Universidad de Virginia Occidental

Bruno Coulais is a French type-setter, born with Paris the January 13rd 1954, known especially for its film musics. Asserting a cosmopolitan spirit, it is presented in the form of resulting from a crossbred Vendean Irish father and from an Iraqi Jewish mother born in Paris.

Biography

Having initially received a traditional formation (violin, piano) intending it to compose of the contemporary music of concert, it is directed gradually towards the cinema not by will but following series of meeting, one of most outstanding having been that of the realizer François Reichenbach who entrusted to him, in 1977, the music of documentary the Mexico City Magico . It will compose its first music for a feature film in 1986, with the secret Woman of Sebastien Grall. Until the end of the Years 1990, its career remains rather discrete, with many work for television. One often finds his name on the telefilms of Gerard Marx or Laurent Heynemann, and with the cinema, he is noticed for his collaboration, with three recoveries, with Christine Pascal ( the small prince said , 1992), or on a film like the Son of the shark of Agnès Merlet (1993).

In 1994, it meets Josée Dayan, telecaster which enables him to compose a music noticed enough on the serial TV the River Hope (France 2, autumn 1995) and with which he will collaborate again thereafter, on other spectaculars ( the Count of Assembles-Cristo , Balzac ) as on telefilms plus intimists ( Nuiteux ).

But the great turning takes place in 1996 when it meets Claude Nuridsany and Marie Pérennou, the two realizers of documentary the Microcosmos . This singular film, which leaves a great place to the music, obtains a great success and puts at the foreground of the most required type-setters French cinema. The César of the best film music thus is decreed him in 1997, as well as a Victoires of the music. This notoriety is definitively confirmed with the original soundtracks of the Himalayas (1999, 2nd César) and the Rivers crimsons (2000), and since the name of Bruno Coulais seems to find itself systematically on new the " blockbusters" with the Frenchwoman ( Belphégor , Vidocq ), while being still associated, paradoxically, with films much more confidential. However, after the migrating People , in 2001, Ran advertisement its desire to reduce its contributions to the cinema and to devote themselves to other projects (creation of an opera for children, projects with Akhenaton or with the Corsican group has Filetta with which he works since his music for Don Juan of Jacques Weber in 1998).

One however finds it in 2002 on a cartoon, the Child who wanted to be a bear , and in 2004 on Secret agents of Frederic Schoendoerffer and especially on the great success of the year, the Chorus-singers of Christophe Barratier, whose music obtains a success as considerable as that of film, which will be worth in Coulais its third César. Since, collaborations of Ran with the cinema seem limited to the realizers with whom it already tried out a certain affinity, in particular Jacques Perrin, Frederic Schoendoerffer, James Huth ( Brice de Nice , 2005).

In 2005, it directs in the cathedral of Saint-Denis its " Stabat Mater" with the participation of Robert Wyatt.

The musical style of Bruno Coulais can be very different from an original soundtrack with another, however some constants seem to emerge: taste for the opera and the human voice (in particular that of children), for the research of original sonorities, the non-European instruments and the mixture of musical cultures, and finally, an unquestionable tendency to priviligier concept of environment (influenced by the light of film) to that of narration. As a whole, and contrary with its fellow-members Alexandre Desplat, Philippe Rombi, his musics does not owe almost anything with possible a " tradition française" film music (of Maurice Jaubert with Sardinian Philippe while passing by Georges Delerue), nor even for musicians of cinema of other nationalities (in spite of its interest posted for a type-setter like Howard Shore), so much its musical references are primarily elsewhere (musics of the world, modern music…). Moreover, independently of its notoriety and business success of certain discs (in particular Himalayas, Migrating People, and, especially, Chorus-singers) it is significant to note that Coulais is not always the type-setter more appreciated or estimated among amateurs specialists in film music, undoubtedly more attached to the symphonic and narrative tradition Hollywood. It remains nevertheless a completely original and outstanding personality of the French cinema, but also of the musical world in general, since end of the year 90.

Bruno Coulais is married and father of two boys, Hugo and Louis. The first recently founded the rock group Ulysses (first album left at the beginning of 2006).

