Armand Amar



Armand Amar is a composer based in Paris who's well known for his film scores and dance pieces.Amar was born in Jerusalem in 1953 and raised in Morocco. Amar became interested in music at an early age and undertook a rigorous program of self-education, studying European classical music as well as the traditional styles of African and Middle Eastern music. Fascinated by the link between music and physical performance, Amar found a vehicle for these interests when he began working with South African choreographer and anthropologist Peter Goss, who appreciated Amar's interest in the sounds of different cultures. Amar's compositions for Goss led to collaborations with several other noted dance troupes, as well as the acting workshop of Patrice Chéreau and the Conservatoire National Supérieur. In 1994, Amar performed on the soundtrack of Michel Blanc's film Grosse Fatigue, and in 1997 he composed the score for the television presentation Miracle a l'Eldorado. In 2002, celebrated filmmaker Costa Gavras invited Amar to score his film Amen, making it the first of a long string of film soundtracks written and produced by the composer. In addition to his work as a composer and performer, Amar is also one of the founders of the record label Long Distance, specializing in world music and classical works from around the globe.
Biography by Mark Deming - Source: allmusic

French of Moroccan origin (born in Jerusalem), Armand Amar spent his childhood in Morocco. Imbued with the sounds of instruments considered exotic at the time, the pull of that “world apart” exercised by extra European music soon fascinated him. Autodidact, he was constantly searching for physical experiences in the early years of his musical apprenticeship, whereas in the following years his search became a commitment; he learned to play tablas, discovered the zarb and congas, and studied under various masters of traditional and classical music. Armand’s discovery of dance in 1976, following an invitation from South African choreographer and trained anthropologist Peter Goss was another decisive moment. Suddenly what he’d been looking for was right there in front of him – a direct relationship to music, the power to improvise freely, the advantages of authentic, on the spot exchanges. Two challenging ventures broadened his scope even further: his involvement in Patrice Chéreau’s actors’ school and his teaching at the Conservatoire National Supérieur [Higher National Music School] focussed on the relationship between music and dance. Since then he has worked with various choreographers from the different branches of contemporary dance (Marie-Claude Pietragalla, Carolyn Carlsson, Francesca Lattuada, Russell Maliphant etc.). The musical and spiritual influences at play show through in his film scores, such as in the following selection: Eyewitness (2000), The Axe (2005), Eden is East (2009) all by Costa-Gavras. The Concert (winner of the César /Best Soundtrack of the Year Award 2009), Live and Become (2006), The Source (2011) all by Radu Mihaileanu, Days of Glory (2006), Outside the Law (2010) both by Rachid Bouchareb, Blame it on Fidel (2006) by Julie Gavras, The First Cry by Gilles de Maistre (2007), The Maiden and the Wolves (2008) and You will be my Son (2011) by Gilles Legrand, Sagan by Diane Kurys (2008), Like Five Fingers by Alexandre Arcady, HOME by Yann Arthus-Bertrand (2009), Free Men by Ismaël Ferroukhi (2010). In 2012 Armand Amar composed the original scores of two Brazilian films: My Sweet Orange Tree by Marcos Bernstein and Amazonia Eterna by Belisario Franca, as well as of the films Planet Ocean by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, What the day owes to the Night by Alexandre Arcady, and The Capital by Costa-Gavras. He recently wrote the music for Nicolas Vanier’s Belle and Sebastien, and Philip Muyl’s new film Le Promeneur d’oiseau. In August, he received the Amanda Award/ Best soundtrack of the Year 2014 for the music of the Norwegian director Erik Poppe’s movie A Thousand Times Goodnight. In 1994 in partnership with his friend Alain Weber, he founded the record label Long Distance for traditional, world and classical music; it now boasts more than 60 titles. His own work is released through naïve, Long Distance, Universal and Sony. In addition, the composer has created in June 2011, at the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music, Morocco, his first “oratorio mundi” named Leyla & Majnun, after the legend with the same name, which uses a cast of forty singers and musicians from all over the world. The performance was scheduled at Salle Pleyel, Paris, in April 2014.  Source: Armand Amar

Watch and listen the videos: La Genèse, Inanna, 

Retrospective (full album), L'Amour Mystique, Poem
of the Atoms, La Terre Vue du Ciel, Home, Amen Hayr Sourp, Tchinares, My Sweet Orange Tree, Le
Piège, Planet Ocean, Kadish, Premotion, Ar Intch Lav
Er, Home - The music by Armand Amar, Civilisation,
Desert Peace, Playlist (47 videos), Quator, Life, Zikr,

Araksi Artassouken, Nate, Hovern'engan, City of the

Birth, Save Us, Coral Tree, La Source des Femmes,

Maryam, Layla et Majnum, Andrei, Whales, La Mort

de Mohamed, The Train II, Every Time, Dubai, Les

Larmes, The Dead Seas, La Traversée, Every Time,

To Warn the  World, El Babour, Woman in a Mosque.