Manfred Kelkel

Kelkel was born in in Saarland, then under French occupation As a student of Darius Milhaud at the Conservatoire de Paris, Kelkel "always felt a sincere admiration and almost filial recognition for his former teacher, even if, aesthetically speaking, he followed a divergent path.". From 1969 onwards, the composer resumed his university studies, obtaining a doctoral degree and a State doctorate of music and musicology, "with works that have since become authoritative in their fields", from his study À la recherche de la musique polynésienne traditionnelle, in ethnomusicology, to State doctorate on lyrical music at the beginning of the 20th century (''Naturalisme, vérisme et réalisme dans l'opéra). His postgraduate thesis, dedicated to the Russian composer Alexander Scriabin (Scriabine, sa vie, l'ésotérisme et le langage musical dans son œuvre''), is a defining moment in his career. Among the many publications by Manfred Kelkel, Jean-Jacques Velly mainly retains the book Musique des mondes, published in 1988, "a unique work of its kind which synthesizes his two activities as a composer and musicologist." == Teaching ==

Manfred Kelkel has held a number of important positions in music publishing and higher education. Music Director from 1957 to 1978 at , == Composition ==

Fascinated by oriental civilizations and occult practices, Manfred Kelkel decided on the basis of Tabula Smaragdina (referring to the Emerald Tablet), to apply to his compositions "in a rational and coherent manner, principles derived from Chinese esoterism, Arabic geomancy and the alchemical operations, playing on unsuspected correspondence between Buddhist mandalas, hermetic diagrams, magic squares and the art of sound". In the harmonic domain, his work "draws inspiration from Scriabin's latest works and makes extensive use of chords that are more or less complex and close to the chromatic total", "An admirer of Berlioz and the great Germanic orchestra school of the 19th century," his orchestral writing "is distinguished by an emphasis on the instrumental timbre in which his musical thought immediately becomes part of his orchestral work." In the field of rhythm, the science of the teacher and the composer come together in his scores. Philippe Reynal evokes a "real puzzle for students"! Manfred Kelkel died in Paris 18 April 1999 at age 70, shortly after the publication of his biography and full analysis of the works of Scriabin. == Works ==

Symphonies • Symphonie n°1 Per aspera ad astra op.34, commission by Radio France (1983), premiered 19 October 1995 • Symphonie n°2 Architectura Cælestis op.40 (1986/87) Concertos • Concertino for cello and chamber orchestra op.4 (1955) • Rhapsodie for saxophone and orchestra op.12 (1962) • Concerto for bassoon op.13 (1963) • Concerto de Zagreb for guitar and orchestra op.19 (1969) Pieces for orchestra • Musique funèbre for oboe and orchestra op.5 (1954/61) • Hommage à Mozart, for string orchestra op.7 (1956) • Ostinato et Mazel Tov, opening on a theme by Darius Milhaud op.11 (1960) • Suite de danses hongroises for orchestra op.18 (1967) • Ouverture sur un thème de Darius Milhaud (after op.11) op.21 (1971) • Tombeau de Scriabine from the sketches of the Acte préalable by Alexander Scriabin, op.22 (1972/1973) with the permission of the composer's heirs • Tabula Smaragdina, acoustic mandalas for piano, percussion, chorus and small orchestra op.24 (1975-1978) • Ming Tang, symphonic poem for chamber orchestra op.39 (1990) Chamber music and for ensemble • Toccata for piano op.2/1 (1952) / for oboe and piano op.2/2 (1969) • Divertimento for oboe, clarinet and bassoon op.3 (1952) • Quatuor à cordes n° 1 op.6 n°1 (1955) • Quatuor à cordes n° 2 op.6 n°2 (1956) • Sonatine for oboe (or recorder) and piano op.9 (1959) • Suite for oboe (or recorder), celesta and gong op.10 (1959) • Laterna magica for clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, violin, piano and percussion op.16 (1964) • Miniatures pour le petit Alexandre, 7 children's songs for piano without opus number (1964) • Danses aux miroirs, for harp, piano, celesta and string quartet op.20 (1969/1970) • Deux pièces for solo harp (Melancolia and Mirabilis) op.23 (1970) • Castalia pour flûte et bande sonore op.25 (1979) • Talisman, sound mandala for 3 trombones and analogue echo op.28 (1981) • Crachat de lune for celesta (or piano) and percussions op.29 (1981) • Saturnalia for 3 violas and magnetic tape op.30 (1982) • Tan Matra, sound mandala for 5 ondes Martenot or wind quintet op.31 (1981/1982) • Athanor, for variable ensemble op.32 (1983) • Irigangi for horn and analog echo op.35 (1984) • Malinconia for solo guitar op.26 (1985) • Rongorongo for Alphorn and basset horn op.36 (1985) • Quatuor à cordes n° 3 op.38 (1992) • Enigma, geometrical figures for organ op.41 (1997) Vocal music • ''Mélodies d'automne'', for singing and piano, op. 1 (1950). • Chanson à boire, for men's choir, op. 15 (1961). • ''Les Voix de l'au-delà'', mystery play after Victor Hugo for narrator, soloists, choir, tape and orchestra, op. 27 (1980/1981). Incidental music • Le Cœur froid, ballet with choir op.8 (1956/1958) • La Mandragore, one-act psychodrama op.17 (1965/1966) • V.I.T.R.I.O.L. audiovisual show after Chymical Wedding by Johann Valentin Andreae, for narrator, magnetic tape and small ensemble, op.33 (1983) • Aux armes, citoyens, popular action for narrator, 2 mixed choirs and magnetic tape, op.37 (1989) • Lady L, radio program after Romain Gary, op.42 (1997) == Bibliography ==

Notes References == External links ==