Jean Rondeau, harpsichord
Silouane Daâge, sound engineer
In his breathtaking solo performance Sisyphe, heard in Basel for the first time after appearances on international stages, Jean Rondeau leaves the conventions of the classical harpsichord recital behind. There is no fixed programme and no interruption: repertoire and improvisation flow into one another, creating a continuous musical journey whose direction remains open until the very moment of performance.
Bach, Couperin or Ligeti may emerge from this stream, only to dissolve again into free improvisation. At its heart are musical forms shaped by recurrence and transformation – the rondeau, chaconne and passacaglia. Themes surface, change shape, disappear and return in unexpected ways. Each performance follows its own path and can never be repeated in exactly the same form.
Sisyphe exists somewhere between recital and performance, interpretation and invention. Repetition does not mean returning to the same place: each return changes what came before. In this, the work echoes the festival’s theme of language, where repetition, variation and context can continually shift and renew meaning.
Here you can find a trailer for Sisyphe .