François Bayle

by Jason AnkenyElectroacoustic innovator François Bayle was born in Tamatave, Madagascar on April 27, 1932; a pupil of Stockhausen, Messiaen and Pousseur, in 1960 he joined the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM), studying under musique concrète pioneer Pierre Schaeffer while concurrently serving as a public relations assistant. By 1964, Bayle was named Director of the GRM, three years later completing his first major electronic composition, Espaces Inhabitables; his major breakthrough was the 1974 development of the Acousmonium, which consisted of 80 assorted loudspeakers designed for tape playback. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Bayle grew increasingly prolific over time, and many of his later pieces are considered among his finest, notable for their evocative, even poetic, construction of sound. Beginning with 1980's Erosphere and continuing on with key works including 1983's Son Vitesse-Lumiere and the following year's Aeroformes, Bayle also began experimenting with computer technology, remaining on the cutting edge throughout his long career.