Michel Magne (20 March 1930 in
Lisieux
Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland.
Name
The name of the town derives from the l ...
,
Calvados
Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears.
History In France
Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norm ...
, France – 19 December 1984 in
Cergy-Pontoise
Cergy-Pontoise () is a New town#France, new town and an Agglomeration communities in France, agglomeration community in France, in the Val-d'Oise and Yvelines departments of France, departments, northwest of Paris on the river Oise (river), Oise. I ...
,
Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674. ) was a French film and
experimental music
Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...
composer.
Early life
He was the fifth child in a family of eight. As young as age five, he was intrigued by his parents' piano. The Lisieux cathedral's organist taught him to play keyboards, and soon he played the harmonium during Sunday services. At age nine he found his parents' Wagner discs, and thereafter would often quote Wagner in his works.
He then studied music at the french:
Caen Conservatory, in Caen, France. By age 16 he had written an oratorio and a piano concerto. In 1946, he left Caen to attend the Paris Conservatory, where he had lessons by
Simone Plé-Caussade and
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 ...
.
Achievements, career, recording studio
He was nominated in 1962 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 ...
and
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
for adapting the
Jackie Gleason
John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...
score to film ''
Gigot''. He also scored ''
Barbarella'' and a series of
OSS 117
OSS 117 is the codename for Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, a fictional secret agent created by French writer Jean Bruce. Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath is described as being an American Colonel from Louisiana of French descent. After service in the Off ...
films.
In 1962, he released the studio album ''
Tropical Fantasy
Tropical Fantasy is an inexpensive soft-drink, originally from Brooklyn, New York. Its low price of 49¢ per 21-ounce bottle led to its success in the 1990s. Tropical Fantasy was initially popular in inner city areas. The company did not employ l ...
''.
Magne wrote some songs with lyrics by
Françoise Sagan
Françoise Sagan (born Françoise Delphine Quoirez; 21 June 1935 – 24 September 2004) was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois char ...
for
Juliette Gréco
Juliette Gréco (; 7 February 1927 – 23 September 2020) was a French singer and actress. Her best known songs are "Paris Canaille" (1962, originally sung by Léo Ferré), "La Javanaise" (1963, written by Serge Gainsbourg for Gréco) and "Désh ...
and provided orchestral
accompaniment
Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles ...
.
In 1962, he purchased the
Château d'Hérouville
The Château d'Hérouville is a French 18th century château located in the village of Hérouville, in the Val d'Oise département of France, near Paris. The château was built in 1740 by "Gaudot", an architect of the school of Rome, from the re ...
, near
Pontoise
Pontoise () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the " new town" of Cergy-Pontoise.
Administration
Pontoise is the official ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-d'Oise ''dépa ...
, and converted it into a residential
recording studio
A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...
in 1969, known as ''Studio d'enregistrement Michel Magne'', which through the 1970s was used by a series of artists such as
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
(at his
Honky Château
''Honky Château'' is the fifth studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released in 1972, and was titled after the 18th century French chateau where it was recorded, Château d'Hérouville. The album reached number one in the US, th ...
),
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
,
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
,
Jethro Tull,
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...
, and the
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees
were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...
among many others.
In the 1970s,
Jean-Claude Petit
Jean-Claude Petit (born 14 November 1943) is a French composer and arranger, born in Vaires-sur-Marne. After accompanying jazzmen in his childhood, Petit went to the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied harmony and counterpoint. He did the st ...
scored Magne's films, without due credit.
Personal life and death
In 1972, he married Marie-Claude, , having met her in 1970, near
Hérouville while she was hitch-hiking as a schoolgirl.
The couple moved to the south of France in 1974.
Magne committed suicide in 1984, in a hotel room.
Film scores
* 1955
** ''
Le Pain vivant''
* 1960
** ''
Détournement de mineures''
** ''
Les Sérum de bonté'' (TV series)
** ''
Les Filles sèment le vent''
* 1961
** ''
Les Livreurs''
** ''
Les Laches vivent d'espoir''
** ''
Rodophe Bresdin''
* 1962
** ''
Gigot'' (arranged and conducted only)
** ''
Le Diable et les Dix Commandements
''Le Diable et les Dix Commandements'' ( en, The Devil and the Ten Commandments) is a French film from 1962 directed by Julien Duvivier that consists of seven sketches (eight in the versions shown in Germany and Japan) played by an ensemble cast ...
''
** ''
Le Repos du guerrier''
** ''
Les filles de La Rochelle''
** ''
Konga Yo
''Konga Yo'' is a 1962 French adventure film directed by Yves Allégret. It was entered into the 1962 Cannes Film Festival.
Cast
* Nicole Courcel as Marie
* Jean Lefebvre as Jean
* Sophie M'Bali as Angèle
* Roger Pigaut
Roger Pigaut (birth ...
