Qui est fou ?

François Ribac et Eva Schwabe

Released in March 2025

MUSEA/GAZUL

QUI EST FOU ? is a pop opera premiered in January 2002 at the Moulin du Roc in Niort and at the Grand Théâtre de Reims.

A man is murdered. He ran a multinational company and was opposing a takeover bid launched by a rival firm. A judge investigates the murder. Twelve scenes and an interlude alternate between testimonies, confessions, cover-ups and accusations.

In 2003, we began recording the music for QUI EST FOU ? It then took us a long time to record everything and be satisfied with the sound recordings and the mix. Eventually, we found Rob Aubrey and his studio in Southampton; François had composed four more new orchestrations, and we were able to release the album on François’s birthday, 16 March 2025.

Listen QUI EST FOU ? Musea/Gazul 2025

Musea/Gazul

Original scripts by
Hervé Le Tellier, François Ribac, Eva Schwabe

Music François Ribac

Lyrics William Blake, Didier Doumergue, Omar Khayyam Hervé Le Tellier, Marie Claire Pasquier, Rainer Maria Rilke, François Ribac, and Eva Schwabe

Singers
Eva Schwabe, Cathal Coughlan, Martin Newell, Marie-Jeanne Iché, Marie Faye, Cyrius Martinez and Ken Norris

The Hermeneutic Orchestra
ELECTRIC BASS Felipe Cabrera, François Ribac
DOUBLE BASS Felipe Cabrera, Rémy Chatton
DRUMS François Bellin
PERCUSSIONS Bruno Desmouillières
ELECTRIC GUITARS Laurent Hestin, Dave Gregory, François Ribac
ACOUSTIC GUITARS Laurent Hestin, François Ribac
12 STRINGS François Ribac
SLIDE GUITARE François Ribac
BANJO Laurent Hestin, François Ribac
CLARINET Renaud Gabriel Pion, Francis Touchard
TRUMPET & FLUGELHORN Yann Martin
SAXOPHONES (BASS, TENOR, SOPRANO) & FLUTE Frédéric Saumagne
ACCORDION Pascal Pallisco, Marie Faye
VIOLON & VIOLA Virginie Michaud

Choir
Friends, fans and supporters

Recorded by Charles Frossard in 2003 at Studio Mesa (Soignolles, France)

Additional recordings in 2009 by Pierre “Gédéon” Monteil at Radio France (Paris), in 2021 by Robin Mory at Studio Triphon (Dijon) and during the Covid 19 pandemic (2020-2022) by Frédéric Saumagne, François Ribac, Ken Norris, Marie Faye, Philippe Dalecky, Rémy Chatton, François Bellin and all the choristers in their home studios. Many thanx to Sylvain Poge for making the recording of the drums possible

Mixed by Rob Aubrey and François Ribac at Aubitt Studios (Southampton, UK) in 2018 and online during the Covid 19 pandemic.

Mastering Rob Aubrey

Produced by François Ribac

Photography Elodie Jarrier

Sleeve design Et voilà le travail

Presse

Le Monde

Dans La sélection de Sylvain Siclier in Les albums préférés du «Monde» en 2025

26th december 2025

François Ribac et Eva Schwabe
Qui est fou ?

First performed in mid-January 2002, Qui est fou ?, by guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and composer François Ribac (1961–2024) and singer Eva Schwabe, can be described as a pop opera. Its theme centres on a mysterious death within a multinational corporation, featuring an investigation, the help of a young hacker and various conspiracies… Its music ranges from pop – from the Beatles to XTC, via the early 1970s British scene (Soft Machine, Robert Wyatt, Caravan…) – to jazz, cabaret and songs, in French, English and German. Recorded at various times between 2003 and 2022, the album Qui est fou ? showcases the quality of the songwriting. The inventiveness – playful, tender, edgy and at times unsettling – is perfectly complemented by The Hermeneutic Orchestra (rhythm section, guitars, wind section, accordion, violin) and seven vocalists, including Cathal Coughlan (1960–2022).

Sylvain Siclier