Paul Moriah is a French composer, conductor and arranger. During his life, he wrote more than 150 musical compositions. His work is popular with connoisseurs of good music all over the world.
Childhood, youth
Paul Moriah was born in France, in Marseille on March 4, 1925. His father was a postal servant, but at the same time was fond of music, played various musical instruments. Moriah Sr. loved the guitar, harp, and piano. When Paul was only 3 years old, his parents began to notice that he had a wonderful ear for music. He accurately reproduced the melodies he heard, singing them. The boy loved to press the keys of the piano and listen to music.
The first teacher of Paul Moriah was his father. He taught his son how to play musical instruments in a playful way. When Paul became older, he became acquainted with the world of classical and pop music. For several months he even performed on a variety show.
Paul Moriah continued his musical education at the Marseille Conservatory. There he learned to masterfully play the piano. When the talented musician turned 14 years old, he became interested in jazz and wanted to develop his abilities in this direction, to become a member of the jazz ensemble. But to play at a professional level, he needed to get additional education. Paul had plans to move to Paris, but the outbreak of war prevented their implementation. As a result, Moriah remained in safer Marseille.
Career
At 17, Paul Moriah created his first ensemble. Its participants were adult musicians and many of them suited the talented young man as fathers. The group performed in French music halls and cabarets during the Second World War. The music performed by the collective was very original and was a mixture of jazz and classical. In 1954, the ensemble broke up and Moriah left for Paris.
In the capital, the musician signed a contract with Barclay and began working as an arranger, accompanist. From 1959 to 1964, he collaborated with the record label "Bel-Air", as well as with various pop artists. With Charles Aznavour, they created over 100 collaborative songs.
In 1962, Paul recorded his first hit "Chariot" with Frank Purcell. This composition has won international recognition. Moriah was fond of cinema and this inspired him to create several works for films. One of the most popular were compositions for paintings "The Gendarme of Saint-Tropez", "The Gendarme in New York."
Moriah became the author of such famous songs as:
- San Francisco (1968);
- Je T'aime Moi Non Plus (1970);
- "Gone Is Love" (1970);
- "Taka Takata" (1972).
Paul Moriah authored over 50 songs and many instrumental music albums. The most popular albums were:
- Blooming Hits (1967);
- Penelope (1971);
- "White Christmas" (1973).
But the creative biography of the musician can not be called cloudless. Despite the success and demand that came, Paul Moriah dreamed a little about something else. He wanted to create his own orchestra. But at that time, beat bands were popular. Small groups replaced each other, which was characteristic of that era. In 1965, Moria still created his own ensemble and began working in it as a conductor. People enjoyed buying tickets for their concerts. The team performed jazz, pop music, instrumental versions of popular hits and even classical music. The audience, saturated with fashion trends, warmly received the collective of Paul Moriah.
In 1968, the orchestral version of the song "Love is blue" soared to the top of the charts of the United States and many other countries. This song was first performed at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967, but performed by Paul Moriah the melody gained worldwide fame. Musicians toured almost all countries, including Russia. Only in Japan, the team visited 50 times.
The ensemble of Paul was unique and was called international. The musicians in it often changed. Moriah tried to attract specialists of different nationalities to cooperation. For example, Mexicans played trumpets in his group, and Brazilians played guitars.
In 1997, Moriah recorded his latest work, Romantic. The conductor was very ill and for this reason in 2000 transferred the management of the team to Gilles Gambus, who for many years was his student. In 2005, the ensemble was led by Jean-Jacques Justafre. The team continued to perform even after the death of its founder, with the permission of the widow of the great conductor.
Paul’s music has gained tremendous worldwide recognition. In Russia, everyone is familiar with Moriah’s work. His melodies sounded and sound in the programs "Kinopanorama", "In the world of animals", as well as in the Soviet cartoon "Wait a minute!" and the Weather Forecast program on one of the federal channels.
