Saint Preux

Saint-Preux (born 1950), whose real name is Christian Langlade, is a contemporary French composer who has been composing from his youth on. In August 1969 he took part in the Sopot International Song Festival in Poland where the then 19-year old successfully conducted a symphony orchestra and won a prize with his first grand composition La valse de l'enfance (engl. The waltz of youth). Encouraged by this appreciation Saint-Preux was able to work all nights long on his second composition Concerto pour une voix (engl. Concerto for one voice) whilst his stay in Poland. It was this second oeuvre that gained broad recognition (Gold disk and Oscar for the best original music in Japan)) and which placed the young composer among the forefront of the musical scene. He finally achieved his breakthrough in public with the titles Le Piano sous la mer (engl. The piano under the sea), La Fête triste (engl. The sad festival), Missa Amoris and Symphonie pour la Pologne (engl. Symphony for Poland).
Using his popularity to further the humanitarian cause of Unicef Saint-Preux composed Les cris de la Liberté (engl. The cries of Liberty), a hymn on peace and human rights, for the festivities of the bicentennial anniversary of the storming of the Bastille. It was during this event that Saint-Preux met Pope John Paul II whom he also dedicated Les cris de la Liberté to.
Saint-Preux has been given the opportunities to work together with some of the greatest orchestras, among them the London Symphony Orchestra, the Polish Symphony Orchestra, the Choirs of Krakow, the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra and the Montreal Symphonic Orchestra.
Recently, Saint-Preux adapted Concerto pour une voix to be sung by two singers. This latter version Concerto pour deux voix (engl. Concerto for two voices) gained wide public attention in France when the composer's daughter Clemence sung it together with the young singer Jean-Baptiste Maunier.
Discography
Concerto pour une voix (1969)
Le piano sous la mer (1972)
La passion (1973)
La fête triste (1974)
Your hair & Missa Amoris (1975)
Concerto pour piano (1975)
Symphonie pour la Pologne (1977)
To be or not (1980)
Le paino d'Abigaïl (1983)
Atlantis (1983)
Phytandros (1991)
Free Yourself (1999)
The last opera (1994)

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