Bruno Ducol (22 March 1949 – 11 January 2024) was a French pianist, composer and teacher of

contemporary music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included serial ...

Life and career

Born on 22 March 1949 in

Annonay Annonay (; oc, Anonai) is a commune and largest city in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the capital ...

, Ducol trained as a pianist and also studied philosophy and musicology at the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest univ ...

from 1967 to 1970. He then studied at the

Conservatoire de Lyon A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

. From 1973 to 1980 he studied at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, analysis with

Claude Ballif Claude Ballif (22 May 1924 – 24 July 2004) was a French composer, writer, and pedagogue. He worked at a number of institutions throughout more than 40 years of teaching, one of which he had attended as a student. Among his pupils were Raynald A ...

, electroacoustic with

Pierre Schaeffer Pierre Henri Marie Schaeffer (English pronunciation: , ; 14 August 1910 – 19 August 1995) was a French composer, writer, broadcaster, engineer, musicologist, acoustician and founder of Groupe de Recherche de Musique Concrète (GRMC). His innov ...

, and composition with

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

and

André Boucourechliev André Boucourechliev (28 July 1925 – 13 November 1997) was a French composer of Bulgarian origin. Born in Sofia, Boucourechliev studied piano at the Conservatory there. Subsequently, he studied in Paris at the École Normale de Musique de Pari ...

. He taught analysis and orchestration as professor at the Conservatoire national de région de Reims from 1978 to 1998, and also at the summer school of the

State University of Campinas The State University of Campinas ( pt, Universidade Estadual de Campinas), commonly called Unicamp, is a public research university in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Unicamp is consistently ranked among the top universities in Brazil and Latin ...

in 1980. He was resident at the

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, ...

from 1981 to 1983, and at the Casa Velázquez in Madrid from 1985 to 1987. He was a fellow of the Fondation Beaumarchais in the Chartreuse de Villeneuve-lez-Avignon from 1990 to 1992. He was composer in residence at the Conservatoire de Lyon in 1994 and 1995, and then taught analysis at the Conservatoire de Paris until 2014. He travelled repeatedly to Greece, South America, Moscow and China. His compositions were influenced by encounters with artists such as choreographer Rocco, writer , stage director and visual artist Olivier Turpin. In 2015 he won the

René Dumesnil René Dumesnil (19 June 1879 – 24 December 1967) was a French physician, literary critic and musicologist. Dumesnil studied literature at the Sorbonne and became a literary critic. Then he was music critic for '' Le Mercure de France'' and ' ...

Composition Prize from the

Académie des beaux-arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

. Ducol died in Paris on 11 January 2024, at the age of 74, after a battle with illness for two years.

Work

Ducol was influenced by Greek music, particularly rhythm and meter. He defined music as "the manifestation of a natural pulsation and rhythm". His compositions, for different ensembles, are inspired by Antiquity, exotic music, nature, poetry and visual arts. His works include the orchestral ''Métalayi I'' (1976), ''Des Scènes d’Enfants'' for flute and guitar (1984), the opera ''Praxitèle'' (1986), ''A Korinne'' for string quartet (1988), ''Six études de rhythme'' for piano (1992), ''Éclats de lune'' (1995), ''Les Cerceaux de feu'' (2000), ''Vibrations chromatics'' for two pianos (2001 - including 'Nu descendant un escalier'), ''Fantasme en rouge'' for female chorus (2006), ''Treize fenêtres'', rhythmic studies for two pianos (2006), ''Une griffure de lumière'' for orchestra (2009) and ''Für die Jugend'' for voice and percussion (2010).

Recordings

* ''Le cri'', for countertenor, tenor, baritone and bass, in ''L'écrit du cri'' of vocal music from the Renaissance and the 19th to 21st centuries, Ensemble Clément-Janequin, conducted by

Dominique Visse Dominique Visse (born 30 August 1955) is a French countertenor and founder of the Ensemble Clément Janequin. Life and career Dominique Visse was a chorister at the Notre-Dame de Paris and studied organ and flute at the Versailles Conservatory. A ...

(2008, HM) * ''Vibrations chromatiques'', Op. 26; ''Treize fenêtres'', Op. 33 – Charlotte Gauthier, Tanguy de Williencourt, Delphine Armand, Yun-ho Chen, pianos; Fred Cacheux, voince; Charlotte Gauthier, Tanguy de Williencourt, Florian Chabbert, Marie Duquesnois, Victor Hanna, pianos; Adele Carlier, percussion; Bruno Ducol, bande (2019, Hortus) * ''Adonaïs ou l'air et les songes'', Op. 47 four voice and string quartet; ''À Corinna n° II'', Op. 18 for string quartet; ''Hymne au soleil'', Op. 46 for flute and string trio; ''Tout le jaune se meurt'', Op. 48bis for soprano – Quatuor Bela; Laura Holm, soprano; Julie Brunet-Jailly, flute (2020, Klarthe K092)

References

External links

* *
Discography
* * * * Fitch, Fabrice
(L')Écrit du cri
(CD review)

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ducol, Bruno 1949 births 2024 deaths People from Annonay Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris 20th-century French composers French male composers 20th-century French male musicians