Role

:

Composer Performer

Country

:

France

Birth

:

December 9, 1927 in Paris, France

Death

:

July 5, 2017 in Paris, France

Genre

:

Avant-Garde

 

 

Electronic/Computer

 

Pierre Henry was a French composer and pioneer of musique concrète, a form of electronic music that uses recorded sounds as its raw material. He was born on December 9, 1927, in Paris, France, and grew up in a musical family. His father was a pianist and his mother was a singer, and they encouraged his interest in music from an early age. Henry began his formal musical training at the age of six, studying piano and music theory. He later studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he was a student of Olivier Messiaen and Nadia Boulanger. During this time, he also became interested in electronic music and began experimenting with tape recorders and other electronic equipment. In 1949, Henry joined the Club d'Essai, a group of experimental musicians and artists who were interested in exploring new forms of music and art. It was here that he met Pierre Schaeffer, who would become his collaborator and mentor. Together, they developed the concept of musique concrète, which involved recording and manipulating sounds from the environment to create new musical compositions. Henry's early works were created using tape recorders and other electronic equipment, and often featured sounds from everyday life, such as traffic, footsteps, and the sounds of machines. His first major composition, Symphonie pour un homme seul (Symphony for a Man Alone), was created in collaboration with Schaeffer and premiered in 1950. The piece was a groundbreaking work of musique concrète and featured a range of sounds, including human voices, percussion, and electronic tones. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Henry continued to experiment with electronic music and created a number of influential works. One of his most famous compositions, Messe pour le temps présent (Mass for the Present Time), was created in collaboration with choreographer Maurice Béjart and premiered in 1967. The piece featured a range of electronic sounds and was accompanied by a dance performance that explored themes of youth, rebellion, and social change. In addition to his work in musique concrète, Henry also composed music for film and television. He worked with a number of prominent filmmakers, including Jean-Luc Godard and Alain Resnais, and created scores for films such as Les Jeux sont faits (The Chips Are Down) and L'Homme à la caméra (The Man with the Movie Camera). Henry continued to compose music throughout his life and remained an influential figure in the world of electronic music. He received numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Grand Prix National de la Musique in 1983 and the Legion of Honor in 1990. He passed away on July 5, 2017, at the age of 89. In conclusion, Pierre Henry was a pioneering composer and musician who helped to develop the concept of musique concrète. His innovative use of electronic equipment and recorded sounds helped to create a new form of music that continues to influence musicians and artists today. His legacy as a composer and innovator will continue to inspire future generations of musicians and electronic music enthusiasts.

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