Sound of Brussels Orchestra goes in search of the exceptional sound of our capital.

We live in challenging times, and some of the festival projects reflect on this. At the same time, they demonstrate how much hope can lurk between the notes of a Stabat Mater or a Dies Irae. How music can move and inspire us. For Patricia Kopatchinskaja, music is no abstract matter: ‘Music is there for us to do something with it. Even when it has no concrete message or function, it appeals to us. It wants to be heard. I don't believe in absolute music. Not really.'

Let the celebration begin!

Joost Fonteyne, intendant
Jan Raes, chairman
Chantal Pattyn, network manager

Programme

Fabian Fiorini & Amélie Hayoz – composition

Donald Sturrock – libretto

Julien Libeer – piano, artistic direction

Sarah Laulan – contralto

Anicet Adeyemi – soloist from Equinox

Uxía Martínez Botana – double bass

Dré Pallemaerts – drums

Zeno Popescu – choral conductor

Chorale Equinox – children’s choir

Singing Molenbeek – children’s choir

Lydia Mboko & Sarah Laulan – stage direction, scenography

Lydia Mboko – choreography

Programme notes

Julien Libeer on Pilgrims

On the road with the choir kids

For over ten years now, I’ve been involved in a number of children’s choirs in the Brussels area. First there was Equinox, then Singing Molenbeek, and most recently, Flagey Academy. They are all, in their own way, social projects – meaning they primarily target children who do not come from the usual send-your-kids-to-a-classical-choir kind of background.

To watch those young people grow up, some of them developing into full-blown mature singers, has been quite the treat. This was by no means a purely altruistic endeavour: if anything, it helped me tune down much of the neurosis that somehow seems an inevitable part of the travelling pianist’s life.

A decade into this adventure, it seemed like a good time to do something very substantial, and very public. The inception of Pilgrims wasn’t a concept. It was a person. Meet Anicet.

Anicet Adeyemi is Equinox’s oldest member – she joined at age six and is now 18. Life has turned Anicet into a superlative singer. That is: a 3+ octave range, perfect intonation, an instinctive sense of harmony, and exquisite groove. It’s quite something. We wanted to give Anicet a central role in this project, and the aesthetics of black song seemed like a rich starting point.

So, I approached the renowned jazz pianist and composer Fabian Fiorini with the following pitch: to write a modern oratorio for children’s choir, two soloists, and piano trio. London-based writer Donald Sturrock signed up for the libretto, and gave the pitch its definitive shape:

Taking the framework of the spiritual journey provided by the influential 17th-century parable, The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, Pilgrims is a timeless, metaphorical journey through the adversities of migration.

Our pilgrims, here, speak through the voices of the Equinox and Singing Molenbeek children’s choirs. They encounter storms and dragons, along with the temptations of corruption, vanity and laziness. Some even get bogged down in the marshes of despair. Will they arrive at the Celestial City?

All over the world, migrants are making news. Forced to leave their homeland because of war, persecution, famine or natural disaster, refugees are risking everything in search of a brighter future.

Pilgrims tells the eternal story of a symbolic journey towards this promise of another life. It reminds us that, whatever the cause of their flight, the refugee’s journey is a kind of pilgrimage: a search for something better.

Amidst all the Mozart, all the Ravel, and all the usual buzzing of the classical pianist’s life, Pilgrims is probably the most meaningful side-step I’ve made till now. To bring together these kids, to give young musicians I admire a stage, to work with them around this singular and important subject, and to finally get to play with an actual drummer (!) is about as much as I could ask from this business.

Julien Libeer

Biographies

Fabian Fiorini

The Belgian jazz musician, composer and improvisation teacher Fabian Fiorini is at home in both (contemporary) classical music and jazz. He is a member of Ictus and the jazz ensemble Octurn and also regularly collaborates with the jazz trio Aka Moon. As a composer, he has written works for, among others, Oxalys, Ricercar Consort and Ensemble Soledad. His oeuvre includes piano music, chamber music, a mini-opera and a reworking of Bach's St. Matthew Passion for jazz ensemble. Fiorini has also worked with ensembles such as Ensemble InterContemporain and Taraf de Haïdouks and a wide range of artists such as Anna Fedorova, Frederic Rzewski, Kris Defoort, Fabrice Murgia, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Wim Vandekeybus.

Donald Sturrock

Donald Sturrock is a British author, librettist and television producer. He studied modern history at the University of Oxford and subsequently joined BBC Television’s music and arts department, where he worked as a scriptwriter, producer and director on documentaries about Bartók, Schnittke and opera singer Robert Lloyd, among other projects. Sturrock also has a close relationship with the work of Roald Dahl and published his authorised biography Storyteller in 2010. He has also written six opera librettos, including The Golden Ticket (2001) with music by Peter Ash, based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and librettos for composers such as Tobias Picker and Eleanor Alberga.

