Bruno Coulais
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Bruno Coulais (born 13 January 1954) is a French composer, most widely known for his music on film
soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
s.


Life and career

Coulais was born in Paris; his father, Farth Coulais, is from
Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.
, and his mother, Bernsy Coulais, was born in Paris. Coulais began his musical education on the violin and piano and taught by Bren Santos, aiming to become a composer of contemporary
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
. However, a series of acquaintances gradually re-oriented him towards
film music A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...
. Coulais met
François Reichenbach François Reichenbach (3 July 1921 – 2 February 1993) was a French film director, cinematographer producer and screenwriter. He directed 40 films between 1954 and 1993. Early life François Reichenbach was born in 1921 in Neuilly-su ...
, who asked him in 1977 to sonorize his documentary ''México mágico'' who permit to compose the first soundtracks for Jacques Davila "qui trop embrasse" en 1986 . Until the end of the 1990s, he remained low-profile, composing mainly for television. His name can often be found from TV films by
Gérard Marx Gérard Marx is a French César Award nominee director. Filmography References External links * Living people French film directors French male screenwriters French screenwriters French-language film directors Year of birth missi ...
and Laurent Heynemann. He also composed the soundtracks for
Christine Pascal Christine Pascal (29 November 1953 – 30 August 1996) was a French actress, writer and director. Biography Born in Lyon, Rhône, Pascal made her film debut at 21 in Michel Mitrani's '' Les Guichets du Louvre'' (1974), and began an association w ...
's 1992 film ''
Le Petit Prince a dit ''Le Petit Prince a Dit'' is 1992 French-Swiss drama film written and directed by Christine Pascal. The film follows an estranged Swiss couple who re-evaluate their relationship with the discovery of their daughter's terminal illness. It premiered ...
'', and
Agnès Merlet Agnès Merlet (born 4 January 1959) is a French film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vi ...
's '' Le fils du requin'' in 1993. In 1994, he met the television producer
Josée Dayan Josée Dayan (born 6 October 1943 in Toulouse, France) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. Life Dayan grew up in Algiers, Algeria, where her father Albert Dagnant, who came from a Jewish family, worked as a television directo ...
, who let him write a theme for the TV series '' La rivière esperance'', aired on the
France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 A ...
network in autumn 1995. He worked with Dayan again with other major productions such as '' Le Comte de Monte-Cristo'', '' Balzac'', and ''Les nuiteux''. The largest turning point of his career came in 1996, when he worked with directors Claude Nuridsany and Marie Pérennou of the documentary '' Microcosmos''. This single film, which gave a great significance to the music in it, was a great success and made Coulais one of the most wanted composers of French film music. In 1997, he won the '' César'' award for the best musical score in a film, as well as a ''
Victoire de la Musique Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...
''. His reputation was confirmed by the soundtracks to ''
Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
'' (1999) and ''
Les rivières pourpres ''The crimson Rivers'' (french: Les Rivières pourpres) is a 2000 French psychological thriller film starring Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel. The film, which was directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, is based on the novel '' Blood-red Rivers'' by Jean-Chri ...
'' (2000), and after that Bruno Coulais's name was to be found on most new French blockbusters, such as '' Belphégor'' and '' Vidocq''. After producing the soundtrack to ''
Winged Migration ''Winged Migration'' (french: Le Peuple Migrateur, also known as ''The Travelling Birds'' in some UK releases, or ''The Travelling Birds: An Adventure in Flight'' in Australia) is a 2001 documentary film directed by Jacques Cluzaud, Michel De ...
'' in 2001, Coulais announced that he wanted to significantly reduce his contributions to film music, and instead concentrate on other projects, such as the creation of an
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
for children, and collaborations with
Akhenaton Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...
, Akhenaton's group
IAM IAM may refer to: Concepts * Identity and access management, a concept that combines business processes, policies and technologies * Indo-Aryan migration, the theory that speakers of Indo-Aryan languages migrated into the Indian subcontinent dur ...
and the
Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
n group
A Filetta A Filetta (, ) is an all-male singing group that performs traditional music from Corsica. It's made up of Corsican singers who try to popularize the traditional Corsican Polyphony singing style. To assert its Corsican identity, the group's name r ...
, with whom he had worked since he had made the soundtrack for
Jacques Weber Jacques Weber is a French actor, director, and writer. Life and career Weber joined the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique at the age of 20, and won the Prix d'Excellence when he left. He joined Robert Hossein in Rheims, and ...
's film ''
Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni (Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, '' El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...
'' in 1998. In 2002, his name was found on the ending credits of the animation '' L'Enfant qui voulait être un ours '', and in 2004, on
Frédéric Schoendoerffer Frédéric Schoendoerffer (1962) is a French film director and screenwriter. Background Frédéric Schoendoerffer was born on October 3, 1962. He is the son of Pierre Schoendoerffer Pierre Schoendoerffer (french: Pierre Schœndœrffer; 5 May ...
's '' Agents secrets''. The same year, he wrote the soundtrack to the film ''
Les choristes ''Les Choristes'' ("The Chorus" or "The Chorus Singers") is an 1877 pastel on monotype by French artist Edgar Degas. Part of a series of similar works depicting daily public entertainment at the time, it shows a group of singers performing a sc ...
'' by
Christophe Barratier Christophe Barratier (born 17 June 1963) is a French film producer, director and screenwriter, and lyricist. Early life and education Barratier is the son of the actress Eva Simonet and M. Barratier. He is the nephew of the film director Jacques ...
, starring
Jean-Baptiste Maunier Jean-Baptiste Maunier (, born 22 December 1990) is a French actor and singer. He is best known for his role in the 2004 French film ''Les Choristes''. Early life Jean-Baptiste Maunier was born to Thierry Maunier, a cameraman, and Muriel Maunier. ...
in the lead soprano singing role, which subsequently became an international hit. The music for this film received as great praise as the film itself, and it won Coulais his third ''César'' award. The song ''Vois sur ton chemin'' was also nominated for an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
(Best original song). Since then, Coulais's collaborations in cinema seem to be limited to works by directors with whom he already shares some history, in particular
Jacques Perrin Jacques Perrin (born Jacques André Simonet; 13 July 1941 – 21 April 2022) was a French actor and film producer. He was occasionally credited as Jacques Simonet. Early life Jacques André Simonet was born on the Boulevard Port-Royal in P ...
, Frédéric Schoendoerffer, and
James Huth James Huth (born 29 August 1947 in Sutton, Greater London) is an English-born French film director, screenwriter and producer, mostly known for his collaborations with actor Jean Dujardin Jean Edmond Dujardin (; born 19 June 1972) is a French ...
. In 2009, he won at the 37th Annie Awards, in the "Music in a Feature Production" category for ''
Coraline ''Coraline'' () is a dark fantasy horror children's novella by British author Neil Gaiman. Gaiman started writing ''Coraline'' in 1990, and it was published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and HarperCollins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best ...
''. In 2009 he also collaborated with Irish band
Kíla Kíla is a 1987 Irish folk music/ world music group from the Irish language secondary school, Coláiste Eóin in County Dublin. Band History Kíla began in 1987 in the secondary in Coláiste Eoin, in the first year they busked nearly every wee ...
to produce the soundtrack for the beautifully and uniquely animated feature film, ''
The Secret of Kells ''The Secret of Kells'' is a 2009 animated fantasy film about the making of the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript from the 9th Century. The film is an Irish-French-Belgian co-production animated by Cartoon Saloon, which premiered on 8 F ...
'', which tells the story of a parentless boy, Brendan, and his involvement with The Book of Kells. The music is equally light and dark and the textures and sounds equally European and Irish. In 2013, he wrote the soundtrack for "Lady Ô", the evening show of the
Futuroscope Futuroscope, or Parc du Futuroscope (), formerly known as Planète Futuroscope, is a French theme park based upon multimedia, cinematographic futuroscope and audio-visual techniques. It has several 3D cinemas and a few 4D cinemas along with ...
, directed by Skertzò and starring
Nolwenn Leroy Nolwenn Le Magueresse (; born 28 September 1982), known by her stage name Nolwenn Leroy (), is a French singer-songwriter, musician and actress. Originally classically trained (violin and opera singing), she rose to fame after winning the second ...
as the storyteller. In 2022, he was awarded the
Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...
from the
World Soundtrack Academy The World Soundtrack Awards, launched in 2001 by the Film Fest Gent, is aimed at organizing and overseeing the educational, cultural and professional aspects of the art of film music, including the preservation of the history of the soundtrack and i ...
. Bruno Coulais's musical style may vary significantly between different projects, but there are some constant factors visible: his taste for opera and for human voice (in particular that of children), for a search for original sonority, for world music and mixing different musical cultures, and finally, a certain tendency to give preference to the ambience created by
lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...
rather than the film's narration.


