Jean Claude Eloy in conversation with Leopoldo Siano (2016) @SebastianArsAcoustica

Uploaded September 2016 | Updated September 2026, 5 days ago

phonosophia.de

Jean Claude Eloy in conversation with musicologist Dr. Leopoldo Siano.

University of Cologne - musicological Institute. May 14th 2016

About 4 hours of material was recorded for this interview and approximately 2 hours were selected here. Jean Claude Eloy is a french composer of instrumental and electroacoustic music. He realizes a significant synthesis of artificial music - between electronic and instrumental music - between music from occident and orient. After his departure from serialism in the 1970ies he focused on sounds and the ritual dimension of music whereupon cultural references to philosophical and musical ideas became a central point in Eloys compositional practice.

Since 1972 he composed tremendous electronic frescos with a duration up to 4 hours like "Shânti" (Peace, 1972-1973), and "Gaku-no-Michi" (The Ways Of Music, 1977-1978) and on the other hand live-electronic pieces like "Yo-In" (Reverberations, 1980), a théâtre sonore for an imaginary ritual in four acts, or "Anâhata" (Vibration primordiale, 1984-86) for five Japanese traditional musicians (three gagaku players and two Shômyô singers), percussion, electronic and concrete sounds.

Although he never rejected the occidental musical thinking his coincidence of occidental and oriental music in the tradition of Karlheinz Stockhausens worldmusic-paradigm makes him one of the most impressive cross-culture modern composers of our time.

further reading:
- Eloy, Jean-Claude: „From Kâmakalâ to Shânti“ in: Komposition und Musikwissenschaft im Dialog V (2001-2004) = Signale aus Köln. Beiträge zur Musik der Zeit, Bd. 11, hrsg. von Christoph von Blumröder und Imke Misch; Münster 2006, S. 23-56.

- Mews, Sebastian: Shânti und Gaku-no-Michi. Die elektroakustische Musik von Jean-Claude Eloy im Diskurs zwischen Okzident und Orient, eloyjeanclaude.com/Mews-Eloy.pdf, Köln 2015.

- Siano, Leopoldo: „Die 'Wege der Musik'. Ein Portrait des französischen Komponisten Jean-Claude Eloy“ in: MusikTexte. Zeitschrift für Neue Musik, Heft 139, Köln 2013, S. 25 – 34.

- Stoianova, Ivanka: In Search of the meditative flame, Eloyjeanclaude.com/MeditativeFlameIvanka.html.

Jean Claude Eloy in conversation with Leopoldo Siano (2016)

Gottfried Michael Koenig - Klangfiguren II (1955/56)

Luc Ferarri - Presque Rien No. 2 B (Ainsi Continue La Nuit Dans Ma Tête Multiple) (1977)

François Bayle - Fabulæ: 4. Sonora (1991)

Anton Webern - Symphonie op. 21 für Kammerensemble: I. Ruhig schreitend (1927/1928)

György Ligeti - Lux Aeterna (2001: A Space Odyssey)

Jean Claude Risset - Elementa: Focus (1998)

$François Bayle - LExpérience Acoustique: II. Le Langage des fleurs (1971) substance du signe 1245 suite de « crises » - jeu de plans janvier 1971 thèmes-sons: figure – déchirure métaphore + lignes et points 1026 transparence – respirations – couloir et éclats 1966 / décembre 1970 thème-son: respiration journal 310 glissements de sens et substitutions - 1969 – fév. 1971 Realised between 1966-1972 using the best technology available at the time, this 2 hour opus investigates the true nature of the listening process itself according to the GRMs Christian Zanési & François Bonnet. Its an investigation of acoustic sound at its purest levels and borders on psychedelic in effect. Chopping material from the world around him, manipulating it and juxtaposing against other, unlikely sources with illusive sleight-of-hand and haptic textural sensitivity, Bayle organises a complex parallel universe of fractured occurrence, meshing linear and non-linear structures and myriad sonorities within immersive, intricate ecologies. Theres a considered logic to every frequential relationship, yet theres also an abstract looseness and room for unpredictable, playful and shocking sounds which makes up each piece, whether in his surreal cut-ups of pop and rock songs against jarring dissonant blurts of electronics or intersecting pastoral scenes with (what could be) phosphorescing feathered creatures and sharp, alien shards of electronics. Conventional melody and harmony is jettisoned in favour of unnaturally arranged dissonance from natural sounds and the effect is utterly spellbinding and actually much closer to real-life, to the end you almost forget youre listening to a recording and feel more like youre at the centre of some incredible situation unfolding in 4D all around you. No doubt Francois Bayle is putting into practise here the lessons he learned at the influential Darmstadt summer courses with Oliver Messiaen and Karlheinz Stockhausen between 1958-1962, and with the full might of Paris pioneering GRM studio at his disposal from 1966 - he was appointed its head by Pierre Schaeffer that year - you also get the sense that hes absolutely relishing and making the most of the highly advanced facilities at his disposal. This is unprecedented music, which still sounds remarkable today. A massive recommendation. Video realized with Audacity, vokoscreen, Sonic Visualizer and Kdenlive on a Debian 10 Buster KDE Linux System.$

François Bayle - Fabulæ: 1. Fabula (1990)

$François Bayle - LExpérience Acoustique: III. La Preuve par le sens (1971) la langue inconnue 1014 qualité dun grésillement rythmique qui sépaissit, qui envahit - panique de lécoute avril 1971 intervalles bleus 653 opposition dune couleur tenue, et de zones de mouvements - tension de lécoute juillet 1971 uirapuru 349 figure dans un jeu de couleurs qui vibrent juillet 1971 Realised between 1966-1972 using the best technology available at the time, this 2 hour opus investigates the true nature of the listening process itself according to the GRMs Christian Zanési & François Bonnet. Its an investigation of acoustic sound at its purest levels and borders on psychedelic in effect. Chopping material from the world around him, manipulating it and juxtaposing against other, unlikely sources with illusive sleight-of-hand and haptic textural sensitivity, Bayle organises a complex parallel universe of fractured occurrence, meshing linear and non-linear structures and myriad sonorities within immersive, intricate ecologies. Theres a considered logic to every frequential relationship, yet theres also an abstract looseness and room for unpredictable, playful and shocking sounds which makes up each piece, whether in his surreal cut-ups of pop and rock songs against jarring dissonant blurts of electronics or intersecting pastoral scenes with (what could be) phosphorescing feathered creatures and sharp, alien shards of electronics. Conventional melody and harmony is jettisoned in favour of unnaturally arranged dissonance from natural sounds and the effect is utterly spellbinding and actually much closer to real-life, to the end you almost forget youre listening to a recording and feel more like youre at the centre of some incredible situation unfolding in 4D all around you. No doubt Francois Bayle is putting into practise here the lessons he learned at the influential Darmstadt summer courses with Oliver Messiaen and Karlheinz Stockhausen between 1958-1962, and with the full might of Paris pioneering GRM studio at his disposal from 1966 - he was appointed its head by Pierre Schaeffer that year - you also get the sense that hes absolutely relishing and making the most of the highly advanced facilities at his disposal. This is unprecedented music, which still sounds remarkable today. A massive recommendation. Video realized with Audacity, vokoscreen, Sonic Visualizer and Kdenlive on a Debian 10 Buster KDE Linux System.$