Discography

Tristan Murail

Ensemble intercontemporain - David Robertson (conductor)

Serendib

for large ensemble

L'Esprit des dunes

for ensemble and electronics

Désintégrations

for ensemble and tape

In this indispensable collection of contemporary music, the three pieces by Tristan Murail, as performed by David Robertson and the Ensemble Intercontemporain, brings us what the composer calls "the revolution of complex sounds" (Darmstädter Beiträge, Schott, 1980). The composer demonstrates his great virtuosity in spectral manipulation as well as the results of sound analysis, heard as conglomerates with characteristics that can be broken down today: wind, diaphonic singing, traditional instruments, etc.

Complete piano works

Marilyn Nonken (piano)

Comme un oeil suspendu et poli par le songe

for piano

Estuaire

Près des rives - Au mélange des eaux

Territoires de l'oubli

for piano

Cloches d'adieu, et un sourire...

in memoriam Olivier Messiaen

La Mandragore

for piano

Les Travaux et les jours

for piano

"Can one still write for the piano today? Through the 19th century and to the begin¬ning of the 20th it was the emblematic instrument, the composer's confidant; but has it survived the array of tortures inflicted upon it by the end of the 20th century? After the clusters of Henry Cowell, the preparations of John Cage, the ornithological percussions of Messiaen, the electrified mantras of Stockhausen, and the various scrapings and pinch¬ings of strings, what space is left to the imagination?"

Tristan Murail

Gondwana - Désintégration -
Time and again

Orchestre National de France, Ensemble de l'Itinéraire,
Yves Prin (conductor)
Beethovenhalle Orchestra,
Anton Rickenbacher (conductor)

Gondwana

for orchestra

Désintégrations

for ensemble and electronics

Time and again

for orchestra

Originating in the spectral movement, the music of Tristan Murail deploys its profound harmony in a continuous flow of luminous coloured waves, whether he is evoking the separation of now sunken continents as the Hindu legend of Gondwana, a voyage to the centre of sound itself with Désintégrations, or the distortion of time, compressed and dilated, in Time and again.

Winter Fragments

Argento Chamber Ensemble - Michel Galante (conductor)

Winter Fragments

for ensemble and live electronics

Unanswered Questions

for flute

Ethers

for flute and ensemble

Feuilles à travers les cloches

for flute, violin, cello and piano

Le Lac

for ensemble

"Amongst the so-colled "spectral" composers, no one more than Tristan Murail puts Nature foward as a souce of inspiration; moreover this is often stated in the titles themselves... The return to melody, wich one cannot help but notice in his recent works, clearly meets a need to give rise to a discourse by means of salient elements. A kind of return to natural model."

Pierre Rigaudière

Allégories - Vues aériennes - Territoires de l'oubli

Ensemble Fa, Dominique My (piano and conductor)

Allégories

for 6 instruments and electronics

Vues aériennes

for 4 instruments

Territoires de l'oubli

for piano

The three pieces on this disc each innovate with regard to the traditional expectations associated with they are scored...Murail's music is based on the acoustic properties of sound itself, rather then upon any arcane, abstract theory, or on any notions of what "chamber" or "piano music" should be.

Julian Anderson

Couleur de mer

Ensemble Court-Circuit
Pierre-André Valade (conductor)

Couleur de mer

for 15 instruments

L'attente

for 7 instruments

Treize Couleurs du soleil couchant

for 5 instruments

Attracteurs étranges

for cello

La Barque mystique

for 5 instruments

"The five pieces united on this recording extend over a long period - from 1969 to 1993. One should not be surprised to find a gret diverty of styles. In spite of the apparently diverse aspects of the pieces, I hope that the listener distinguish a coherent and progressive transformation of musical styles and materials."

Tristan Murail

Mémoire/Erosion

Alain Noël (horn), Ensemble l'Itinéraire,
Charles Bruck (conductor)
Pierre-Yves artaud (flute), Ami Flammer (violin),
Geneviève Renon (viola), David Simpson (cello),
Joëlle Léandre (doublebass),
Christian Marchand (trombone),
Jacques Mercier (conductor)
Sylvie Altenburger (viola)
Jeanne Loriod (ondes Martenot),
Orchestre National de France, Yves Prin (conductor)

Mémoire/Erosion

for horn and 9 instruments

Ethers

for 6 instruments

C'est un jardin secret...

for viola

Les Courants de l'espace

for ondes Martenot, synthetizer and chamber orchestre

"The three large works grouped on this disc constitute a special set of pieces sharing similar concerns, forms and even processes. Each features a solo instrument with ensembles of varying sizes and in each Murail attempted to renew or rather, reinvent the concerto form."

Julian Anderson

Treize Couleurs du soleil couchant

Ensemble Les Temps Modernes - Fabrice Pierre (conductor)

Treize Couleurs du soleil couchant

for 5 instruments and electronics

Winter Fragments

for 5 instruments and live electronics

Bois flotté

for 5 instruments and live electronics

"The music of Tristan Murail presented in this recording reflects the composer's evolution in the electroacoustic sphere over the course of the past three decades. Althrouh Murail is not usually categorized with the inner circle of electroacoutic musicians, his work has continuously put electronic sound sources and instrumental sounds into relation, particularly in chamber formations."

Thierry Alla

Tristan Murail

Ensemble Les Temps Modernes - Fabrice Pierre (conductor)

Treize Couleurs du soleil couchant

for 5 instruments and electronics

Bois flotté

for 5 instruments and live electronics

Winter Fragments

for 5 instruments and live electronics

Interview of Tristan Murail

by Omer Corlaix

"There is no doubt that the perception of an image in motion changes the perception of music in its very temporality"

Tristan Murail

Le Piano contemporain

Dominique My (piano)

La Mandragore

for piano

Cloches d'adieu, et un sourire...

in memoriam Olivier Messiaen

Dominique My engages her pianistic talent to promote the contemporary solo piano repertoire, bringing six French composers together (Dufourt, Lenot, Murail, Pesson, Singier and Troncin) through the performance of eight pieces written between 1991 and 1996. This instrument, so widely used today, still possesses "imaginary spaces" (Murail) for contemporary composers. A good survey of new works for piano from the late 20th century that helps the listener hear to what extent each composer's stylistic individuality makes the piano sound different, singular and ever new.

Spectral Viola

Garth Knox (viola)

C'est un jardin secret, ma soeur, ma fiancée, une source scellée, une fontaine close...

for viola

Garth Knox, who works closely with composers and is very involved in music of today, demonstrates with this recording, the revival of the viola in the 20th century. The middle register has made the viola the ideal string instrument for solo music with spectral leanings: fundamentals can be based on the low register and the high register opens possibilities for numerous harmonics. Grisey, Murail, Haas and Radulescu are united here with Scelsi, the trailblazer whose music in general, in particular the two pieces presented here, and notably for Tristan Murail, have established a fecund starting point.