Saint-Preux (born 1950
/ref>) is a French composer of contemporary classical music which also combines elements from

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...

and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

.'' Gramophone'
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''" May 1973. Accessed 18 November 2010. His real name is Christian Saint-Preux Langlade.

Biography

Saint-Preux grew up in the small village of Mervent">Mervent en Vendée. By 1968 he had already released several 45 rpm record">45 rpm recordings of his compositions, including ''Une étrange musique'' (''A Strange Music'') which reached #71 on the French record chart">charts that year.Infodisc
Détail par Artiste: Saint-Preux
. Accessed 18 November 2010 (in French). In August 1969, he took part in Poland's Sopot International Song Festival with his first major composition ''La valse de l'enfance'' (''The Waltz of Youth''). The song was Luxembourg's entry in the festival and was sung by Henri Seroka with Saint-Preux conducting the symphony orchestra. The song won the ''Grand Prix de la Presse'' award at the festival and was released in that same year on ''Seroka'' (Festival FX 1583) and as a single on the EMI/Odeon label.Encyclopédisque
Saint-Preux
Accessed 18 November 2010 (in French). While in Poland he composed what was to become his biggest hit, '' Concerto pour une Voix'' (''Concerto for One Voice''). When Saint-Preux returned to France, René Boyer, head of the music publishers Fantasia, took him under his wing and arranged to have ''Concerto pour une Voix'' recorded. Although originally written as a purely instrumental work for trumpet and strings, Saint-Preux heard the French singer, Danielle Licari rehearsing in another studio and decided to record it with her voice taking the part of the trumpet using a

vocalise A vocal warm-up is a series of exercises meant to prepare the voice for singing, acting, or other use. There is very little scientific data about the benefits of vocal warm-ups. Relatively few studies have researched the effects of thesexercis ...

technique (similar to

scat singing In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

). The song, released on the Disc'AZ label in 1969, made both her career and his. In a few months it had sold over 3,000,000 copies in France alone,'' L'Express''
Issues 991-1002
Presse-Union (1970) p. 43. and gained recognition outside France as well. In the week of August 22, 1970, it entered the charts in Mexico at #10 and Japan at #20, eventually winning a

Gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

and a Japanese "Oscar" for the best original music. In 1970

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...

recorded an adaptation of the song for

Barclay Records Barclay is a French record company and label founded by Eddie Barclay in 1953. Eddie Barclay was a bandleader, pianist, producer, and nightclub owner. With his wife, Nicole, who was the vocalist in his band, he started Barclay. The catalogue inc ...

with lyrics specially written for it by

Eddy Marnay Edmond Bacri known by the professional name Eddy Marnay (Algiers, 18 December 1920 – 3 January 2003), was a French songwriter. In his career, he wrote more than 4000 songs, including works for Édith Piaf, Frida Boccara and Céline Dion. He ...

. Dalida's version is also known as "Chaque Nuit", the first line of the lyrics. Since that time ''Concerto pour une voix'' has been recorded by many other musicians, including Maxim Saury, Caravelli, Aimable Pluchard, and

Raymond Lefèvre Raymond Lefèvre (20 November 1929 – 27 June 2008) was a French easy listening orchestra leader, arranger and composer. Biography and career Born on 20 November 1929 in Calais, France, Raymond Lefèvre is best known for his interpretation of ...

. An excerpt from the original Licari version appears in

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

's 1997 album '' The Carnival'', and the song was also performed in André Rieu's 2007/2008 ''In Wonderland'' tour. In the Rieu show, ''Concerto pour une Voix'' was performed by a woman dressed as an angel singing from high above the orchestra. In 1972 Saint-Preux was signed by CBS France, and by 1973 he was listed as one of the artists on its roster who had achieved "consistent chart success". During the 1970s he released several LP albums, including ''Concerto'', containing the ''Concerto pour une Voix'' sung by Danielle Licari as well as several other tracks of instrumental music with the trumpeter

Pierre Thibaud Pierre Thibaud (22 June 1929 – 29 October 2004) was a French classical trumpeter. Life Born in Proissans (Dordogne), Thibaud studied violon and trumpet at the Conservatoire de Bordeaux, then at the Conservatoire de Paris in Eugène Foveau's c ...

and flautist Michel Plockyn as soloists and Saint-Preux on the piano. The title song from his 1975 album ''Your Hair'', inspired by Baudelaire's prose poem ''Un Hemisphere dans une chevelure'' and sung by French vocalist André Allet, reached #1 in the French charts. Two of Saint-Preux's larger scale works were his ''Symphonie pour la Pologne'' (''Symphony for Poland''), recorded in 1977 with the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and ''Les Cris de la liberté'' (''The Cries of Liberty''). Saint-Preux composed ''Les Cris de la liberté'', an hour long

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

to peace and human rights, to aid humanitarian projects. It was first performed on July 14, 1989, at the

Place de la Concorde The Place de la Concorde () is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées. ...

during the celebrations for the bicentennial of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

.Mission du Bicentenaire de la Révolution française et de la Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen
''Le Bicentenaire de la Révolution: répertoire numérique détaillé des archives de la Mission du Bicentenaire''
Archives Nationales (1991) p. 29. . During this event Saint-Preux met

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, to whom he also dedicated the work. In 2005, Saint-Preux adapted ''Concerto pour une Voix'' for two singers. This latter version, ''Concerto pour deux Voix'' (''Concerto for Two Voices''), was recorded in 2005 by the composer's daughter Clémence and Jean-Baptiste Maunier who starred in 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 ...

''. Clémence is also the soloist on Saint Preux's album ''Jeanne la Romantique'' (released in 2009).Gourdon, Julien
"Clémence dans la peau de Jeanne la Romantique"
Charts in France (chartsinfrance.net). September 26, 2005. Accessed 18 November 2010.

Discography

*'' Concerto pour une voix'' (1969) *''Le piano sous la mer'' (1972) *''La passion'' (1973) *''La fête triste'' (1974) *''Your hair & Missa Amoris'' (1975) *''Concerto pour piano'' (1975) *''Samara'' (1976) *''Symphonie pour la Pologne'' (1977) *''Expressions'' (1978) *''To be or not'' (1980) *''Le piano d'Abigaïl'' (1983) *''Atlantis'' (1983) *''Odyssée'' (1986) *''Phytandros'' (1991) *''The last opera'' (1994) *''Free Yourself'' (1999) *''Concerto pour deux voix'' (2005) *''Jeanne la Romantique'' (2007) *''Le Désir'' (2009)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Preux 1950 births Living people French composers French male composers