On 6 January, Ensemble intercontemporain premiere Nothing Ever Truly Ends by Charlotte Bray. The work was commissioned by Ensemble intercontemporain with the support of the Pierre Boulez Foundation. Conducted by Pierre Bleuse, the concert marks the beginning of the festivities for the centenary of Pierre Boulez’s birth and takes place at Philharmonie de Paris in the Grande salle Pierre Boulez.
The ensemble are joined by two former EIC soloists, Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Jean-Guihen Queyras. Alongside Bray’s new work, the programme features works by Boulez including Répons, Messagesquisse, and Sonatine for flute and piano which brings together Sophie Cherrier and Aimard.
Bray dedicates the 10-minute piece to Boulez, who founded the ensemble in 1976. Having met him at a workshop in 2009, Bray recalls that “forming the piece through the prism of his teaching – the manipulation of speed and time, the exploration of colour and sonic space — was fundamental in developing Nothing Ever Truly Ends.”
The title of the work is the final line of Colum McCann’s book American Mother, which Bray’s first full scale opera is based on. McCann tells the story of Diane Foley, the mother of the US journalist James Foley who was held captive for two years and executed by Islamic State. Diane meets one of the men – Alexanda Kotey – who was responsible for her son’s kidnapping, torture and execution, and stretches out her hand to him in a gesture of peace and forgiveness: “…she shook his hand. She made that gesture. And he received it. Everything good, since begun, lasts. Nothing ever truly ends.”
