Tristan Murail (born 11 March 1947) is a French composer associated with the "

spectral ''Spectral'' is a 2016 3D military science fiction, supernatural horror fantasy and action-adventure thriller war film directed by Nic Mathieu. Written by himself, Ian Fried, and George Nolfi from a story by Fried and Mathieu. The film stars ...

" technique of composition. Among his compositions is the large orchestral work ''

Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...

''.

Early life and studies

Murail was born in

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. His father, Gérard Murail, is a poet and his mother, Marie-Thérèse Barrois, a journalist. One of his brothers, Lorris Murail, and his younger sister Elvire Murail, a.k.a. Moka, are also writers, and his younger sister

Marie-Aude Murail Marie-Aude Murail (born May 6, 1954) is a French writer. She is best known for her numerous children and teen novels that go over a wide range of subjects including homosexuality and serious illnesses. Her father, Gerard Murail, is a poet and h ...

is a French children's writer. Following his university studies in Arabic and economics, Murail attended the

Paris Conservatory The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, where he studied composition with

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 ...

Kennedy, Michael (2006), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'', from 1967 to 1972. He taught computer music and composition at IRCAM in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

from 1991 to 1997. While there, he assisted in the development of Patchwork composition software. In 1973 he was a founding member of the ''

Ensemble l'Itinéraire The ''Ensemble l’Itinéraire'' is one of the main European ensembles dedicated to the performance of contemporary music, known in particular for its performances of spectral music works. Spectral music alters “timbres by assembling orchestral ...

''. From 1997 until 2010, he was a professor of composition at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York City.

Music

Murail is associated with the "

" technique of composition, which involves the use of the fundamental properties of sound as a basis for

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

, as well as the use of spectral analysis, FM, RM, and AM synthesis as a method of deriving

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...

. Major pieces by Murail include large orchestral pieces such as ''Gondwana'', ''Time and Again'' and, more recently, ''Serendib'' and ''L'Esprit des dunes''. Other pieces include his ''

Désintégrations ''Désintégrations'', for 17 musical instruments and computer generated tape (1982–83) is a musical composition of spectral music by Tristan Murail, commissioned for IRCAM, Paris. The piece is more discontinuous than Murail's earlier composit ...

'' for 17 instruments and tape, ''Mémoire/Erosion'' for French horn and nine instruments ''Ethers'' for flute and ensemble, ''Winter Fragments'' for flute, clarinet, piano, violin, cello and electronics as well as ''Vampyr!'' for electric guitar. Murail also composed a set of solo pieces for various instruments in his cycle ''Random Access Memory'', of which the sixth, ''Vampyr!'', is a rare classical piece for

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

. In addition to deriving much of the musical material from the harmonic series over a low E—typically the lowest note on the instrument— the composer also references the timbre and performance style of guitarists in the rock tradition, citing

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...

and

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

as examples in the instructions to the score. Among Murail's awards are the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

(presented by the French

Académie des beaux-arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

in 1971), the

Grand Prix du Disque Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...

(1990), and the

Grand Prix du Président de la République Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and c ...

, Académie Charles Cros (1992). Murail's works are published by Éditions Transatlantiques and Éditions Henry Lemoine.Editions Henry Lemoine, Paris
/ref> His music has been recorded on the Una Corda, Metier, Adés, and MFA-Radio France labels.

Works

Orchestral

*1970, ''Altitude 8000'', for orchestra *1972, ''Au-delà du mur du son'', for large orchestra *1973, ''La dérive des continents'', for viola and string orchestra *1973, ''Cosmos privé'', for orchestra *1975, ''Sables'', for orchestra *1979, ''Les courants de l'espace'', for ondes Martenot and small orchestra *1980, ''

'', for orchestra *1985, ''Sillages'', for orchestra *1985, ''Time and again'', for orchestra *1991, ''La dynamique des fluides'', for orchestra *1996 ''Le partage des eaux'', for large orchestra *2004, ''Terre d'ombre'', for large orchestra and electronic sounds *2007, ''Contes cruels'', for 2 electric guitars and orchestra *2013, ''Reflections / Reflets I - Spleen'' *2013, ''Reflections / Reflets II - High Voltage / Haute tension'' *2017, ''Reflections / Reflets III - Vents et marées / Tidal winds''

Concertante

*2012, ''Le Désenchantement du Monde'', piano concerto *2019, ''De Pays et d'Hommes Étranges'', cello concerto *2021, 'L'Oeil du Cyclone', piano concerto

