# Tristan Murail



## emiellucifuge

The start of this years Concertgebouw Orchestra A-series was an evening devoted to colour in music.

The programme included a newish piece by Tristan Murail, Ravel's Concerto for the left hand, a newish work by Klaas de Vries based on Scriabins Vers la Flamme and finally Scriabins poeme d'extase.

The entire evening was extremely rewarding, and i was intrigued by Murail's piece. He apparently belongs to a tradition in france called Spectralism, of which I had never heard. 
Half the orchestra was tuned a step lower, and the music seemed to pulse and throb with thickly textured dissonances. I highgly reccomend you listen to him, had anyone else perhaps heard of him before?





 - not the piece I heard but also one i like.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_Murail
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_music


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## joen_cph

"L´Esprit des Dunes" is a great, atmospheric and quite cinematic orchestral work that includes electronic effects. Can´t say that I know his works in detail yet, but they seem a bit uneven to me so far. Alltogether certainly worth exploring.


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## StlukesguildOhio

I quite like Murail. His name seems to pop up less often than Kaija Saariaho and Sofia Gubaidulina... but I personally find him more interesting that either. I have two discs of his music... one of which includes _Gondwana_. If you are intrigued by Murail, you might wish to explore the other Spectralists and related composers... including Gerard Grisey:











Giacinto Scelsi:











Kaija Saariaho:






Jonathan harvey, Julian Anderson, etc...


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## Blake

Most excellent.


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## dgee

Yep - Murail is pretty cool. I can recommend his Le Lac for Ensemble as a piece that has really wowed me. I don't see the relationship to Gubaidulina and he's definitely more interesting to me than Saariaho, but I'll second the recommendations of Scelsi and Jonathan Harvey. Georg Friedrich Haas is always doing something interesting with colour too


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## science

Let me know if you find a recording of Les Sept Paroles.


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## Blake

science said:


> Let me know if you find a recording of Les Sept Paroles.


Roger. Same to you.


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## Albert7

"Vampyr" for electric guitar really impressed me quite a bit. I need to hear it again and again to understand it better.


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## Guest

This seems to be a new release? Whatever, it contains three splendiferous pieces and I'm very much thinking of buying a copy. Merci Murail.









Tristan Murail: Le Partage Des Eaux


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## Albert7

I really want to see one of his works live. Wall of sound literally.


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## millionrainbows

Isn't he part of that 'death cult' of French composers, like Barraque? I like him. Ahh, the darkness! That French tradition of darkness: Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Huysmans, Lautremont...


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## Richannes Wrahms

Doesn't really strike me as 'dark' really, nor his program notes suggest it. The dark guy is really Birtwistle, but he's not French or spectral.


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## Triplets

I had never heard of him, but based on this thread, he seems worth exploring


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## ptr

millionrainbows said:


> Isn't he part of that 'death cult' of French composers, like Barraque? I like him. Ahh, the darkness! That French tradition of darkness: Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Huysmans, Lautremont...


To little experience with French Death Cults, but one might wonder if any of them extends to composers not yet deceased? (I am at least led to believe that Murail is still alive'n'kicking!)

/ptr


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## LHB

Probably one of my top 3 favorite composers. 8)

Some of my favorites:


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## joen_cph

Interestingly, Murail also quite recently (2013) composed an apparently ambitious piano concerto, but it hasn´t been released yet in a recording - the title is "Le Desenchantement du Monde":

There´s a broadcast performance here, 29 mins (centre right): 
(http://nyphil.org/watch-listen/audio/broadcasts/1213/beethoven-messiaen-and-murail,
but I´m not sure it´s ideal.

Notes:
http://warszawska-jesien.art.pl/en/wj2013/program-i-bilety/work/700458430


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## drfaustus

For me. The first spectral generation sound by the same token.
The second spectral generation, like José Manuel López López or Philippe Hurel, is differently:

Excuse me. I love Philippe Hurel:


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## starthrower

dogen said:


> This seems to be a new release? Whatever, it contains three splendiferous pieces and I'm very much thinking of buying a copy. Merci Murail.
> 
> View attachment 71149
> 
> 
> Tristan Murail: Le Partage Des Eaux


Love the title piece. Just ordered the CD.


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