Ahmed Essyad

Ahmed Essyad was born in Salé, Morocco, and his cultural background is simultaneously Arab-Islamic and Western. His musical career has been continuously inspired by Berber and Arab-Andalusian music, notably his love of their oral traditions.

After studying at the Conservatoire National de Musique in Rabat, then at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, he became a pupil of Max Deutsch, with whom he studied composition and analysis. He quickly became Deutsch’s favourite pupil, and became much influenced by the theories of Arnold Schoenberg, with whom Deutsch had studied in Vienna. These ideas reinforced his innate sense of rigour, his respect for the craft of composition, and his intellectual and artistic integrity.

Max Deutsch’s teaching allowed Ahmed Essyad’s enthusiasm for the human voice to be expressed in most of his compositions: Identité (Identity), a cantata based on a poem by Mahmoud Darwich, was created in Paris under Deutsch’s direction in 1973; Le Collier des Ruses (The Necklace of Tricks) a chamber opera using Arabic texts (four maqamate) by Al Hamadani for the Avignon Festival in 1977; l’Eau (Water) an opera with libretto by Tahar Benjelloun, broadcast by Radio France in 1985; L’Exercice de l’amour (Love’s Lesson) an opera-lumière with libretto by Bernard Noël, composed during his residency (1991-1994) at Chartreuse de Villeneuve-lez-Avignon and broadcast on radio France in 1994; le Volcan à l’envers (The Upside-down Volcano), an oratorio composed in 1999 on the island of Réunion on a text by Pierre Gamaleya on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery and broadcast on Radio France; and Héloise et Abelard, with libretto by Bernard Noël, created for the Opéra National du Rhin during the 2000 Musica Festival and also performed in 2001 in Paris at the Théâtre National du Châtelet.

The lyrical dimension of Ahmed Essyad’s work, however, has not eclipsed his electro-acoustic compositions (Toubkal, Taqsim, Sultanes . . .), or his interest in different forms of instrumental music. He has written pieces for soloists, such as Le Cycle de L’eau (The Water Cycle) for piano and flutes; works for chamber groups, such as Never More and L’Arganier for string quartet; music for full orchestra (Tifounacine . . .); and also film music, including Assia Djebbar’s L’Azzerda.

Ahmed Essyad has been honoured with many prizes during his distinguished career. In 1994, the year in which he was Composer in Residence at the Strasbourg Conservatoire, and Guest Composer at the Musica Festival, he was awarded the Grand Prix national de la Musique. He has been an Officier des Arts et des Lettres for several years, and was similarly acknowledged in Morocco in 2005 during the Festival des Alizés in Essaouira. In 2007 he was awarded the René DUMENISL Composition Prize at the Académie des Beaux Arts de l’Institut de France.

Email: ahessyad@menara.ma

Works available in Library

Scores

• Identité - Score
• La Source Captive/Asselman/Tamda (amplified bass flute) - Score
• Le Temps Rebelle (amplified bass flute & piano) - Score
• Les Eaux Meurent en Dormant (amplified flute & piano) - Score
• Never More String Quartet - Score
• Arcane String Quartet - Score
• La mémoire de l’eau (piano) - Part
• Marthyah (solo violin) - Part
• Itto (bass clarinet) - Score
• L’eclosion du corps (clarinet & Marimba) - Score
• Touda (clarinet & cello) - Score
• Tia Aït Mas (flute, cello, d-bass, violin & clarinet) - Score
• Les Coeurs Fébriles (harp, flute, marimba, viola, cello & d-bass) - Score
• Ichou (cello solo) – Part
  

Recordings

• Heloise et Abelard
• L’eau
• Le Collier des Ruses
• Tifounacine
• Identité
• Le cycle de l’eau
• L’exercise de l’amour
• Pour Héloise