Marcel Pérès (born 15 July 1956,
Oran
Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
,
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
) is a French
musicologist
Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
,
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
,
choral director and singer, and the founder of the
early music
Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...
group
Ensemble Organum. He is an authority on
Gregorian and pre-Gregorian chant.
Pérès was born into an Algerian family of
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
origin which was repatriated to France. He grew up in
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
, where he sang at the
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
and was organist at the
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
church. He trained in organ and composition at the
Nice conservatoire, before continuing his studies in
church music
Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn.
History
Early Christian music
The onl ...
at the
Royal School of Church Music
The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, tr ...
and at English cathedrals. He worked at the
Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal (Montreal early music studio) and for the
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
. In 1979 he returned to France where he studied
medieval music
Medieval music encompasses the sacred and secular music of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, from approximately the 6th to 15th centuries. It is the first and longest major era of Western classical music and followed by the Renaissance ...
under Michel Huglo at the
École pratique des hautes études
The École pratique des hautes études (), abbreviated EPHE, is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is highly selective, and counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions. It is a constituent college o ...
.
In 1984 Peres became director of ARIMM, the ''Atelier pour la Recherche sur l’Interprétation des Musiques Médiévales'' (or "Workshop for Research on the Performance of Medieval Music") with the support of the Fondation Royaumont, created by the
Goüin family.
In 1994 the ''Atelier'' became CERIMM, the ''Centre Européen pour la Recherche sur l'Interprétation des Musiques Médiévales'' (or "European Centre for Research on the Performance of Medieval Music").
In 2001 Pérès and his group Ensemble Organum moved to
Moissac
Moissac () is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Garonne and Tarn at the Canal de Garonne. Route nationale N113 was constructed through ...
where he founded CIRMA, the ''Centre itinérant de recherche sur les musiques anciennes'' (or "Itinerant Centre for Research into Ancient Music").
He was musical director of
Kaj Munk
Kaj Harald Leininger Munk (commonly called Kaj Munk) (13 January 1898 – 4 January 1944) was a Danish playwright and Lutheranism, Lutheran pastor, known for his cultural engagement and his martyrdom during the Occupation of Denmark of World ...
's play, ''Ordet,'' at the
Festival d'Avignon
The ''Festival d'Avignon'', or Avignon Festival, is an annual arts festival held in the French city of Avignon every summer in July in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes as well as in other locations of the city. Founded in 1947 by Jean Vila ...
in 2008.
Pérès' compositions include ''Le Livre des morts égyptiens'' ("The Egyptian Book of the Dead"), written in 1979, and ''Mysteria Apocalypsis''.
Awards
In 1990 he was awarded the
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
Prize by the Italian government, and
Since 1996 he has been a
Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and letters, Arts and Letters) is an Order (distinction), order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Ministry of Culture (France), Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the w ...
.
In 2013 he received a title of Honorary Citizen of
Jarosław
Jarosław (; uk, Ярослав, Yaroslav, ; yi, יאַרעסלאָוו, Yareslov; german: Jaroslau) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 38,970 inhabitants, as of 30 June 2014. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), previ ...
.
Ensemble Organum
In 1982 Peres founded Ensemble Organum, a group specialising in "pre- and para-Gregorian" chant.
The group has been based at three medieval monastic sites.
*
Sénanque Abbey
Sénanque Abbey (Occitan: ''abadiá de Senhanca'', French: ''Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque'') is a Cistercian abbey near the village of Gordes in the ''département'' of the Vaucluse in Provence, France.
First foundation
It was founded in 114 ...
, an active
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
community.
*
Royaumont Abbey
Royaumont Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey, located near Asnières-sur-Oise in Val-d'Oise, approximately 30 km north of Paris, France.
History
It was built between 1228 and 1235 with the support of Louis IX. Several members of the Frenc ...
, a former Cistercian monastery near
Asnières-sur-Oise
Asnières-sur-Oise (, literally ''Asnières on Oise'') is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. The 13th–18th century Royaumont Abbey is located in the commune.
Population
Twin towns
* Cutigliano, Ita ...
, which is run as a cultural centre.
*
Moissac Abbey
Moissac Abbey was a Benedictine and Cluniac monastery in Moissac, Tarn-et-Garonne in south-western France. A number of its medieval buildings survive including the abbey church, which has a famous and important Romanesque sculpture around th ...
, a former
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monastery
References
External links
CIRMA and Ensemble Organum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peres, Marcel
1956 births
Living people
20th-century French composers
20th-century French conductors (music)
20th-century French male musicians
20th-century organists
20th-century French musicologists
21st-century French composers
21st-century French conductors (music)
21st-century French male musicians
21st-century organists
21st-century French musicologists
French male composers
French choral conductors
French male conductors (music)
French classical organists
French male organists
École pratique des hautes études alumni
Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
People from Oran
Male classical organists