Bayle, François

Bayle, François, French composer and administrator; b. Tamatave, Madagascar, April 27, 1932. He left Madagascar when he was 14 and settled in Paris, where he taught himself music. From 1958 to 1960 he worked with Pierre Schaeffer at the Groupe de recherches Musicales, and he also worked with Messiaen and Stock-hausen. In 1966 he became head of the Groupe de recherches Musicales, where he oversaw its integration with the Institut National de l’Audiovisuel in 1975. He remained its head until 1997 when he founded his own Studio Magison. He won the Grand Prix of the SACEM in 1978, the Grand Prix National du Disque in 1981, the Grand Prix de la Musique de la Ville de Paris in 1996, and the Grand Prix Charles Cros in 1999. Bayle received the Ordre du Mérite in 1976, was made a Commandeur des Arts et Lettres in 1986, and became a member of the Légion d’honneur in 1990. In his compositions, he has explored the use of electronics and other technological modes of expression. His output includes Trois portraits d’un-Oiseau-Qui-N’existe-Pas (1963–66), Espaces in habitables (1967), Jeîta (1970), L’Expérience Acoustique (1970–72), Le Purgatoire, d’après La Divine Comédie de Dante (1972), Trois rêves d’oiseau (1972), Vibrations composées (1973), Grande polyphonie (1974), Camera oscura: Sept préludes et labyrinthe (1976), Erosphère (1980), Son Vitesse-Lumière (1980–83), Les couleurs de la nuit (1982), Aéroforms (1983–86), Motion-Emotion (1985), Théâtre d’Ombres (1988), Tabulae: Tabula, Onoma, Noia, Sonora (1990–91), Le Main Vide: Batoa de pluie, la fleur future, inventions (1994–95), Morceaux de ciels (1997), Si loin, si proche...(1998–99), and La forme du temps est un cercle (1999–2000).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire