Francis Dhomont

2005

Francis Dhomont is a french composer born 1926 in Paris. He was motivated by a passion for music and studied composition with Ginette Waldmeier, Charles Koechlin and Nadia Boulanger. After some early experience in the instrumental and vocal repertories, he turned instinctively towards electro-acoustics, that he saw as a formidable domain for the investigation of sound. Dhomont’s interest in composition on tape led him, after settling in Provence with his own studio (1963), to devote himself exclusively to the production of acousmatic works. While his music progressively gained recognition, he strengthened his initial training with a seminar at the GRM (1973-1974) and presided over the festival Musiques multiples at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The succeeding decades, during which Francis Dhomont divided his time between Quebec and France, were particularly productive for the composer. An artist in residence at the music faculty of Montreal University where he subsequently taught, he won, in 1981, First Prize at the International Electro-acoustic Music Competition in Bourges. Several state commissions followed together with many distinctions that revealed him to be a composer of consequence. The acousmatic output of Dhomont features some fifty works, including radiophonic productions. His catalogue includes, notably, »Mais laisserons-nous mourir Arianna?« (1979), »Sous le regard d'un soleil noir« (1981), »Points de fuite« (1982), »Chiaroscuro« (1987), »Signé Dyonisos« (1991), »Forêt profonde« (1994-1996) and »À propos de K« (2006).