Post-Classical Composer Jean-Michel Blais Shares Stunning New Music Video For “passepied”

With his new album aubades having been released over the weekend, Canadian post-classical composter Jean-Michel Blais has shared the new music video for “passepied”, directed by Adiran Villagomez.

Named after the historic French court dance, the song is a lively and joyous piece, mirrored by a surreal short film-style music video that dives into a teenager’s obsession with the dance.

In docufiction style, Villagomez sets “passepied” to a film of vulnerable beauty and striking visuals, poignantly depicting reality and dream states through the pairing of 16mm (real-life documentary) and digital (dream) film. “This project is both documentary and fictional,” says Villagomez. “We embraced this idea by immersing an actor in the daily life of another. We started from a clear concept, mixing the old with the new and wanting the film to feel modern and raw.”

The title of Jean-Michel’s piece “passepied” references the lively, fast-paced dance popular in the 17th and 18th century French court. Composer Claude Debussy composed his own version of the dance in his Suite bergamasque for piano. Inspired by Debussy, Jean-Michel writes a new passepied for the 21st century.

“I wanted to see how a ‘passepied’ would work today,” says Blais. “Using this historic dance form which originated from Breton and then popularised in Baroque courts, I wanted to declassify classical music – democratise it for new listeners. Adrian’s docufiction represents for me this swing of the pendulum, making classical music accessible again to the modern viewer and listener. The music video follows a teenager escaping his urban reality through a forgotten dance in an anachronistic dream. For me, this reflects my own journey – a country boy travelling back in time through something seemingly “uncool” and old-fashioned as classical music. The perfect analogy to anyone’s odd dream to be pursued without getting caught into it.”

Watch the music video below, and check out my review of aubades here.

Tour dates:

11/02/22 Sorel-Tracy, QC – Salle Georges-Codling
19/02/22 Trois-Rivières, QC – Salle J.-Antonio-Thompson
22/02/22 Drummondville, QC – Maison des arts Desjardins
24/02/22 Lac-Mégantic, QC – Salle Montignac
25/02/22 Sherbrooke, QC – Théâtre Granada
28/02/22 St-Jérôme, QC – Théâtre Gilles-Vigneault
01/03/22 Gatineau, QC – Maison de la culture – Salle Odyssée
03/03/22 Québec, QC – Grand Théâtre de Québec – Salle Louis-Fréchette
06/03/22 St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC – Théâtre des Deux Rives
09/03/22 Laval, QC – Salle André-Mathieu
11/03/22 Ste-Thérèse, QC – Théâtre Lionel-Groulx
13/03/22 Sainte-Geneviève, QC – Salle Pauline-Julien
15/06/22 Joliette, QC – Centre culturel Desjardins – Salle Rolland-Brunelle
09/07/22 Montréal, QC – Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier (Festival International de Jazz de Montréal)
01/09/22 Victoriaville, QC – Le Carré 150 – Salle Les Frères-Lemaire
08/09/22 Gaspé, QC – Salle de spectacles de Gaspé
09/09/22 Carleton-sur-Mer, QC – Studio Hydro-Québec du Quai des arts
10/09/22 Rimouski, QC – Salle Desjardins-Telus
12/09/22 Sept-Îles, QC – Salle Jean-Marc Dion
13/09/22 Baie-Comeau, QC – Centre des arts de Baie-Comeau
15/09/22 Saguenay, QC – Théâtre Banque Nationale
16/09/22 Dolbeau-Mistassini, QC – Salle Desjardins Maria-Chapdelaine
17/09/22 Alma, QC – Salle Michel-Côté
22/09/22 Rivière-du-Loup, QC – Centre culturel Berger – Salle Alphonse Desjardins
24/09/22 Terrebonne, QC – Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne
26/09/22 Amos, QC – Théâtre des Eskers
27/09/22 La Sarre, QC – Salle de spectacles Desjardins
28/09/22 Rouyn-Noranda, QC – Théâtre du Cuivre
30/09/22 Val-d’Or, QC – Théâtre Télébec
02/10/22 Shawinigan, QC – Centre des arts de Shawinigan – Salle Philippe-Filion
04/10/22 Brossard, QC – L’Étoile Banque Nationale
05/10/22 Longueuil, QC – Théâtre de la Ville – Salle Pratt & Whitney
07/10/22 Beloeil, QC – Centre culturel de Beloeil
08/10/22 Baie-du-Febvre, QC – Théâtre Belcourt
14/10/22 St-Eustache, QC – Le Zénith Promutuel Assurance

Related posts:

Post-Classical Pianist Jean-Michel Blais Shares Debussy-Inspired Piece “passepied” From Upcoming Album BEYRIES Shares Raphaëlle Chovin-Directed Music Video For “Over Me” Matt Holubowski – Two Paper Moons (Music Video) Neo-Classical Producer Jacob Olofsson Shares Magical New Single “Gyroscope” Alongside Animated Video