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Jean-Michel Defaye

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Jean-Michel Defaye
Three-quarter profile, black and white, Press shot of young, clean-shaven man with spectacles and dark hair.
Defaye in the 1950s
Born(1932-09-18)18 September 1932
Saint-Mandé, France
Died1 January 2025(2025-01-01) (aged 92)
EducationConservatoire de Paris
Occupations
  • Pianist
  • Composer
  • Conductor

Jean-Michel Defaye (18 September 1932 – 1 January 2025) was a French pianist, composer, arranger and conductor known for his collaboration with French poet and singer-songwriter Léo Ferré.

Life and career

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Defaye was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, near Paris, on 18 September 1932.[1] At aged ten he entered the Paris Conservatoire[2] and completed his musical training in theory, piano and composition, taking in Nadia Boulanger's accompaniment class.[3] In his early years, he was interested in jazz.[4] Defaye's primary instrument was the piano, but he also played trombone and trumpet.[5] He attended the composition classes of Darius Milhaud and Tony Aubin.[5][6] In 1952 he won second prize of the Grand Prix de Rome;[3] and the following year he won the Lili Boulanger Prize of Harvard[3] and the second prize in composition for the Belgian Queen Elisabeth Competition.[3][7]

As a composer he wrote mostly for brass,[3] especially trombone; he wrote pieces for trombone and piano in the style of classical composers such as Bach, Brahms, Debussy, Schumann, Stravinsky and Vivaldi.[8] He composed chamber music with brass instruments, pieces for competitions, concertos for clarinet, saxophone, trumpet and trombone, and many educational pieces. His writing was often influenced by jazz.[3]

Defaye wrote several film scores, including Pouic-Pouic.[2] As an arranger, he worked for decades with singer-songwriter Léo Ferré.[3] He also collaborated with Juliette Gréco, Zizi Jeanmaire and Les Branquignols [fr].[2]

Defaye died on 1 January 2025, at the age of 92.[2]

Classical compositions

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Compositions by Defaye include:[9][10]

  • Suite Marine
  • Morceau de Concours I (SG 1–2)
  • Morceau de Concours II (SG 3–4)
  • Morceau de Concours III (SG 5)
  • Deux Danses, for trombone and piano (1954)
  • Quatre pièces, for trombones quartet (1954)
  • Sonatine for trumpet and piano (1956)[11]
  • Mouvement, for trombone and piano (1972)
  • Fluctuations, for solo trombone, 6 trombones and 2 percussions (1987)
  • À la manière de Bach, for trombone and piano (1990)
  • Suite entomologique, for trombone and piano (1992)
  • Œuvre de concours I, for trombone and piano (1993)
  • Œuvre de concours II, for trombone and piano (1993)
  • Œuvre de concours III, for trombone and piano (1993)
  • À la manière de Schumann, for trombone and piano (2000)
  • À la manière de Debussy, for trombone and piano (2001)
  • À la manière de Vivaldi, for trombone and piano (2002)
  • À la manière de Stravinsky, for trombone and piano (2005)
  • À la manière de Brahms, for trombone and piano (2011)
  • Musique à Curitiba, for trombone solo and 16 trombones

Film scores

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Defaye composed film scores including:[12]

Discography

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Dafaye collaborated as pianist, arranger and musical leader for albums and recitals by Léo Ferré, including:

References

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  1. ^ "Avec Jean-Michel Defaye (1932-) compositeur, arrangeur & chef d'orchestre: "Au départ j'étais pianiste!"". Radio France (in French). 23 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d Cantaux, Elisa (2 January 2025). "Le compositeur français Jean-Michel Defaye, arrangeur de Léo Ferré, est mort à l'âge de 92 ans". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Jean Michel Defaye, Prix de Rome en composition musicale, arrangeur, chef d'orchestre, compositeur de musiques de films. Serge Elhaïk présente "La farandole des percussions"". Radio France (in French). 23 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  4. ^ Flanigan, Sean Gerard (10 April 2006). "From Deux Danses to Fluctuations: Compositional components and innovations in two solo trombone works of Jean-Michel Defaye". University of North Texas. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  5. ^ a b Rader, Aaron Christian (26 September 2011). "Jean-Michel Defaye's Á La Maniére De Debussy Pour Trombone Et Piano: A Compositional Comparison To Claude Debussy's Harmonic, Melodic, And Rhythmic Practices". University of North Texas. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  6. ^ "Music Of Jean-Michel Defaye With Jacqueline Couchard". Past Daily: A Sound Archive of News, History, Music. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Jean-Michel Defaye". Queen Elisabeth Competition. 1953. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  8. ^ Mark, Douglas (24 February 2021). "Eternal Gratitude: A Review". trombone.org. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  9. ^ "Compositions". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  10. ^ "Jean-Michel Defaye". HeBu Music. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  11. ^ Hinson, Maurice; Roberts, Wesley (2006). The Piano in Chamber Ensemble: an Annotated Guide. Indiana University Press. p. 340. ISBN 978-0-253-34696-4.
  12. ^ "Jean-Michel Defaye". unifrance.org. 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  13. ^ "Les Fleurs du mal". leo-ferre.com (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  14. ^ "Paname". leo-ferre.com (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  15. ^ "Les Chansons d'Aragon". leo-ferre.com (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  16. ^ "Léo Ferré à l'Alhambra". leo-ferre.com (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  17. ^ "La Langue française". leo-ferre.com (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  18. ^ "Ferré 64". leo-ferre.com (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  19. ^ "Verlaine et Rimbaud". leo-ferre.com (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  20. ^ "Léo Ferré 1916-19..." leo-ferre.com (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  21. ^ "La Marseillaise". leo-ferre.com (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  22. ^ "Léo Ferré chante Baudelaire". leo-ferre.com (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  23. ^ "L'Été 68". leo-ferre.com (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  24. ^ "Les Douze Premières Chansons de Léo Ferré". leo-ferre.com (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  25. ^ "Amour Anarchie". leo-ferre.com (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  26. ^ "La Solitudine". leo-ferre.com (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  27. ^ "Les Chansons interdites... et autres". leo-ferre.com (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2025.
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