Listen to the article
During a brief stay in Beirut, the eminent Lebanese-French composer, Gabriel Yared, revisited key moments in his prolific career spanning over half a century during a meeting organized by Zeina Saleh Kayali at Beit Tabaris. He generously shared his expertise and passionate love for cinematic music composition, while enlightening the young musicians present with his vision and philosophy of musical art.
In an era where images reign supreme, emerging with dazzling swiftness only to dissolve into the obscurity of oblivion, some creators manage to transcend this transience by infusing a soul into every captured moment. Among the Ariel of cinematic composition, a solitary star, a shooting star, one could say, illuminates the firmament of the sonic art with a scarlet glow: the Lebanese-French composer Gabriel Yared. Through his work, this artist invites the audience to dive with him into a luminous abyss where image and melody converge and merge to create evanescent yet immortal sparks in the consciousness of those who extract their essence. His inspiration draws, among other sources, from the majestic cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), the lyrical mazurkas of Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849), and more recently, the virtuoso sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757), a musical treasure that serves as his compass for navigating the vast seas of composition.
An Unusual Path
It is no surprise that legend has forged a sort of archetype from his journey, for his creative genius rises far beyond the triviality of “here today, gone tomorrow,” merging into the ethereal realm of pure emotion, where melodies become bridges to unsuspected intimate universes. Of all the stars that have traversed the azure of film music, Gabriel Yared is probably the one whose life best fits an unusual trajectory. And fortunately so! It is difficult to delineate the boundaries of these epiphanies that make this poet of musical verse and eloquent imagery, at times, the creator of sound sparks inherited from Apollo, intoxicating rhythms drawn from the nectar of Dionysus, and Olympian harmonies inspired by Calliope, thereby inspiring some of the greatest international filmmakers, and at other times, a kind of intimate sylph cultivating the blue note for a select few music lovers.
Realization
Born on October 7, 1949, in Beirut, this distinguished composer has conquered the musical world through the emotional power of his compositions. His eclectic compositions, including the one for “The English Patient” directed by Anthony Minghella and awarded an Oscar, have left an enduring mark in the history of cinema. Gabriel Yared has also been honored with a César, a BAFTA, a Grammy, and has received multiple accolades at prestigious film festivals. He manages to surpass popular mundane music to firmly establish himself in the realm of art music, thereby adding unparalleled depth to the cinematic works he accompanies, elevating the cinema experience to unparalleled heights for an increasingly captivated global audience. Contemporary film music, in his opinion, suffers from a lack of musical themes: “What is, must be, but where will it lead us?” he wonders, nevertheless offering an element of an answer: “One day, we will wake up and realize. Perhaps.”
