Ecce Ensemble Will Celebrate French Composer Phillipe Leroux

The Ecce ensemble continues its 11th season with a one-night only concert spotlighting the innovative French composer Phillipe Leroux. Program includes the American premiere of Leroux's triptych for chamber ensemble, L'épais, as well as a special performance of Anima (2012) for quintet in tribute to Swiss composer Dominique Schafer.

Considered to be one of the leading "post-spectralist" composers of the early 21st century, Phillipe Leroux (b.1959) is among the most respected French contemporary artists of his generation. Leroux is a widely performed and commissioned composer, as well as one of the most sought-out composition teachers in France and abroad. (He currently serves as Director of McGill University's Schulich School of Music's Digital Composition Studios in Montreal, Canada.) "French composers like Phillipe Leroux, who came from the spectral school, have had a strong and resonant impact internationally, especially in America," says John Aylward, Artistic Director of Ecce. "A new generation of American composers is now responding to these French advancements. So, there is a lot to explore between the influences across these generations."

Ecce presents the American premiere of Leroux's L'épais, a cycle of three works: Prelude à l'épais (2017), L'épais (2018), and Postlude à l'épais (2016). The work is based on the model of oceanic subduction-an exploration of progressive transformations of five layers of different sound dimensions undergoing the action of the force field. "The score seeks to offer the listener to penetrate the thickness of the sonorities and enter in immersion by plunging into the sound," explains Leroux. "Just as one would penetrate the underwater world and there discover characters and sound landscapes as well as itineraries and the idiosyncratic laws governing this particular world."

According to Domini que Druhen, "Leroux's approach to colour and harmonic organization owes something to Spectral Music. But in its instrumental writing and its emphasis on rhythmic movement his music owes more to Ligeti. The works of his later period have shown a greater playfulness in their exploration of musical procedures, together with an ongoing concern for clarity and elegance in the presentation of ideas."

The evening also includes music by Swiss composer Dominique Schafer (1967-2019), who recently passed away. Schafer was a founding member of Etchings Festival, Ecce's annual summer music festival in France. Schafer's Anima (2012) was written for Ecce, and involves the idea of capturing and integrating an inner vitality, inspired by Jung's idea of "anima" archetype that expresses the feminine inner personality of a man.

Ecce's 2019-20 season includes performances of chamber masterworks by today's most innovative composers including Toshio Hosokawa and Christophe Bertrand and multimedia artist Laine Rettmer. In addition, Ecce celebrates its debut recording of John Aylward's monodrama Angelus Novus (New Focus, TBR April 2020). Ecce culminates the season with three residencies: AREA Gallery in Boston, MA (February 2020), Clark University (March 2020), and its 11th annual international Etchings Festival in France (July 2020).

About Ecce

Founded in 2010, the Ecce ensemble is a group of today's most accomplished performers who are committed to presenting captivating and visionary performances of contemporary music. Through concerts, symposia, and other community-centered events, Ecce shares new forms of engagement in modern music with a diverse international audience. Ecce has realized personal and refined interpretations of works by composers such as Georg Friedrich Haas, Philippe Hurel, Lee Hyla, Helmut Lachenmann, Fabien Levy, Hanspeter Kyburz, Louis Karchin, Philippe Leroux, and many others.

Every year, the ensemble deepens its relationships with prominent composers and brings their work to new audiences. Ecce's annual residency is the international Etchings Festival in Auvillar, France. There, the ensemble shares diverse contemporary repertoire, as well as new works by emerging international composers, with European audiences. In addition to the Etchings Festival, Ecce continues to expand its residency and workshop programming, holding events across New York, New England, nationally and internationally. Recent residencies have taken place at The Boston Athenaeum, AREA Gallery in Boston, MA, The La Pietra Forum in Florence, Italy and The University of Campinas at Sao Paulo, Brazil. Ecce served as the 2015-17 Ensemble-in-Residence at Le Laboratoire in Cambridge, MA, and is currently in residence at AREA Gallery (Boston, MA) and Clark University (Worcester, MA). These opportunities continue to connect Ecce with the most diverse cross-sections of society, sharing with them the profound aesthetic experience of contemporary music, and the joy of its creation. EcceArts.com.