Paul Moriah ... When you just pronounce his name, music begins to sound in your memory ... The French composer, one of the greatest masters of the twentieth century, was born in Marseille in 1925 in a family of musicians, and when he was 10 years old he entered the conservatory without hesitation. His favorite style of music was jazz, but at the same time he was fascinated by classical symphonies, which inspired him to create his own orchestra - at the age of 17 Paul gave concerts. When the Second World War began, he played all over France, giving people hope for a peaceful future.
After the war, he was noticed by the North American company A&R, which means Artists and Repertoire, inviting him to become an accompanist in various shows. This was the first step towards fame and recognition - Paris, the legislator of not only fashion but also world music, opened his arms to the young composer. It was there that the French composer Paul Moriah became the arranger of the magnificent chansonnier Charles Aznavour. Throughout the post-war decade, the young musician was the music director of such celebrities as Maurice Chevalier, Delilah, Escudero, Aznavour, Henry Salvador - countless tours, concerts, recordings ... Later, in the late 60s and early 70s, he will be write for Mireille Mathieu.
In 1957, French composer Paul Moriah released the premiere album, which was in great demand. The name of the record was quite simple - "Paul Moriah". The following year, 1958 brought him an award at the festival "Golden Rooster of Chanson" for the song "Rendez-vos au lavandou".
In 1964, the album Paul Moriah and his Orchestra was released. Paul Moriah begins to use pseudonyms - Nico Popadopoulos, Richard Audrey, Eduardo Ruo and many many others. He believed that this would help to better understand the international nature of his works, and did not fail - he became world famous.
In parallel, he composed soundtracks - music for films, one of which was “Taxi to Tobruk”, “Explode the Bank”, “Horace 62”, “The Godfather”. In the early 90s, he released the soundtrack for the film “Act, sister!”, Which then began to be re-recorded by famous artists of the world and is still famous today. Paul Moriah developed his own style, which became the most unique in its breadth and range - it was unusual, light, bright and catchy music.
Paul Moriah entered the Top 100, according to one of the American magazines, as the first French instrumental artist. He gave the leading role in the works to strings - the most complicated staccato and legato, the virtuoso playing of the cellists and experiments with arrangement gave his music an indescribable "French" charm, although his works have long gone beyond limited musical boundaries. His approach was appreciated not only by French composers - he used
musical directions from different countries.
The French composer Paul Moriah was awarded the "Golden Disc" in France, the title of Commander of the Arts and international recognition: his music sounded in all kinds of advertisements, programs (in the USSR the famous "In the world of animals" and "Cinema Panorama"), series.
In 1998, Moriah left the stage, giving the last concert in Osako. And in 2006, at 81 years of age, the French composer Paul Moriah died in the south of France in the city of Perpignan, in his house. Despite the fact that he made an invaluable contribution to music, to contemporaries and close friends he was remembered as a restrained, modest, friendly greatest composer.