Gérard Grisey
Encyclopedia
Gérard GriseyGérard Grisey (June 17, 1946 in Belfort
, France
– November 11, 1998 in Paris
) was a French
composer
of contemporary music.
. Here he won prizes for piano accompaniment, harmony, counterpoint, fugue and composition (studying under Olivier Messiaen
from 1968 to 1972). During this period, he also studied with Henri Dutilleux
at the Ecole Normale de Musique (1968), as well as summer schools at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena (1969), and in Darmstadt with György Ligeti
, Karlheinz Stockhausen
and Iannis Xenakis
in 1972.
Grisey won the highly coveted Prix de Rome
and stayed at the Villa Medici
in Rome from 1972 to 1974, and in 1973 founded a group called L’itinéraire with Tristan Murail
, Roger Tessier and Michael Levinas, later to be joined by Hugues Dufourt
. Dérives, Périodes, and Partiels were among the first pieces of spectral music. In 1974-75, he studied acoustics with Emile Leipp at the Paris VI University, and in 1980 became a trainee at the IRCAM
(Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique). In the same year he went to Berlin as a guest of the D.A.A.D., and afterwards left for the University of California, Berkeley
, where he was appointed professor of theory and composition (1982-1986). After returning to Europe, he taught composition at the Conservatoire de Paris
, and held numerous composition seminars in France (Centre Acanthes, Lyon, Paris) and abroad (Darmstadt, Freiburg, Milan, Reggio Emilia, Oslo, Helsinki, Malmö, Göteborg, Los Angeles, Stanford, London, Moscow, Madrid, etc.) Among his notable pupils are Jörn Arnecke
, Régis Campo
, Pascale Criton
, Stéphane de Gérando
, Henrik Hellstenius
, Javier Jacinto
, Ramon Lazkano
, Fabien Lévy
, Magnus Lindberg
, Éric Morin
, Arturo Rodas
, Steingrimur Rohloff
, and Erling Wold
.
Gérard Grisey died at the age of 52 in Paris on 11 November 1998 due to a ruptured Aneurysm
.
Among his works, most of which were commissioned by famous institutions and international instrumental groups, are Dérives 1974, Jour, contre-jour 1979, Tempus ex machina 1979, Les chants de l’amour 1984, Talea 1986, Le temps et l’écume 1989, Le noir de I’etoile 1990, L’icône paradoxale 1994, Les espaces acoustiques (a cycle consisting of six pieces), Vortex temporum 1995 and Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil 1998.
, which he is credited with founding along with fellow composer Tristan Murail
, although he later disowned the label in interviews and writings. Nonetheless, he spent much of his career exploring the spectrum of tone colour between harmonic overtones and noise. In addition, he was fascinated by musical processes which unfold slowly, and he made musical time a major element of many of his pieces.
He expressed the opinion that: "We are musicians and our model is sound not literature, sound not mathematics, sound not theatre, visual arts, quantum physics, geology, astrology or acupuncture" (Fineberg 2006, p.105).
Belfort
Belfort is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Franche-Comté in northeastern France and is the prefecture of the department. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate .-...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
– November 11, 1998 in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of contemporary music.
Biography
Gérard Grisey was born in Belfort, France on 17 June 1946. He studied at the Trossingen Conservatory in Germany from 1963 to 1965 before entering the Conservatoire de ParisConservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
. Here he won prizes for piano accompaniment, harmony, counterpoint, fugue and composition (studying under Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
from 1968 to 1972). During this period, he also studied with Henri Dutilleux
Henri Dutilleux
Henri Dutilleux is one of the most important French composers of the second half of the 20th century, producing work in the tradition of Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Albert Roussel, but in a style distinctly his own...
at the Ecole Normale de Musique (1968), as well as summer schools at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena (1969), and in Darmstadt with György Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
, Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
and Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
in 1972.
Grisey won the highly coveted Prix de Rome
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...
and stayed at the Villa Medici
Villa Medici
The Villa Medici is a mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and now property of the French...
in Rome from 1972 to 1974, and in 1973 founded a group called L’itinéraire with Tristan Murail
Tristan Murail
Tristan Murail is a French composer. His father, Gérard Murail, is a poet and his mother, Marie-Thérèse Barrois, a journalist. One of his brothers, Lorris Murail, and his younger sister Elvire Murail, aka Moka, also write, and his younger sister Marie-Aude Murail is a French children's writer...