Julien Libeer

The Belgian pianist Julien Libeer studied with Daniel Blumenthal, Jean Fassina and Maria João Pires. He is artist in residence at Flagey and has also performed at concert halls such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Barbican Hall London, Palau de la Música in Barcelona and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. He has worked with orchestras such as Brussels Philharmonic, Sinfonia Varsovia and New Japan Philharmonic. As a chamber musician he has performed alongside Augustin Dumay, Paul Lewis and Lorenzo Gatto, among others. Libeer also brings music outside the concert hall as the presenter of the talk show Studio Flagey (2016) and the concert series Salon Libeer at the Concertgebouw Brugge, in which he combines music with lectures and discussions.

Sarah Laulan

French mezzo-soprano Sarah Laulan studied at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with Marianne Pousseur and at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel with José Van Dam. She won the Prix Paul Streit at the Geneva Competition in 2016 and took third prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2014. She has also performed at Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, Opéra national du Rhin, Philharmonie de Paris, Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Konzerthaus Berlin and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. Laulan specialises in music theatre and contemporary music and has performed creations by composers such as Martin Matalon, Matteo Franceschini, Michaël Lévinas, Marc Bleuse and Dai Fujikura.

Anicet Adeyemi

Anicet Adeyemi grew up in Brussels as the daughter of a Cameroonian mother and a Nigerian father. At the age of seven, she joined the children’s choir of Equinox, where she quickly became a soloist and has since grown into an important pillar through her strong bond with conductor Zeno Popescu. She also sings in one of the choirs of her Protestant parish. As a singer, she distinguishes herself through her range of more than three octaves, perfect intonation and sense of harmony and groove. She has practised various styles, but excels most in gospel. In addition to her passion for music, she is pursuing a career in medicine, yet music will always be her constant companion.

Uxía Martínez Botana

The Spanish double bassist Uxía Martínez Botana studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Peter Stotijn. She was first double bass with the Brussels Philharmonic until 2019 and also played as a guest with orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica and Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. She is also a co-founder of Rubik Ensemble, consisting of six international soloists in the formation of string quartet, double bass and piano. As a chamber musician, Martínez Botana has worked with Julia Fischer, András Schiff, Nobuko Imai, Kian Soltani, Sol Gabetta and Bertrand Chamayou.

Dré Pallemaerts

Dré Pallemaerts is a Belgian drummer, composer and sound engineer. He studied with Jeff Hamilton in Los Angeles and subsequently pursued a career in Seattle, New York and especially in the Belgian jazz scene. As a member of the Jack van Poll trio, he has accompanied soloists such as Dee Dee Bridgewater, Etta Cameron, Arnett Cobb, Dave Pike and Spike Robinson. He was also a member of the Michel Herr Trio, the Kris Defoort Quartet and the Philip Catherine Trio and has worked with jazz musicians such as Toots Thielemans, Bert Joris, John Scofield, Tom Harrell and Steve Grossman. In addition, Pallemaerts is a teacher at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven and the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique in Paris.

Zeno Popescu

Zeno Popescu is a Romanian tenor and choir conductor. He studied singing at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel with José Van Dam. As a soloist, he has sung at De Munt, Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Bozar, Flagey and various concert halls abroad. Since 2013, he has been the conductor of the children's choir of Equinox, a socio-artistic project of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. In 2014, he founded the choir organisation Singing Molenbeek, with which he has various school choirs in Molenbeek guided by professional coaches. Since 2024, Popescu has conducted the choir of Flagey Academy, a youth choir for Brussels singers between the ages of 8 and 20 recruited from school choirs in primary schools.

Chorale Equinox

The non-profit organisation Equinox was founded in 2012 by the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel under the impetus of pianist Maria João Pires and now supports five different children's choirs. The organisation is dedicated to nurturing the musical development of children from socially vulnerable backgrounds, including those with disabilities, from disadvantaged communities, or affected by conflict. By offering them a high-quality musical education, Equinox hopes to teach these children skills such as patience, concentration, critical thinking and cooperation, in order to promote equal opportunities through music.

Singing Molenbeek

The children's choir project Singing Molenbeek was founded in 2014 by Zeno Popescu and Julien Libeer in the Molenbeek primary school La Flûte Enchantée and later expanded to other schools in Molenbeek. The children in the choir are between 6 and 12 years old and often have a migration background. By involving them intensively in the choir, Singing Molenbeek wants to support the children in their personal development in order to open up perspectives on new future possibilities. In doing so, it pays attention to both the children themselves and their school and home environment. Since 2016, the choir has performed at prestigious locations such as the Concertgebouw Brugge, Flagey, and Festival Résonances.

Song texts

1. NO WAY BACK

NARRATOR:

They didn’t want to leave our home. They just had to.

This is their story.

