Marcel Couraud

Marcel Couraud (born October 20, 1912 in Limoges , † September 14, 1986 in Loches ) was a French conductor.

Couraud studied organ with André Marchal in Paris and attended the École normal de musique there . He also took courses in composition with Nadia Boulanger and in orchestral conducting with Charles Münch .

In 1944 he founded the Ensemble Vocal Marcel-Couraud , with which he performed and recorded works by contemporary composers such as Trois Petites Liturgies de la présence divine by Olivier Messiaen in addition to chansons and madrigals of the Renaissance period (including by Orlando di Lasso and Claudio Monteverdi ) . He directed the ensemble until 1954 and then conducted the Stuttgart (Bach) Soloists and the Stuttgart Bach Orchestra.

From 1946 to 1953 he was director of the French children's radio choir and from 1967 of the radio choir . From its members he formed the Groupe Vocal de France in the following year , with which he created contemporary works such as Cinq Rechants by Messiaen, the Dodécaméron by Ivo Malec , Récitatif, air et variations by Gilbert Amy , Nuits by Iannis Xenakis and the Sonata à douze by Betsy Jolas performed.