Bernard Foccroulle - organist, composer
Bernard Foccroulle was born in Liège (Belgium) in 1953. He began his international career as an organist in the mid-70s, playing a wide range of repertoire from Renaissance to Contemporary Music. He has performed several dozen world premieres and at the same time recorded masterworks of the organ repertoire, among them the complete organ works by Johann Sebastian Bach on historic organs.
In the 1980s, he was a member of the Ricercar Consort, devoted mainly to German baroque music.
His discography as soloist includes more than forty CDs. Between 1982 and 1997, he recorded the complete organ works by Johann Sebastian Bach for the Ricerar label. For these recordings, he carefully chose the most beautifully preserved historic instruments. Since then he has devoted most of his time as performer to the Northern German School, interpreting works by composers such as Scheidemann, Buxtehude, Tunder, Weckmann, Reincken and Bruhns. In November 2006, his recording of the Dietrich Buxtehude's complete organ works was released, which won the Diapason d'Or and the Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros among other prizes in 2007.
In addition to solo organ recitals and chamber music projects, an important aspect of Bernard Foccroulle's work is the combination of music with other art forms, such as his collaboration with choreographer and dancer Salva Sanchis (performed last season at the Philharmonie in Cologne), a program with the cornetto virtuoso Jean Tubéry, and concerts with singer and oud player Moneim Adwan. One of his most outstanding current projects is Light and Darkness, a collaboration with Australian Video Artist Lynette Wallworth.
While continuing his career as organist, he became director of the Brussels opera La Monnaie in 1992, holding this position until 2007. At La Monnaie, his programming covered a wide range of repertoire from Monteverdi to the present time, with a focus on new works both in the areas of opera and dance. In 1993, he founded the association Culture and Democracy, which campaigns for widespread participation in cultural life. He was nominated director of the Festival Aix-en-Provence in April 2006.
As composer, Bernard Foccroulle has written several works for organ and chamber music. He is also the author of La naissance de l´individu dans l´art (Grasset, 2003), which was written in collaboration with Roger Legros and Tzvetan Todorov. In June 2007, a cycle of Lieder (after Rilke) for soprano, choir and orchestra Am Rande der Nacht was premiered at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels. His recording of J.S. Bach's complete organ works has been awarded a ‘Diapason d'Or - Arte' in the December issue of the French magazine Diapason (Ricerar 289). Since 2010, Bernard Foccroulle has been professor of Organ at Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Brussels.
In the 1980s, he was a member of the Ricercar Consort, devoted mainly to German baroque music.
His discography as soloist includes more than forty CDs. Between 1982 and 1997, he recorded the complete organ works by Johann Sebastian Bach for the Ricerar label. For these recordings, he carefully chose the most beautifully preserved historic instruments. Since then he has devoted most of his time as performer to the Northern German School, interpreting works by composers such as Scheidemann, Buxtehude, Tunder, Weckmann, Reincken and Bruhns. In November 2006, his recording of the Dietrich Buxtehude's complete organ works was released, which won the Diapason d'Or and the Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros among other prizes in 2007.
In addition to solo organ recitals and chamber music projects, an important aspect of Bernard Foccroulle's work is the combination of music with other art forms, such as his collaboration with choreographer and dancer Salva Sanchis (performed last season at the Philharmonie in Cologne), a program with the cornetto virtuoso Jean Tubéry, and concerts with singer and oud player Moneim Adwan. One of his most outstanding current projects is Light and Darkness, a collaboration with Australian Video Artist Lynette Wallworth.
While continuing his career as organist, he became director of the Brussels opera La Monnaie in 1992, holding this position until 2007. At La Monnaie, his programming covered a wide range of repertoire from Monteverdi to the present time, with a focus on new works both in the areas of opera and dance. In 1993, he founded the association Culture and Democracy, which campaigns for widespread participation in cultural life. He was nominated director of the Festival Aix-en-Provence in April 2006.
As composer, Bernard Foccroulle has written several works for organ and chamber music. He is also the author of La naissance de l´individu dans l´art (Grasset, 2003), which was written in collaboration with Roger Legros and Tzvetan Todorov. In June 2007, a cycle of Lieder (after Rilke) for soprano, choir and orchestra Am Rande der Nacht was premiered at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels. His recording of J.S. Bach's complete organ works has been awarded a ‘Diapason d'Or - Arte' in the December issue of the French magazine Diapason (Ricerar 289). Since 2010, Bernard Foccroulle has been professor of Organ at Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Brussels.
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Foto: Johann Jacobs
Foto: Johann Jacobs