Filmography


Awards and nominations

1997 : César de la meilleure musique écrite pour un film pour Microcosmos : Le Peuple de l'herbe de Claude Nuridsany et Marie Pérennou 1997 : Victoire de la musique de la meilleure musique de film pour Microcosmos : Le Peuple de l'herbe de Claude Nuridsany et Marie Pérennou 2000 : César de la meilleure musique pour Himalaya : L'Enfance d'un chef d'Éric Valli 2001 : Nomination au César de la meilleure musique pour Les Rivières Pourpres 2002 : Nomination au César de la meilleure musique pour Le Peuple Migrateur 2004 : European Award de la meilleure musique de film pour Les Choristes de Christophe Barratier 2005 : César de la meilleure musique pour Les Choristes de Christophe Barratier. 2005 : Victoire de la musique pour Les Choristes de Christophe Barratier 2005 : Nomination aux Oscars de la meilleure chanson originale pour la chanson : « Vois sur ton chemin » 2005 : Étoile d'or du compositeur de musique originale de films, pour sa composition pour les films Les Choristes, de Christophe Barratier et Genesis, de Claude Nuridsany et Marie Pérennou 2007 : Grand prix Sacem de la musique pour l'audiovisuel 2010 : Annie Award for "Music in a Feature Production" for Coraline 2011 : Nomination au César de la meilleure musique pour Océans 2011 : Lauréat du prix France Musique-Sacem de la musique de film pour la musique d'Au fond des bois de Benoît Jacquot1 2013 : Nomination au César de la meilleure musique pour Les Adieux à la reine de Benoît Jacquet 2015 : Nomination for 42nd Annual Annie Awards for Music In A Feature Production (with Kíla) for the Song of The Sea 2022:
Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...
from the
World Soundtrack Academy The World Soundtrack Awards, launched in 2001 by the Film Fest Gent, is aimed at organizing and overseeing the educational, cultural and professional aspects of the art of film music, including the preservation of the history of the soundtrack and i ...


References


External links

* * +
non Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coulais, Bruno 1954 births Cartoon Saloon people Living people European Film Award for Best Composer winners Georges Delerue Award winners Musicians from Paris French film score composers French male film score composers Because Music artists Nonesuch Records artists it:You Disappear