There’s no way back

We have a burden on our back

The sun has turned

The earth to dust

We do not know who we can trust

There’s no way back

Our fate lies heavy on our back

They drove us out

Out of our land

We need to find a helping hand

Hate an persecution

Nature’s retribution

One thing is clear

There’s no way back

No way

There’s no way back

2. BLACK DOG

The black dog

Snapping

At our heels

He comes

From our darkest dreams

He doesn’t listen to our screams

Snapping

At our heels

Snapping

At our heels

He’s a beast

His yellow eyes blaze bright with flame

He knows our heart are filled with shame

The black dog snapping at our heels

He chases us into the sea

Is this perhaps our destiny

He chases us into the sea

Is this perhaps our destiny.

3. THE DECEIVER

People, stop and look around

Black dog has vanished into air

He’s disappeared

He is not there

You are not cursed

You have been blessed

Just follow me and you’ll ﬁnd rest

Far away, there is a place for you

A land where you can start anew

A place where you can all be free

(If you give your last possessions to me!) Listen to me. Become a believer!

(aside to the audience)

I am not a priest

I’m The Deceiver!

4. THE CELESTIAL CITY

THE DECEIVER: No longer are you dispossessed.

You are pilgrims. Bound for the celestial city.

Take us there right now

Take us there right now To the celestial city

The celestial city

Take us to the celestial city

Take us, oh take us there right now

All that we have we give away

We turn night into day

No more crying

No more sorrow

We’re heading for a bright tomorrow

Take us, oh take us there right now

All that we have we give away

We turn night into day

No more crying

No more sorrow.

5. THE EMBARCATION

NARRATOR: The pilgrims board a tiny boat. They head out from the beach. They are already out of sight of land, when they realise that the boat has no captain. They have been abandoned.

6. THE STORM

There’s a storm coming

Mighty powers Clouds like towers

Waves getting greener, Darker, meaner

Thermometer dropping Raindrops plopping Ship is pitching

We’re all twitching Tide’s a -growing, We’re all throwing…

Aaah! Ooh!

Swell’s gigantic! Now we’re frantic! Eardrums popping! There’s no stopping This terrifying storm.

PILGRIM AFRAID: A lightning strike!

Thunder rocks our frightened bones Listen to our ship’s creaks and groans

The ship is sinking!

We’re shaking and we’re white with fear

It seems the end is drawing near!

Our lips are dry with fear and foam We wish that we could go back home!

Aaaah! Oooh!

All our dreams are crashing down!

We’re going to die, we’re going to drown! Aaaah! Oooh!

Stop lamenting!

The storm’s relenting! Our ship’s still afloat!

We have not lost our boat!

TUTTI: We’re still alive! We have survived!!

7. CALM

(without text)

8. PILGRIMS

NARRATOR:

Deep down in the deepest depths When you’re feeling so low

Look up! To the highest height That’s where we will go

We look on the bright side Nothing gets us down

We’re pilgrims, We’re believers. We’re not gonna drown!

Though we’re tired and penniless Though we’re weak and wet

We are gonna beat the odds.

We’re not beaten yet.

We’re pilgrims. We’re believers. We’re not gonna drown!

We believe a better life Surely lies ahead

A place where we can settle down And earn our daily bread.

We’re pilgrims. We’re believers. We’re not gonna drown!

9. BELIEVERS

NARRATOR: As if in answer their prayers, an island appears on the horizon. A friendly wind draws the boat to the verdant green and it is washed ashore. The pilgrims disembark.

Marooned upon an unknown shore We’ve never seen this place before. It’s green and lush with fruit to eat. We kiss the ground beneath our feet. Our guide is gone. He’s a deceiver.

But we’re still strong. We are believers!

10. ON THE SHORES OF EDEN

TUTTI: We pilgrims walk along a track

We look ahead.
We don’t look back.
Finding shelter in some caves Where we forget the crashing waves
Where it’s warm and dry and we can rest

A home for all us

dispossess’d

What is this ?

A giant snake.

We may have made a bad mistake!

11. IN THE CAVE OF THE MONEY SNAKE

SNAKE: Don’t back away, I am your friend.

In me you’ve found your journey’s end. You have survived. But for which end ?

With only these clothes upon your back. It’s clear that you are all very poor. You’ll need some cash.

I am sure of that

follow me and I will guarantee

Endless riches, you will see.

Behold, these eggs! Observe them well! For they are super special -

Inside each one’s a tiny snake, A reptile that is sure to make

You rich. Go on, they’re yours to take!

Each money snake, as you will see, Is absolutely guaranteed

To make your life a bed of roses If you just heed what it proposes.

The eggs will hatch soon and ensure That you’ll be rich and never poor. Life will be oh so very nice,

If you just follow their advice.

12. CHORUS OF UNBORN SNAKES (THE CREED OF GREED)

TUTTI: Money, money. Lots of money And you need it now!