Grame Center in Lyon

Program

This concert, organized by Grame in partnership with the French Academy in Rome—Villa Medici, is dedicated to contemporary musical creation. It features four works for voice, strings, and electronics, including three world premieres: *Exspirare* by Gianvincenzo Cresta, based on a text by Emilia Bersabea Cirillo; *Pierre blanche* by Jean-François Estager and James Giroudon; *Les Ymages* by Fausto Sebastiani, based on a text by François Villon, as well as *Procession* by Franck Bedrossian, a work for viola and electronics commissioned by Grame.

The concert features soprano Cécile Dibon-Lafarge, cellist Benjamin Carat, and violist Christophe Desjardins, with José Miguel Fernandez serving as sound engineer.

The Project

This program is the result of a series of artist residencies that brought together composers and performers to create new works combining acoustic and electronic instruments. The works by Jean-François Estager, James Giroudon, and Fausto Sebastiani were developed in collaboration with cellist Benjamin Carat, while Franck Bedrossian’s *Procession* emerged from a residency with violist Christophe Desjardins. Following its premiere, this program was also presented in Avellino and Lyon.

The artists

Benjamin Carat is a cellist who specializes in contemporary composition and the development of repertoire for cello and electronics. Christophe Desjardins, a member of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, is one of the leading performers on the contemporary viola and has premiered numerous works by major composers. Trained at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Lyon, Cécile Dibon-Lafarge divides her career between chamber music, oratorio, and contemporary music.

Le Grame

Founded in Lyon in 1982, Grame—the National Center for Musical Creation—supports the creation of contemporary works by hosting composers-in-residence, advancing musical research, and fostering connections between artistic creation, innovation, and the public. Each year, it produces numerous new works and organizes, among other events, the Musiques en Scène biennial festival.

The Composers

The works featured in this program were composed by five leading figures in the contemporary music scene: Franck Bedrossian, Gianvincenzo Cresta, Jean-François Estager, James Giroudon, and Fausto Sebastiani, whose careers reflect a shared commitment to musical research, sound experimentation, and the dialogue between instrumental composition and new technologies.