Ensemble

*1969, ''Couleur de mer'', for 15 instruments *1972, ''L'Attente'', for 7 instruments *1976, ''Mémoire/Erosion'', for horn and ensemble *1978, ''Ethers'', for 6 instruments *1978, ''Treize couleurs du soleil couchant'', for ensemble *1982, ''Désintégrations'', for 17 instruments and electronic sounds *1990, ''Allégories'', for 6 instruments and electronic sounds *1992, ''Serendib'', for 22 musicians *1993, ''La Barque mystique'' for ensemble *1994, ''L'Esprit des dunes'', for ensemble *1996, ''Bois flotté'', for piano, trombone, string trio, synthetic sounds and synthesized sounds *2000, ''Winter Fragments'', for flute, clarinet, piano, violin, cello, MIDI keyboard and computer *2001, ''Le Lac'', for ensemble *2006, ''Légendes urbaines'' for 22 instruments *2006, ''Seven Lakes Drive'', from «''Portulan''», for flute, clarinet, horn, piano, violin and cello *2008, ''Liber fulguralis'', for ensemble, electronics and video *2011, ''La Chambre des cartes'', from «''Portulan''», for flute, clarinet, horn, piano, percussions, violin, viola and cello *2011, ''Lachrymae'', for alto flute and string quintet *2011, ''Dernières nouvelles du vent d'ouest'', from «''Portulan''», for viola, horn, piano and percussion *2012, ''The Bronze Age'', for flute, clarinet, trombone, violin, cello and piano *2014, ''Un Sogno'', for ensemble and electronics *2017, ''Near Death Experience d'après L'Ile des morts d'Arnold Böcklin'', for ensemble and video

Chamber

*1970, ''Où tremblent les contours'', for 2 violas *1973, ''Les Nuages de Magellan'', for 2 ondes Martenot, electric guitar and percussions *1974, ''Transsahara express'', for bassoon and piano *1986, ''Atlantys'', for 2 DX7 Yamaha synthesizers, from ''Random Access Memory'' *1988, ''Vues aériennes'', for horn, violin, cello and piano *1990, ''Le fou à pattes bleues'', for flute and piano *1993, ''La barque mystique'', for five instruments *1998, ''Feuilles à travers les cloches'', from «''Portulan''», for flute, violin, cello and piano *2006, ''Les Ruines circulaires'', from «''Portulan''», for clarinet and violin *2008, ''Garrigue'', from «''Portulan''», for bass flute, viola, cello and percussions *2015, ''Travel Notes'', for 2 pianos and 2 percussions *2016, ''Sogni, ombre et fumi'', for string quartet *2018, ''Stalag VIIIA'', for violin, clarinet, cello and piano *2018, ''Une lettre de Vincent'', for flute and cello *2019, ''Kinderszenen'' by Robert Schumann, rereading for flute, cello and piano

Solo instrument

*1967, ''Comme un Oeil Suspendu et Poli par le Songe…'', for piano *1972, ''Estuaire'', 2 pieces for piano *1976, ''C'est un jardin secret, ma sœur, ma fiancée, une fontaine close, une source scellée'' for viola solo *1977, ''Tellur'', for guitar *1977, ''Territoires de l'oubli'', for piano *1984, ''Vampyr!'', for electric guitar, from ''Random Access Memory'' *1992, ''Attracteurs étranges'', for cello *1992, ''Cloches d’adieu, et un sourire... in memoriam Olivier Messiaen'', for piano *1993, ''La Mandragore'', for piano *1995, ''Unanswered questions'', for flute *2002, ''Les travaux et les jours'', for piano *2018, ''Cailloux dans l'eau'', for piano *2019, ''Le Rossignol en amour'', for piano

Vocal

*1995, ''...amaris et dulcibus aquis...'', for chorus and electronic sounds *2010, ''Les sept Paroles'', for orchestra, chorus and electronics *2016, ''La Vallée close, sur des sonnets de Pétrarque''

References

Specialty studies

* Humbertclaude Éric (1999), ''La Transcription dans Boulez et Murail: de l’oreille à l’éveil'', Harmattan,

External links

Tristan Murail official siteEditions Henry Lemoine
Paris

from Ostrava Days 2003, August 18, 2003
Tristan Murail
at CompositionToday.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murail, Tristan 1947 births 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Columbia University faculty Conservatoire de Paris alumni Living people French classical composers French male classical composers Academics of Mozarteum University Salzburg Musicians from Le Havre 20th-century French composers 21st-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians 21st-century French male musicians