Death of Antoine Duhamel, musician of the New Wave – The World

The World | 09.11.2014 at 8:14 p.m. • Updated 09/11/2014 at 21:29 | By Renaud Machart

But it’s the music he wrote for the film, from the early sixties, that give it a reputation and are regarded as “the musician of the New Wave. “ The first collaboration is important with Jean-Daniel Pollet, for Mediterranean (1963), but after a few contributions for television (with Claude Barma) is his music for Pierrot le fou (1965), by Jean-Luc Godard, that made him famous. It will work again with Godard for Made in USA (1966) and Weekend (1966).

François Truffaut, he signed scores Stolen Kisses (1968) Mississippi Mermaid (1969) Domicile conjugal (1970) The Wild Child (1970).

A LONG FRIENDSHIP WITH BERTRAND Tavernier

He then combines Bertrand Tavernier for Let the party begin (1975). If working with Truffaut was frustrated Duhamel (who thought the filmmaker too insensitive to music), it is in Tavernier fine music lover with whom he will be able to work in perfect harmony and that will bind a long friendship. For this costume drama, Duhamel exchange registry and restores an original opera by Philippe d’Orléans, the main character of the film, and he orchestrated his leadership of the recording head of an orchestra of period instruments . the Great Stable and the chamber of Roy, Jean-Claude Malgoire

Bertrand Tavernier, we reached by phone, Thursday, Sept. 11, recalls: “It is astonishing that the time no critic has noticed the extraordinary importance of this refund! No one took it seriously, not even the record label Erato, who recorded many early music and did not want to burn … Anthony had yet done work of great seriousness. “

Tavernier and Duhamel work again together again: ” For Death Live (1980), we saw, as I always do with my band at the beginning of the project, even before the script does is completed. Speaking of characters, we agreed that we would not use brass, and only the ropes. Anthony was very proud of this score, which is superb. “

” SAME LOVE FILM “

Duhamel Adventure Daddy nostalgia ( 1990), imbued with a gentle melancholy, and that of Pass (2002). “In this film very dear to me, provides Bertrand Tavernier, Antoine had a prodigious work of virtuosity, incorporating his own music to air Pearl Fishers Bizet. Through gradually added percussion, music ousted that of the original. It was amazing. “ Tavernier adds: ” Anthony did a wonderful job for so many other filmmakers, Alexandre Astruc, Fernando Trueba, Patrice Leconte’s music Ridiculous (1996) is great ! “

Duhamel sometimes suffered his music is cut off or covered by noises, like the train in Pass . But Tavernier admits, “Anthony had loved how Godard had treated his music Pierrot le fou . If I compare it with my other election composer Philippe Sarde, I would say that Anthony shared the same love of cinema, but it was less sensitive to the needs of the genre and assembly. “

All his life, Antoine Duhamel suffer being despised by the world of classical music. Tavernier, “it is wrong to snub his operas, Monday, sir you will be rich (1969) and Ubu opera (1974): they are small masterpieces. “

In 1999, the Festival and Music Ambronay new release had the bright idea to order a Duhamel Dixit Feral ( The World of 23 September 1999), a splendid motet whose success had much pleasure to its author …

dates

1925 birth, July 30, at Valmondois (Val-d’Oise)

1965: music Pierrot le fou , by Jean-Luc Godard

1975: music Let the party begin , Bertrand Tavernier

1999: Dixit Feral to Ambronay Festival

2007: music The Ben Barka affair , Jean-Pierre Sinapi

2014: died in Paris on September 10

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