Tristan Murail

Tristan Murail (born March 11, 1947 in Le Havre, France) is a French composer. 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, aka Moka, also write, and his younger sister Marie-Aude Murail is a French children's writer. Murail is associated with the "spectral" technique of composition, which involves the use of the fundamental properties of sound as a basis for harmony, as well as the use of spectral analysis, FM, RM, and AM synthesis as a method of deriving polyphony.^[1]

Following early studies in economics and classical and North African Arabic, Murail studied composition with Olivier Messiaen at the Paris Conservatoire^[2] from 1967 to 1972. He taught computer music at the Paris Conservatoire and composition at IRCAM in Paris, where he assisted in the development of the Patchwork composition software. In 1973 he was a founding member of the Ensemble l'Itinéraire.^[3] Since 1997 he has been a professor of composition at Columbia University in New York City.

Among Murail's awards are the Prix de Rome (presented by the French Académie des beaux-arts in 1971),^[4] the Grand Prix du Disque (1990), and the Grand Prix du Président de la République, Académie Charles Cros (1992).

Murail's works are published by Salabert and Editions Henry Lemoine.^[5] His music has been recorded on the Una Corda, Metier, Adés, and MFA-Radio France labels.

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 for 17 instruments and tape, Mémoire/Erosion for french horn and nine instruments Ethers for flute and ensemble, and 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. Vampyr! is one of several works in Murail's catalogue that do not employ spectral techniques. Rather, in the performance notes, the composer asks the performer to play the piece in the manner of guitarists in the popular and rock traditions, such as Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton.

Works

• 1969, Couleur de mer,
• 1970, Altitude 8000, for orchestra,
• 1970, Où tremblent les contours, for 2 violas,
• 1971, Les miroirs étendus, for ondes Martenot and piano,
• 1971, Ligne de non-retour, for seven instruments,
• 1971, Mach 2,5, for deux ondes Martenot,
• 1972, Au-delà du mur du son, for large orchestra,
• 1972, Estuaire, 2 pieces for piano,
• 1972 (rév. 1992), L'attente, for seven instruments,
• 1973, Cosmos privé, for orchestra,
• 1973, La dérive des continents, for viola and string orchestra,
• 1973, Les nuages de Magellan,
• 1974, Tigre de verre, for ondes Martenot and piano,
• 1974, Transsahara express, for bassoon and piano,
• 1974-1975, Sables, for orchestra,
• 1976, C'est un jardin secret, ma sœur, ma fiancée, une fontaine close, une source scellée for viola solo,
• 1976, Mémoire / Erosion, for french horn and nine instruments,
• 1977, Tellur, for guitar,
• 1977, Territoires de l'oubli, for piano,
• 1978, Ethers, for flute and ensemble,
• 1978, Treize couleurs du soleil couchant,
• 1979, Les courants de l'espace, for ondes Martenot and small orchestra,
• 1980, Gondwana, for orchestra,
• 1982, La conquête de l'Antarctique, for ondes Martenot,
• 1982, Désintégrations, for 17 instruments and electronic sounds,
• 1984, Vampyr!, for electric guitar, from Random Access Memory,
• 1985, Sillages, for orchestra,
• 1985, Time and again, for orchestra,
• 1986, Atlantys, for 2 DX7 Yamaha synthesizers, from Random Access Memory,
• 1986, Vision de la cité interdite, for 2 DX7 Yamaha synthesizers, from Random Access Memory,
• 1984-1987, Random Access Memory,
• 1988, Vues aériennes, for french horn, violin, cello and piano,
• 1989, Allégories, for 6 instruments and electronic sounds,
• 1986-1988, Les sept paroles du Christ en croix, for orchestra and chorus,
• 1990, Le fou à pattes bleues, for flute and piano,
• 1990-1991, La dynamique des fluides, for orchestra,
• 1992, Attracteurs étranges, for cello,
• 1992, Cloches d’adieu, et un sourire... in memoriam Olivier Messiaen, for piano,
• 1992, Serendib, for 22 musicians,
• 1993, La barque mystique, for five instruments,
• 1993, La mandragore, for piano,
• 1993-1994, L'esprit des dunes, for ensemble,
• 1995, ...amaris et dulcibus aquis..., for chorus and electronic sounds,
• 1995, Unanswered questions, for flute,
• 1996, Bois flotté, for piano, trombone, string trio, synthetic sounds and synthesized sounds,
• 1996, Le partage des eaux, for large orchestra,
• 1998, Comme un oeil suspendu et poli par le songe..., for piano,
• 1998, Feuilles à travers les cloches, from «Portulan», for flute, violin, cello and piano,
• 2000, Winter fragments, for flute, clarinet, piano, violin, cello, MIDI keyboard and computer,
• 2001, Le lac, for orchestra,
• 2002, Les travaux et les jours for piano,
• 2003-2004, Terre d'ombre, for large orchestra and electronic sounds,
• 2005, Pour adoucir le cours du temps, for 18 instruments, MIDI keyboard and computer,
• 2006, Les ruines circulaires, from «Portulan», for clarinet and violin,
• 2006, Seven Lakes Drive, from «Portulan», for flute, clarinet, french horn, piano, violin and cello,
• 2006, Légendes urbaines, for 22 instruments,
• 2007, Contes cruels, for 2 electric guitars and orchestra,
• 2008, Liber fulguralis, for ensemble, electronics and video,
• 2008, Garrigue, from «Portulan», for bass flute (or alto flute), viola, cello and percussions,
• 2009, En moyenne et extrême raison, for ensemble and synthetic sounds,
• 2010, Les sept paroles, for orchestra and chorus,
• 2011, La Chambre des cartes, from «Portulan», for 8 instruments,
• 2011, Dernières nouvelles du vent d'ouest, from «Portulan», for viola, horn, piano and percussions,
• 2011, Lachrymae, for alto flute and string quintet,
• 2011, Paludes, from «Portulan», for alto flute, clarinet, violin, viola and cello.

References

1. ^ http://www.compositiontoday.com/articles/tristan_murail.asp
2. ^ Kennedy, Michael (2006), The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 985 pages, ISBN 0-19-861459-4
3. ^ Kennedy, Michael (2006), The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 985 pages, ISBN 0-19-861459-4
4. ^ Kennedy, Michael (2006), The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 985 pages, ISBN 0-19-861459-4
5. ^ Editions Henry Lemoine, Paris

• Kennedy, Michael (2006), The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 985 pages, ISBN 0-19-861459-4

Specialty studies

• Humbertclaude, Eric (1999), La Transcription dans Boulez et Murail : de l’oreille à l’éveil, Harmattan, ISBN 273848042X

External links

• Tristan Murail official site
• Editions Henry Lemoine, Paris
• Excerpt from Tristan Murail lecture from Ostrava Days 2003, August 18, 2003
• Tristan Murail at CompositionToday.com
• (French) A biography of Tristan Murail, from IRCAM's website.
• Excerpts from sound archives of Murail's works.

Persondata
Name	Murail, Tristan
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Date of birth	March 11, 1947
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Date of death
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