Michel Portal
Encyclopedia
Michel Portal
Michel Portal (born 25 November 1935 in Bayonne
, France
) is a composer
, saxophonist, and clarinet
ist.
Portal studied clarinet at the Conservatoire de Paris
. He also studied conducting with Pierre Dervaux
.
During August 1969, Portal played on several of the recordings in Stockhausen
's cycle of intuitive works, Aus den sieben Tagen
.
Portal might be noted most for scoring
music to film, and has won the César Award for Best Music Written for a Film
three times. His first win was for the music to The Return of Martin Guerre
. He plays both jazz and classical music and is considered to be one of the architects of modern European jazz.
In 1969, Portal co-founded the free improvisation
group New Phonic Art with Vinko Globokar
, Jean-Pierre Drouet and Carlos Roque Alsina.
Michel Portal (born 25 November 1935 in Bayonne
Bayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) is a composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, saxophonist, and clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
ist.
Portal studied clarinet at the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
. He also studied conducting with Pierre Dervaux
Pierre Dervaux
Pierre Dervaux was a French operatic conductor, composer, and pedagogue. At the Conservatoire de Paris, he studied counterpoint and harmony with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau and Jean and Noël Gallon, as well as piano with Isidor Philipp, Armand Ferté, and Yves Nat...
.
During August 1969, Portal played on several of the recordings in Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
's cycle of intuitive works, Aus den sieben Tagen
Aus den Sieben Tagen
Aus den sieben Tagen is a collection of 15 text compositions by Karlheinz Stockhausen, composed in May 1968, in reaction to a personal crisis, and characterized as "Intuitive music"—music produced primarily from the intuition rather than the intellect of the performer...
.
Portal might be noted most for scoring
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
music to film, and has won the César Award for Best Music Written for a Film
César Award for Best Music Written for a Film
This is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Music Written for a Film . Before 2000, the award was called "César Award for Best Music".-1970s:...
three times. His first win was for the music to The Return of Martin Guerre
The Return of Martin Guerre
The Return of Martin Guerre is a 1982 French film directed by Daniel Vigne and based on historical events in France during the 16th century. .-Synopsis:...
. He plays both jazz and classical music and is considered to be one of the architects of modern European jazz.
In 1969, Portal co-founded the free improvisation
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
group New Phonic Art with Vinko Globokar
Vinko Globokar
Vinko Globokar is a French avant-garde composer and trombonist of Slovene descent.His work is noted for its use of unconventional and extended techniques, closely allying him to contemporaries Salvatore Sciarrino and Helmut Lachenmann...
, Jean-Pierre Drouet and Carlos Roque Alsina.