Catalog of films

the secret Woman (1986), of Sebastien Grall
Which too much embraces (1986), of Jacques Davila
Zanzibar (1988), of Christine Pascal
the Countryside of Cicéron (1990), of Jacques Davila
the Day of the kings (1991), of Marie-Claude Treilhou
the Son of the shark (1992), of Agnes Merlet
the Return of Casanova (1992), of Edouard Niermans
the Equilibrists (1992), of Nico Papatakis
the small prince said (1992), of Christine Pascal
Vieille rabble (1992), of Gerard Jourd' today
Waati (1994), of Souleymane Cissé
Adultère (directions for use) (1995), of Christine Pascal
the River Hope (1995), of Josée Dayan
Microcosmos: people of the grass (1995), of Claude Nuridsany
the Family Sapajou (TV) (1997), of Elisabeth Rappeneau
Don Juan (1997), of Jacques Weber
Serial To coil (1997), of James Huth
Already dead (1997), of Olivier Dahan
Preference (1997), of Gregoire Delacourt
Gaetan and Rachel in all innocence (1997), of Suzy Cohen
Beautiful Mom (1998), of Gabriel Aghion
the Count of Assembles-Cristo (1998), of Josée Dayan
Balzac (TV) (1999), of Josée Dayan
Épouse me (1999), of Harriet Marin
the Rout (1999), of Claude Berri
Scenes of crimes (1999), of Frederic Schoendoerffer
the Libertine (1999), of Gabriel Aghion
a considerable disturbance (1999), of Bernard Stora
Zaide, a small air of revenge (1999), of Josée Dayan
Like a magnet (2000), of Akhenaton
the Rivers crimsons (2000), of Mathieu Kassovitz
Harrison' S Flowers (2000), of Elie Chouraqui
Belphégor, the phantom of Louvre (2000), of Jean-Paul Salome
Of the love (2000), of Jean-François Richet
an one-way ticket (2000), of Laurent Heynemann
Vidocq (2001), of Pitof
Origin ocean four billion years under the seas (2001), of Gerald Calderon
the Child who wanted to be a bear (2001), of Jannick Astrup
Genesis (2002), of Claude Nuridsany
the Chorus-singers (2003), of Christophe Barratier
Secret agents (2003), of Frederic Schoendoerffer
I prefer that one remains friendly… (2004), of Eric Toledano
Brice de Nice (2004), of James Huth
Travellers of the Sky and the Sea (2004), of Jacques Perrin
the cursed Kings (2005), of Josée Dayan
the white Planet (2006), of Stephan Milliere
Gangsters (2007), of Frederic Schoendoerffer
the Second breath (2007), of Alain Corneau

Discography

the Son of the Shark (1993)

the River Hope (1995)
Microcosmos (1996)

Reasons of the Heart (1997)
Don Juan (1998)

Already Dead (1998) (6 titles among compilation of other musics)
Serial To coil (1998)

the Count of Monte Cristo (1998)
the Rout (1999)

the Himalayas the Childhood of a Chief (1999)
Beautiful Mom (1999) (6 titles among compilation of other musics)

the Libertine (2000)
As a Magnet (2000) (collaboration with Akhénaton)

the Rivers Crimsons (2000)
Harrison' S Flowers (2000)

Belphégor (2001)
Of the Love (2001)

Vidocq (2001)
Migrating People (2001)

the Child who wanted to be a Bear (2002)
the Chorus-singers (2004)

Secret agents (2004)
Genesis (2004)

Brice de Nice (2005)
the Kings cursed (2005)

Stabat MATER (June 28th, 2005 - basilica of Saint-Denis)
the white Planet (2006)

Gangsters (2007)
the Second Breath (2007)

Rewards

2005 : Star of gold of the type-setter of film original music, for its composition for the films the Chorus-singers , of Christophe Barratier and Genesis , of Claude Nuridsany.

External bonds

Official site
Interview of the type-setter
Bruno Coulais on Internet Movie Database
Bruno Coulais on Quenechdu.Com, Critiques of film musics

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