Paul Le Flem was a French 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...

 and music critic. Born in Brittany

Brittany

Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

 and living most of his life in Lezardrieux

Lézardrieux

Lézardrieux is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.The village is situated near the mouth of the estuary of the Trieux river - the suspension bridge across the river at this point is a French national monument...

, Le Flem studied at the Schola Cantorum under Vincent d'Indy

Vincent d'Indy

Vincent d'Indy was a French composer and teacher.-Life:Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy was born in Paris into an aristocratic family of royalist and Catholic persuasion. He had piano lessons from an early age from his paternal grandmother, who passed him on to Antoine François Marmontel and...

 and Albert Roussel

Albert Roussel

Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period...

, later teaching at the same establishment, where his pupils included Erik Satie

Erik Satie

Éric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...

 and André Jolivet

André Jolivet

André Jolivet was a French composer. Known for his devotion to French culture and musical thought, Jolivet's music draws on his interest in acoustics and atonality as well as both ancient and modern influences in music, particularly on instruments used in ancient times...

. His music is strongly influenced by his native Brittany, the landscape of which is reflected in most of his work.

Before World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Le Flem produced several major works, including his First Symphony, a Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra, and an opera. The war temporarily put an end to his compositional activities, and in its aftermath he devoted himself to music criticism and choral conducting

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

. He wrote numerous articles for the periodical Comoedia.

In 1938, he began composing once again. Three additional symphonies and a second opera followed before he was finally forced to give up composition in 1976, at the age of 95, due to blindness. He died July 31, 1984 at the age of 103.

Some of his dramatic works include the operas Le rossignol de St-Malo (The Nightingale of St Malo) and La magicienne de la mer (The Magician of the Sea), as well as a version of the chante-fable Aucassin et Nicolette. For the Dead and the seven Children's Pieces, both originally written in 1912, were orchestrated some years later. Two of the composer's children died young, and For the Dead is dedicated to their memory. In addition to his symphonies, Le Flem wrote evocative orchestral music such as En mer (At Sea) and La voix du large (The Voice of the Open Sea). Le Flem also composed the music for Jean Tedesco's short film The Great Gardener of France in 1942.