Saint-Preux (born August 1948
/ref>) is a French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
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 def ...
of contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 Modernism (music), post-tonal music after the death of ...
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). ''Fun ...
and electronic music
Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
.['']Gramophone
A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...
'', ''Concerto pour une Voix
Concerto pour une Voix (''Concerto for one Voice'') is a contemporary classical song written by the French composer Saint-Preux in 1969, combining
elements from popular music and electronic music.
The piece was first sung by Danielle Licari.
...
'
review
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 en Vendée.chart
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...
s 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
The Sopot International Song Festival or Sopot Festival (later called ''Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix'', ''Sopot Top of the Top Festival'' from 2012–13 and ''Polsat Sopot Festival'' in 2014) is an annual international song contest held in S ...
with his first major composition ''La valse de l'enfance'' (''The Waltz of Youth''). The song was Luxembourg
Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
's entry in the festival and was sung by Henri Seroka
Henri Seroka (born 1949) is a Belgian singer and composer. Although he began his career as a singer, he is known mostly for his compositions, especially film music, and for composing Belgium's official song for the 1984 Olympic Games.Wangermée, ...
with Saint-Preux conducting the symphony orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
. 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 pour une Voix (''Concerto for one Voice'') is a contemporary classical song written by the French composer Saint-Preux in 1969, combining
elements from popular music and electronic music.
The piece was first sung by Danielle Licari.
...
'' (''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
Danielle Licari (born Danielle Cuvillier on 30 November 1936, in Boulogne-sur-Mer) is a French singer who was active in the 1960s and 1970s. She's now remembered primarily as the vocalist in Concerto pour une Voix.
Career
In 1964, she dubbe ...
rehearsing in another studio and decided to record it with her voice taking the part of the trumpet using a vocalise technique (similar to scat singing
Originating in vocal jazz, scat singing or scatting is vocal Musical improvisation, improvisation with Non-lexical vocables in music, wordless vocables, Pseudoword#Nonsense syllables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, t ...
in 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
). 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
(, stylized in all caps) is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre-right in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''R� ...
''
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 naturalized French singer and actress. Leading an international career, Dalida has sold over 140 million records worldwide. Some ...
recorded an adaptation of the song for Barclay Records
Barclay is a French Universal Music Group record label, originally owned by Eddie Barclay in 1953. Barclay previously established Riviera-LM Records in 1951.
Eddie was a bandleader, pianist, producer and nightclub owner. With his wife and voc ...
with lyrics specially written for it by Eddy Marnay
Edmond Bacri (18 December 1920 – 3 January 2003), known professionally as Eddy Marnay, was a French songwriter. In his career, he wrote more than 4000 songs, including works for Édith Piaf, Frida Boccara and Céline Dion. He was joint win ...
. 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
Caravelli (born Claude Vasori; 12 September 1930 – 1 April 2019) was a French orchestra leader, composer and arranger of orchestral music.
Biography
He was born on 12 September 1930 in Paris. The son of an Italian father and a French mother, ...
, 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 o ...
.Wyclef Jean
Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...
's 1997 album '' The Carnival'', and the song was also performed in André Rieu
André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (, ; born 1 October 1949) is a Dutch violinist and conductor best known as the founder of the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra.
Rieu and his orchestra tour worldwide, often playing in stadiums. He resides ...
'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
Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics, an ...
's prose poem ''Un Hemisphere dans une chevelure'' and sung by French vocalist André Allet, reached #1 in the French charts.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 ''hymn'' d ...
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 a public square 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.
It was the s ...
during the celebrations for the bicentennial of the French Revolution.[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 (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
, to whom he also dedicated the work.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 Maunie ...
who starred in the film, ''Les Choristes
''Les Choristes'' ("The Chorus" or "The Chorus Singers") is an 1877 pastel on monotyping, 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 perf ...
''. 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
Concerto pour une Voix (''Concerto for one Voice'') is a contemporary classical song written by the French composer Saint-Preux in 1969, combining
elements from popular music and electronic music.
The piece was first sung by Danielle Licari.
...
'' (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