Eloy, Jean-Claude

Eloy, Jean-Claude, French composer; b. Mont-Saint-Aignan, Seine-Maritime, June 15, 1938. He studied in Paris at the Schola Cantorum, and then at the Cons, with Lucette Descaves and Nat (premier prix in piano, 1957), Fevrier (premier prix in chamber music, 1958), N. Gallon (premier prix in counterpoint, 1959), Martenot (premier prix in Ondes Martenot, 1960), and Milhaud (2nd prix in composition, 1961). He also attended the summer courses in new music in Darmstadt (1957,1960, 1961), where he workd with Stockhausen, Messiaen, Pousseur, and Scherchen. From 1961 to 1963 he studied with Boulez in Basel. In 1972–73 he worked at the Cologne electronic music studio under Stockhausen. From 1971 to 1987 he was a producer for Radio-France in Paris. In 1963 he won the Prix de la Biennale of Paris and in 1981 the Prix national de la musique. In 1983 he was made a Chevalier dans 1’Ordre des Arts et Lettres. He held a Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst fellowship in Berlin in 1991–92. From his earliest works, he adopted the advanced techniques of serialism, being particularly influenced by Boulez, Varese, and Webern.

Works

ORCH Étude III (1962); Equivalences for 18 Instruments (1963); Polychromes I and II (1964); Macles for 6 Instrumental Groups (1967); Faisceaux- Diffractions for 28 Instruments (1978); Fluctuante-Immuable (1977; Paris, May 5, 1978). VOCAL: Cantate for Soprano and Instruments (1961); Chants pour une ombre for Soprano and 9 Instruments (1961); Kamakala for 5 Choruses and 3 Orch. Ensembles, and 3 Conductors (1971); Kshara-Akshara for Soprano Chorus, 3 Orch. Ensembles, and 3 Conductors (1974); A I’approche du feu meditant… for 2 Buddhist Monk Choruses and Gagaku Ensemble (Tokyo, Sept. 30, 1983); Anahata for 2 Soloists, 3 Gagaku Instruments, Percussion, Electronics, and Concrete Sounds (1984–86; Paris, Nov. 19, 1986); Sappho Hiketis for 2 Women’s Voices and Electronics (Paris, Oct. 24, 1989); Butsumyde for 2 Women’s Voices (Paris, Oct. 24, 1989); Erkos for Woman’s Voice, Percussion, and Electro-acoustic Environment (1990–91); Rosa, Sonia… for 2 Women’s Voices (1991); Gaia for Soprano and Electroacoustic Environment (1991–92). ELECTRONIC: Shanti (Royan, March 23, 1974); Gaku-no-Michi for Electronics and Concrete Sounds (1977–78); Poeme-Picasso (1978); Etude IV: Points-lignespaysages (1978–80); Yo- In (1980); …d’une etoile oubliee for Electronics and Percussion (1986).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire