Paul Mauriat is a French composer, conductor and arranger. During his life, he wrote more than 150 musical compositions. His work is popular with connoisseurs of good music all over the world.
Childhood, adolescence
Paul Mauriat was born in France, in Marseille on March 4, 1925. His father was a postal worker, but at the same time he was fond of music, played various musical instruments. Moriah Sr. was very fond of the guitar, harp, piano. When Paul was only 3 years old, his parents began to notice that he had an excellent ear for music. He reproduced the melodies he heard quite accurately, singing them. The boy loved to hit the piano keys and listen to music.
Paul Mauriat's first teacher was his father. He taught his son to play musical instruments in a playful way. When Paul got older, he got acquainted with the world of classical and pop music. For several months he even performed on the stage of a variety show.
Paul Mauriat continued his musical education at the Marseille Conservatory. There he learned to play the piano masterly. When the talented musician turned 14, he became interested in jazz and wanted to develop his abilities in this direction, to become a member of a jazz ensemble. But to play at a professional level, he needed to get additional education. Paul had plans to move to Paris, but the outbreak of war prevented their implementation. As a result, Moriah stayed in safer Marseille.
Career
At the age of 17, Paul Mauriat created his first ensemble. Its participants were adult musicians, and many of them were suitable for the talented young man as fathers. The group performed in French music halls and cabarets during the Second World War. The music performed by the ensemble was very original and was a mixture of jazz and classical music. In 1954 the ensemble broke up and Mauriat went to Paris.
In the capital, the musician signed a contract with the "Barclay" company and began working as an arranger, accompanist. From 1959 to 1964 he collaborated with the record label "Bel-Air", as well as with various pop artists. With Charles Aznavour, they created more than 100 joint songs.
In 1962, Paul recorded his first hit "Chariot" with Frank Pursel. This composition has won international recognition. Moriah was fond of cinema and this inspired him to create several works for films. Some of the most popular were the compositions for the paintings "The Gendarme from Saint-Tropez", "The Gendarme in New York".
Moriah became the author of such famous songs as:
- San Francisco (1968);
- Je T'aime Moi Non Plus (1970);
- Gone Is Love (1970);
- Taka Takata (1972).
Paul Mauriat has written over 50 songs on his own and many albums of instrumental music. The most popular albums were:
- Blooming Hits (1967);
- Penelope (1971);
- "White Christmas" (1973).
But the musician's creative biography cannot be called cloudless. Despite the success and demand that came, Paul Mauriat dreamed a little about something else. He wanted to create his own orchestra. But at that time, beat groups were popular. Small groups replaced each other, which was typical for that era. In 1965, Moriah nevertheless created his own ensemble and began working in it as a conductor. People were happy to buy tickets for their concerts. The ensemble performed jazz, pop music, instrumental versions of popular hits and even classical pieces of music. The audience, satiated with fashion trends, warmly received the team of Paul Mauriat.
In 1968, the orchestral version of "Love is blue" soared to the top of the charts in the United States and many other countries. This song sounded for the first time at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967, but the melody became world famous in the performance of the Paul Mauriat collective. The musicians toured almost all countries, including Russia. The collective has visited Japan alone 50 times.
The Field's ensemble was unique and was called international. The musicians in it changed frequently. Moriah tried to attract specialists of different nationalities to cooperation. For example, Mexicans played trumpets in his band, and Brazilians played guitars.
In 1997, Moriah recorded his last work "Romantic". The conductor was very ill and for this reason, in 2000, he handed over the management of the orchestra to Gilles Gambus, who had been his student for many years. In 2005 the ensemble was led by Jean-Jacques Justafre. The ensemble continued performing even after the death of its founder, having obtained permission from the widow of the great conductor.
Paul's music has received tremendous recognition all over the world. Everyone in Russia is familiar with Moriah's work. His melodies sounded and sound in the programs "Kinopanorama", "In the world of animals", as well as in the Soviet cartoon "Just you wait!" and the program "Weather Forecast" on one of the federal channels.
Personal life
Music became an integral part of Paul Mauriat's life and came to the fore. The conductor worked incessantly. At the same time, the touring schedule of his team was very busy.
Moriah was happy in love. His only wife was Irene, who became his support and support. They have lived in harmony and love all their lives, not paying attention to gossip and intrigue. The couple did not have children, but even this did not overshadow their happiness. Irene worked as a teacher, but at the insistence of her famous husband left the profession and accompanied her husband on tour, helped him in everything, providing a reliable rear.
In 2006, the musician died. The conductor died in the provincial town of Perpignan in the south of France and was buried there. In 2010, Irene announced that the Paul Mauriat team no longer exists. And everyone who speaks under his name are impostors. This decision of the widow was influenced by her personal conflict with Jean-Jacques Justafre. After her statement, the musicians of the group refused to continue performing in it and the leader was forced to recruit new members.