, Roger Tessier and Michael Levinas, later to be joined by Hugues Dufourt
Hugues Dufourt
Hugues Dufourt is a French composer and philosopher associated with the Spectral school of composition. Born in Lyon on September 28 1943, Dufourt studied piano and composition at the Geneva Conservatory....
. Dérives, Périodes, and Partiels were among the first pieces of spectral music. In 1974-75, he studied acoustics with Emile Leipp at the Paris VI University, and in 1980 became a trainee at the IRCAM
IRCAM
IRCAM is a European institute for science about music and sound and avant garde electro-acoustical art music. It is situated next to, and is organizationally linked with, the Centre Pompidou in Paris...
(Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique). In the same year he went to Berlin as a guest of the D.A.A.D., and afterwards left for the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, where he was appointed professor of theory and composition (1982-1986). After returning to Europe, he taught composition at the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
, and held numerous composition seminars in France (Centre Acanthes, Lyon, Paris) and abroad (Darmstadt, Freiburg, Milan, Reggio Emilia, Oslo, Helsinki, Malmö, Göteborg, Los Angeles, Stanford, London, Moscow, Madrid, etc.) Among his notable pupils are Jörn Arnecke
Jörn Arnecke
Jörn Arnecke is a German composer.-Life:Jörn Arnecke studied composition and musical theory in Hamburg, Germany, at the Academy for Music and Theatre under Volkhardt Preuß and Peter Michael Hamel. In 1997/98, during his study, he was a student of Gérard Grisey at the Conservatoire National...
, Régis Campo
Régis Campo
- Biography :Born in Marseille in 1968, Régis Campo is one of France’s best-known young composers. His music possesses a distinct rhythmic energy and vitality, is highly melodic, and possesses a certain humour that found in the work of French composers such as Janequin, Rameau, Couperin, Satie or...
, Pascale Criton
Pascale Criton
Pascale Criton is a French musicologist and a composer of contemporary music, more specifically microtonal music. She is particularly known for exploiting very dense microtonal scales such as 1/12 tone or 1/16 and beyond for the particular perception properties they imply.-Life:Born in 1954 in...
, Stéphane de Gérando
Stéphane de Gérando
Stéphane de Gérando , is a French composer, conductor, multimedia artist, researcher.-Biography:Stéphane de Gérando succeeded to enter first the C.N.S.M.D.P. , got the First Prize of Composition of the C.N.S.M.D.P. in 1991...
, Henrik Hellstenius
Henrik Hellstenius
Henrik Hellstenius is a Norwegian composer and musicologist.Born in Bærum, Norway, Hellstenius studied musicology at the University of Oslo and composition with Lasse Thoresen at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo...
, Javier Jacinto
Javier Jacinto
-Biography:Born in Pasaia in 1968, he is A Top Graduate for the Top Conservatoire of Music of San Sebastian and Top Graduate in Orchestral Conducting, as well as in Composition for the Real High Conservatoire of Music of Madrid, studying between others with Francisco Escudero and Antón García Abril...
, Ramon Lazkano
Ramon Lazkano
Ramon Lazkano is a contemporary Spanish Basque composer of classical music.-Career:Ramon Lazkano attended piano and composition classes at the San Sebastián Higher Conservatory of Music, where he obtained a Higher Degree in Composition...
, Fabien Lévy
Fabien Lévy
-Biography:Lévy was born in Paris, France. After having been a jazz pianist, he studied composition with Gérard Grisey, orchestration with Marc-André Dalbavie and ethnomusicology with Gilles Leothaud at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1996 to 2000. In 2001, he went to Berlin on the DAAD Artist...
, Magnus Lindberg
Magnus Lindberg
Magnus Lindberg is a Finnish composer and pianist. He is currently the composer-in-residence at the New York Philharmonic.-Education:...
, Éric Morin
Éric Morin
Éric Morin is a Canadian composer. He has been awarded several prizes for his compositions, including the 2003 Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music for his D'un Château l'autre and the CBC Radio National Competition for Young Composers which he won twice...
, Arturo Rodas
Arturo Rodas
- Biography:Rodas studied at the National Conservatory in Quito, took private composition lessons with Gerardo Guevara, and also graduated in Law at the Universidad Central del Ecuador. Between 1978 and 1980 he was assistant to the French composer José Berghmans in Quito and Paris. He studied at...
, Steingrimur Rohloff
Steingrimur Rohloff
Steingrímur Rohloff is an Icelandic German composer.Rohloff studied composition with Krzysztof Meyer at the "Musikhochschule Köln". Supported by DAAD he went to the Conservatoire national superieur de Paris to study composition with Gérard Grisey and Marco Stroppa, electronic music with Laurent...
, and Erling Wold
Erling Wold
Erling Wold is a San Francisco based composer of opera and contemporary classical music. He is best known for his later chamber operas, especially A Little Girl Dreams of Taking the Veil and his early experiments as a microtonalist...
.
Gérard Grisey died at the age of 52 in Paris on 11 November 1998 due to a ruptured Aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
.
Among his works, most of which were commissioned by famous institutions and international instrumental groups, are Dérives 1974, Jour, contre-jour 1979, Tempus ex machina 1979, Les chants de l’amour 1984, Talea 1986, Le temps et l’écume 1989, Le noir de I’etoile 1990, L’icône paradoxale 1994, Les espaces acoustiques (a cycle consisting of six pieces), Vortex temporum 1995 and Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil 1998.
Musical style
His music is often considered to belong to the genre of spectral musicSpectral music
Spectral music is a musical composition practice where compositional decisions are often informed by the analysis of sound spectra. Computer-based sound spectrum analysis using tools like DFT, FFT, and spectrograms...
, which he is credited with founding along with fellow composer Tristan Murail
Tristan Murail
Tristan Murail is a French composer. His father, Gérard Murail, is a poet and his mother, Marie-Thérèse Barrois, a journalist. One of his brothers, Lorris Murail, and his younger sister Elvire Murail, aka Moka, also write, and his younger sister Marie-Aude Murail is a French children's writer...
, although he later disowned the label in interviews and writings. Nonetheless, he spent much of his career exploring the spectrum of tone colour between harmonic overtones and noise. In addition, he was fascinated by musical processes which unfold slowly, and he made musical time a major element of many of his pieces.
He expressed the opinion that: "We are musicians and our model is sound not literature, sound not mathematics, sound not theatre, visual arts, quantum physics, geology, astrology or acupuncture" (Fineberg 2006, p.105).
List of works
- Echanges, for prepared piano and double bass (1968)
- Mégalithes, for 15 brass players (1969)
- Perichoresis, for 3 instrumental groups (1969–1970)
- Initiation, for barytone, trombone, and double bass (1970)
- Vagues, chemins, le souffle, for clarinet and orchestra (1970–72)
- D'eau et de pierre, for 2 instrumental groups (1972)
- Dérives, for 2 orchestral groups (1973–74)
- Les espaces acoustiques – II – Périodes, for flute, clarinet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, and double bass (1974)
- Les espaces acoustiques – III – PartielsPartielsPartiels is a defining piece of Spectral music by Gérard Grisey whose opening is derived from an electronic sonogram analysis of the attack of a low E2 on a trombone. This spectrum is orchestrally synthesized through the assignation of different instruments to each partial in such a way as to...
, for 18 musicians (1975) - Manifestations, for youth orchestra (1976)
- Les espaces acoustiques – I – Prologue, for viola and optional live electronics (1976)
- Les espaces acoustiques – IV – Modulations, for orchestra (1976–77)
- Sortie vers la lumière du jour, for electric organ and 14 musicians (1978)
- Jour, contre-jour, for electric organ, 14 musicians, and tape (1978–79)
- Tempus ex machina, for 6 percussionists (1979)
- Les espaces acoustiques – V – Transitoires, for large orchestra (1980)
- Solo pour deux, for clarinet and trombone (1981)
- Anubis, Nout, for Bb contrabass clarinet (1983)
- Les chants de l'amour, for 12 voices and tape (1982–1984)
- Les espaces acoustiques – VI – Epilogue, for 4 solo horns and large orchestra (1985)
- Talea, for violin, cello, flute, clarinet, and piano (1986)
- Le temps et l'écume, for 4 percussionists, 2 synthesizers, and chamber orchestra (1988–89)
- Accords perdus: Cinq miniatures, for 2 horns (1989)
- Le noir de l'étoile, for 6 percussionists, tape, and live electronics (1989–90)
- Anubis, Nout, for bass saxophone and baritone saxophone (1990)
- L'icône paradoxale (Hommage à Piero della Francesca), for 2 female voices and 2 orchestral groups (1992–94)
- Stèle, for 2 percussionists (1995)
- Vortex temporum, for piano, clarinet (bass, Bb and A), flute (bass, C and picc.), violin, viola and cello (1994–96)
- Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil, for soprano and fifteen instruments (1997–98)