(b. 1956, Algiers).
French composer, born in Algeria, of mostly stage, chamber and vocal works that have been performed throughout Europe.
Mr. Abecassis began self-taught studies in electric guitar in 1973 and studied cinematography at the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français in 1976, before he studied counterpoint and harmony privately with Julien Falk from 1979–83. He studied jazz orchestration with Derryl Hall at CIM in 1982 and undertook instrumental research at IRCAM in Paris in 1983, where he later studied with Jean-Claude Risset in 1994. He studied with Pascal Dusapin at the Centre Acanthes in 1994 and attended the Cursus Annuel de Composition et Informatique Musicale at IRCAM in 1997.
He is also active in other positions. He served as director of the theatre company L'Entreprise from 1986–92 and later served residencies at GRAME in Lyon in 2002 and EMS in Stockholm in 2005.
COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS
STAGE:
Saved (incidental music, play by Edward Bond), 1984
Les Carnets de Junko, 5 actors, cello, marimba, 1989
Rois de cœur (dance music, choreography by Dominique Petit), 1991
Bâtisseurs (incidental music), soprano, tenor, 1992
récif (street-theatre show), 1998
Cosmogonia (spectacle), 1998
La Cage (pocket opera, libretto by Christophe Tarkos), mezzo-soprano, male actor, any 6 players, 1999 (collaboration with Thierry Aué)
Passages (spectacle), 2002
Tempête (street-theatre show), 2003
Le Monde à l'Envers (street-theatre show), 2005
ORCHESTRAL:
Kammerzirkus, small orchestra (17 players), 1996
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Tzin-Tzoum, 2 French horns, trombone, tuba, live electronics, 1983
Les Fleurs du désert, string quartet, 1992
Masques, flute, cello, 1993
Buzzy Hands, harp, 1995
Horde, 8 electric guitars, 1996
Kobe in Venezia, amplified flute, 8 cellos, live electronics, 1997
Duo, clarinet, percussion, 1998
La Nuit où les poissons sortirent de l'eau, bass clarinet, percussion, 1998
Fugitive Auscultée, flute, trumpet, violin, viola, cello, double bass, 1998
Zeitlupe, flute, guitar, viola, 1999
Le Vol de Lilith, amplified harpsichord, ensemble (flute, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, harp, violin, double bass, percussion), 1999
Creux, violin, cello, accordion, 2000–01
straps, flute, clarinet, French horn, violin, viola, cello, digital piano, live electronics, 2002
Psychomuz II, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, street siren, fixed media, 2003
Photographies, flute, cello, piano, percussion, 2003
Phaz I, string quartet, 2005
Distante Stella, French horn, live electronics, 2005
Squatt, trombone, cello, ensemble, live electronics, 2005–06
Phaz II, string quartet, 2005–06
VOCAL:
Calendar I, female voice, bass clarinet, cello, 1993
Calendar II, female voice, bass clarinet, cello, 1994
Si peu noires sont nos nuits, female voice, 2 clarinets, French horn, harp, viola, cello, 1994
El Jargongora, soprano, clarinet, 1998
Blind, soprano, mezzo-soprano, clarinet, cello, percussion, 1998
Monde de nés, mezzo-soprano, clarinet, percussion, 1998
Précautions d'emploi, voice, flute, piano (+ MIDI-keyboard), live electronics, 2000
ELECTROACOUSTIC:
Mondes dérangés, fixed media (8 tracks), 2003
MULTIMEDIA:
Poupées-Fantômes, piano, percussion, computer, film, 2004
FILM SCORES (DIRECTOR):
Inch'Allah, 1987 (Chantal Briet, Jean-Pierre Lenoir)
Les Masques de W. Strub, 1993 (J. Blanc)
Caravaggio, 1994 (Michel Quinejure)
En quête d'art, 1997 (Michel Quinejure)
Les Africanistes peintres voyageurs, 1998 (Michel Quinejure)
Quatre Artistes sur les traces 14–18, 1999 (Michel Quinejure)
Renzo Piano, 1999 (Marc Petitjean)
Shigeru Ban, architecte de l'urgence, 2001 (Michel Quinejure)
Yan Pei Ming le dernier des brigands, 2002 (Michel Quinejure)
Chevaux arabes, 2002 (Michel Quinejure)
Let the wind Blow, 2003 (Partho Sen Gupta)
Wang Du, 2004 (Michel Quinejure)
Ming, le retour à Shanghai, 2005 (Michel Quinejure)
SCORE FOR SILENT FILM (DIRECTOR):
Il Paradiso: visioni dantesche, 1996 (Giovanni Pettine)
TV PRODUCTIONS (DIRECTOR):
Souhaitez-moi bonne chance, 1995 (Jérôme Boivin)
La Course de l'escargot, 1997 (Jérôme Boivin)
Stress, 1999 (Jérôme Boivin)
Jusqu'au bout de la route, 2000 (Jérôme Boivin)