''
** ''
Un singe en hiver''
** ''
Les Bricoleurs
''Les bricoleurs'' (''The Handymen'') is a 1963 French thriller film directed by Jean Girault and starring Francis Blanche, Darry Cowl, Elke Sommer and Jacqueline Maillan. It was released as ''Who Stole the Body?'' in the United States.
Premise ...
''
** ''
Le Gorille a mordu l'archevêque''
* 1963
** ''
Les Tontons flingueurs
''Les Tontons flingueurs'' ('' en, Crooks in Clover'', also known as ''Monsieur Gangster'', literally ''Gun-toting Uncles'') is a 1963 French-Italian-West German crime comedy film with French dialogue, directed by Georges Lautner. It is an adapt ...
''
** ''
Germinal''
** ''
Les Grands Chemins''
** ''
Symphonie pour un massacre''
** ''
Les Femmes d'abord''
** ''
Le Vice et la vertu''
** ''
Des frissons partout''
** ''
Méfiez-vous, mesdames''
** ''
OSS 117 se déchaîne''
** ''
Tante Aurore viendra ce soir''
** ''
Mélodie en sous-sol
''Any Number Can Win'' (french: Mélodie en sous-sol) is a 1963 French crime drama film directed by Henri Verneuil. The film is based on the novel ''The Big Grab'' by .
Plot
Charles comes out of prison after serving five years for attempted robb ...
''
* 1964
** ''
Angélique, Marquise des Anges
''Angélique, Marquise des Anges'' is a 1964 historical romance film directed by Bernard Borderie and starring Michèle Mercier, Robert Hossein and Jean Rochefort. It is based on the 1956 novel of the same name by Anne and Serge Golon. It was ma ...
''
** ''
Les Barbouzes
''Les Barbouzes'' ( Barbouze being French slang for a spy, deriving from the idea that spies hide behind false beards) is a 1964 French cult comedy film, screened in the USA as ''The Great Spy Chase''. Starring Lino Ventura, Bernard Blier and Mir ...
''
** ''
Fantômas
Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914).
One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appeared ...
''
** ''
La Ronde La Ronde may refer to:
Geography
* La Ronde, Charente-Maritime, a commune in the Charente-Maritime ''département'', France
* La Ronde River, on the Caribbean island of Dominica
*La Ronde (amusement park), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
*A La Ronde, an ...
''
** ''
Cyrano et d'Artagnan
''Cyrano and d'Artagnan'' () is a 1964 French adventure film directed by Abel Gance, starring José Ferrer and Jean-Pierre Cassel. It is set in 1642 and tells the story of how the poet and duelist Cyrano de Bergerac teams up with the musketeer d' ...
''
** ''
La chasse à l'homme''
** ''
Le Monocle rit jaune
''The Monocle Laughs'' or ''The Monocle'' (French: ''Le monocle rit jaune'', Italian:''L'ispettore spara a vista'') is a 1964 French-Italian comedy thriller film directed by Georges Lautner and starring Paul Meurisse, Marcel Dalio and Olivier Des ...
''
** ''
Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117''
** ''
Le Gentleman de Cocody
''Man from Cocody'' (French: ') is a French adventure film from 1965 set in Cocody, Ivory Coast. It was directed by Christian-Jaque, written by Christian-Jaque, , Jean Ferry and Jacques Emmanuel, starring Jean Marais. The film was known under the ...
''
** ''
Les Gros bras''
* 1965
** ''
Fantômas se déchaîne
''Fantômas se déchaîne'' (, '' en, Fantomas Unleashed'') is a 1965 film starring Jean Marais as the arch villain Fantômas opposite Louis de Funès as the earnest but outclassed commissaire Juve and the journalist Fandor, also played by Marais ...
''
** ''
Les Bons Vivants
''Les Bons Vivants'' (''High Lifers'') is a French comedy film from 1965, directed by Gilles Grangier and Georges Lautner, that was written by Albert Simonin and Michel Audiard. It stars Bernard Blier, Mireille Darc, Andréa Parisy, Bernadette La ...
''
** ''
Coplan FX 18 casse tout''
** ''
Mission spéciale à Caracas''
** ''
Par un beau matin d'été''
** ''
Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117''
** ''
A Woman in White
''A Woman in White'' (French: ''Le Journal d'une femme en blanc'') is a 1965 French-Italian drama film directed by Claude Autant-Lara and starring Marie-José Nat, Jean Valmont and Claude Gensac. It was written by Jean Aurenche and André Soubir ...
''
** ''
Marvelous Angelique
''Marvelous Angelique''
(French: ''Merveilleuse Angélique'') is a 1965 historical romantic adventure film directed by Bernard Borderie. It is the second film in the Angélique series, based upon the novels by Anne and Serge Golon, and a sequ ...
''
** ''
La Bonne Occase''
** ''
Compartiment tueurs''
* 1966
** ''
Atout cœur à Tokyo pour OSS 117
''Atout cœur à Tokyo pour OSS 117'' (English: ''Trump-Card in the Heart of Tokyo for OSS 117'') is a 1966 French Eurospy spy-fi film. It was the fourth OSS 117 film of the 1960s, directed by Michel Boisrond, presented by the director of the t ...
''
** ''
To Skin a Spy''
** ''
Brigade antigangs
''Brigade antigangs'' is a 1966 French-Italian film directed by Bernard Borderie.
Synopsis
Restaurateur Sartet is investigated over being behind a great many robberies.
When a special task force known as ''Brigade antigangs'' under the helm ...
''
** ''
Angelique and the King
''Angelique and the King'' (French: ''Angélique et le Roy''), Italian: ''Angelica alla corte del re'') is a 1966 historical adventure film directed by Bernard Borderie. It stars Michèle Mercier. It was made as a co-production between France, Ita ...
''
** '
** ''
Estouffade à la Caraïbe
''The Looters'' is a 1967 French film starring Jean Seberg, Serge Gainsbourg and Frederick Stafford
Frederick Stafford (11 March 1928 – 28 July 1979) was a Czechoslovak-born actor. Born Friedrich Strobel von Stein, he spoke fluent Czech, Ge ...
''
* 1967
** ''
Untamable Angelique
''Untamable Angelique'' (French: ''Indomptable Angélique'') is a 1967 historical adventure film directed by Bernard Borderie and starring Michèle Mercier, Robert Hossein and Roger Pigaut. It was made as a co-production between France, Italy an ...
''
** ''
Johnny Banco''
** ''
À cœur joie''
** ''
Un homme de trop''
** ''
Fantômas contre Scotland Yard
''Fantômas contre Scotland Yard'' (, "Fantomas Against Scotland Yard") is the final installment of a trilogy of films starring Jean Marais as the arch villain Fantômas name opposite Louis de Funès as the earnest but outclassed commissaire Juv ...
''
** ''
Batouk''
* 1968
** ''
The Sergeant''
** ''
Sous le signe de Monte-Cristo
''The Return of Monte Cristo'' (''Sous le signe de Monte-Cristo'') is a French film (1968) directed by André Hunebelle.
Plot
Edmond Dantes (Paul Barge), imprisoned in Sisteron for denouncing and allowing the dismemberment of a whole network of ...
''
** ''
Le Bâtard'' (musical direction)
** ''
Barbarella'' (musical direction)
** ''
Angelique and the Sultan
''Angelique and the Sultan'' (French: ''Angélique et le Sultan'') is a 1968 historical adventure film directed by Bernard Borderie and starring Michèle Mercier, Robert Hossein and Jean-Claude Pascal. It was made as a co-production between Fran ...
''
** '
** '
* 1969
** ''
Les Étrangers''
* 1970
** ''
Cold Sweat
"Cold Sweat" is a song performed by James Brown and written with his bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis. Brown recorded it in May 1967. An edited version of "Cold Sweat" released as a two-part single on King Records was a No. 1 R&B hit, and rea ...
''
** ''
Cran d'arrêt''
* 1972
** ''
Tout le monde il est beau, tout le monde il est gentil''
* 1973
** ''
Le Complot''
** ''
Don Juan ou Si Don Juan était une femme...'' de
Roger Vadim
Roger Vadim Plemiannikov (; 26 January 1928 – 11 February 2000) was a French screenwriter, film director and producer, as well as an author, artist and occasional actor. His best-known works are visually lavish films with erotic qualities, su ...
(orchestration)
** ''
Moi y'en a vouloir des sous''
* 1974
** ''
Les Chinois à Paris''
* 1976
** ''
Néa''
* 1978
** ''Viol''
* 1982
** ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...
''
** ''
T'es folle ou quoi?''
* 1983
** ''
S.A.S. à San Salvador''
** ''
Surprise Party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
''
** ''
L'indic''
* 1984''
** ''
Réveillon chez Bob''
** ''
Emmanuelle 4''
References
External links
*
rench
The Rench is a right-hand tributary of the Rhine in the Ortenau (Baden (Land), Central Baden, Germany). It rises on the southern edge of the Northern Black Forest at Kniebis near Bad Griesbach im Schwarzwald. The source farthest from the mouth is ...
Michel Magne, un destin foudroyé, Daniel Bastié, Ed. Grand Angle, 2014
Michel Magne Space Age Pop
Magne biography in English
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magne, Michel
1930 births
1984 deaths
People from Lisieux
French film score composers
French male film score composers
20th-century French composers
Drug-related suicides in France
20th-century French male musicians
1984 suicides