Composer

Composer
French composer Louis-Nicolas Clérambault composing at the keyboard.

A composer (Latin com+ponere, literally "one who puts together") is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media[clarification needed]. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright[specify] and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music.[citation needed] In the development of European music, the function of composing music initially did not have much greater importance than that of performing it.[citation needed] The preservation of individual compositions did not receive enormous attention and musicians generally had no qualms about modifying compositions for performance. Over time, however, the written notation of the composer came to be treated as strict instructions from which performers should not deviate without good practical or artistic reason. Performers do, however, play the music and interpret it in a way that is all their own. In fact, in the concerto form, the soloist would often compose and perform a cadenza as a way to express their individual interpretation of the piece.

Inasmuch as the role of the composer in western art music has seen continued solidification, in alternative idioms (i.e. jazz, experimental music) it has in some ways become increasingly complex or vague. For instance, in certain contexts - the line between composer and performer, sound designer, arranger, producer, and other roles - can be quite blurred.

The term "composer" is often used to refer to composers of instrumental music, such as those found in classical, jazz or other forms of art and traditional music. In popular and folk music, the composer is usually called a songwriter, since the music generally takes the form of a song. Since the mid-20th century, the term has expanded to accommodate creators of electroacoustic music, in which composers directly create sonic material in any of the various electronic media. This is distinct from instrumental composition, where the work is represented by a musical score to be interpreted by performers.

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  • composer — [ kɔ̃poze ] v. <conjug. : 1> • XIIe; lat. componere, d apr. poser I ♦ V. tr. 1 ♦ (1559) Former par l assemblage, la combinaison de parties. ⇒ agencer, arranger, assembler, disposer, organiser. Composer un parfum. ⇒ confectionner, préparer.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • composer — COMPOSER. v. act. Former, faire un tout de l assemblage de plusieurs parties. Dieu a composé l homme d un corps et d une âme. Toutes les pièces qui composent cette machine. Les Apothicaires et les Chimistes composent leurs remèdes de plusicurs… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • composer — Composer. v. a. Former, faire un tout de l assemblage de plusieurs parties. Dieu a composé l homme d un corps & d une ame. l Univers est composé de differentes parties. toutes les pieces qui composent cette machine. les Apoticaires & les… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • composer — Composer, act. acut. Digerer par ordre quelque matiere, soit de nostre invention, soit sur celle d autruy, Conscribere, Componere. Composer quelque livre, Librum scribere, Conscribere, Componere. Composer et escrire des vers, Condere carmen,… …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • Composer — (englisch für „Komponist“) steht für: kurz für IBM Selectric Composer (1966–1978), eine Reihe von in der Drucktechnik verwendeten Schreibmaschinen, die das Setzen im Blocksatz ermöglichten (siehe auch en) den HTML Editor Netscape Composer, einen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Composer — Com*pos er, n. 1. One who composes; an author. Specifically, an author of a piece of music. [1913 Webster] If the thoughts of such authors have nothing in them, they at least . . . show an honest industry and a good intention in the composer.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • composer — index architect, author (originator) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • composer (2) — composer англ. [кэмпо/узэ] compositeur фр. [композитэр] compositore ит. [композито/рэ] композитор см. также compose …   Словарь иностранных музыкальных терминов

  • composer — one who writes and arranges music, 1590s, agent noun from COMPOSE (Cf. compose). Used in general sense of one who combines into a whole from 1640s, but the music sense remains the predominant one …   Etymology dictionary

  • composer — *writer, author Analogous words: *maker, creator, author: *artist, artificer …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • composer — [n] songwriter melodist, serialist, singer songwriter, songsmith, songster, tunesmith, writer; concept 352 …   New thesaurus

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