Coulais began his musical education on the violin and piano, aiming to become a composer of contemporary classical music. However, a series of acquaintances gradually re-oriented him towards film music. Coulais was particularly influenced by director François Reichenbach, who asked him in 1977 to write the soundtrack to his new documentary Mexico Magico. The first full-length production he composed the score for was the 1986 film La femme secrète by Sébastien Grall. Until the end of the 1990s, he remained low-profile, composing mainly for television. His name can often be found from TV films by Gérard Marx and Laurent Heynemann. He also composed the soundtracks for Christine Pascal's 1992 film Le petit prince a dit, and Agnès Merlet's Le fils du requin in 1993.
In 1994, he met the television producer Josée Dayan, who let him write a theme for the TV series La rivière Esperance, aired on the France 2 network in autumn 1995. He worked with Dayan again with other major productions such as Le comte de Monte-Cristo, Balzac, and Les nuiteux.
The largest turning point of his career came in 1996, when he worked with directors Claude Nuridsany and Marie Pérennou of the documentary Microcosmos. This single film, which gave a great significance to the music in it, was a great success and made Coulais one of the most wanted composers of French film music. In 1997, he won the César award for the best musical score in a film, as well as a Victoire de la Musique. His reputation was confirmed by the soundtracks to Himalaya (1999) and Les rivières pourpres (2000), and after that Bruno Coulais's name was to be found on most new French blockbusters, such as Belphégor and Vidocq.
After producing the soundtrack to Winged Migration in 2001, Coulais announced that he wanted to significantly reduce his contributions to film music, and instead concentrate on other projects, such as the creation of an opera for children, and collaborations with Akhenaton, Akhenaton's group IAM and the Corsican group A Filetta, with whom he had worked since he had made the soundtrack for Jacques Weber's film Don Juan in 1998.
In 2002, his name was found on the ending credits of the animation L'enfant qui voulait être un ours, and in 2004, on Frédéric Schoendoerffer's Agents secrets. The same year, he wrote the soundtrack to the film Les choristes by Christophe Baratier, which subsequently became an international hit. The music for this film received as great praise as the film itself, and it won Coulais his third César award. Since then, Coulais's collaborations in cinema seem to be limited to works by directors with whom he already shares some history, in particular Jacques Perrin, Frédéric Schoendoerffer, and James Huth.
Bruno Coulais's musical style may vary significantly between different projects, but there are some constant factors visible: his taste for opera and for human voice (in particular that of children), for a search for original sonority, for world music and mixing different musical cultures, and finally, a certain tendency to give preference to the ambience created by lighting rather than the film's narration.
Caresse sur l'océan
Bruno Coulais Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Porte l'oiseau si léger
Revenant des terres enneigées
Air éphémère de l'hiver
Au loin ton écho s'éloigne
Châteaux en Espagne
Vire au vent tournoie déploie tes ailes
Trouve un chemin vers l'arc-en-ciel
Se découvrira le printemps
Caresse sur l'océan
Pose l'oiseau si léger
Sur la pierre d'une île immergée
Air éphémère de l'hiver
Enfin ton souffle s'éloigne
Loin dans les montagnes
Vire au vent tournoie déploie tes ailes
Dans l'aube grise du levant
Trouve un chemin vers l'arc-en-ciel
Se découvrira le printemps
Calme sur l'océan.
The French song Caresse sur l'océan by Bruno Coulais is a soft, gentle melody that explores the idea of a bird's journey from winter to spring. The opening line of the song, Caresse sur l'océan, which means "caress on the ocean," implies a soothing touch or gentle breeze, setting the tone for the song's tranquil melodies. The lyrics suggest that the bird is returning from "terres enneigées," snowy lands, highlighting the shift from winter to spring. The air is described as ephemeral, indicating the fleeting nature of winter and the transitional nature of seasons.
The lyrics suggest the bird is flying across the ocean, moving from one place to another, and the "châteaux en Espagne" line translates as "castles in Spain," representing distant dreams and unreachable places. The song's chorus, "Vire au vent tournoie déploie tes ailes / Dans l'aube grise du levant / Trouve un chemin vers l'arc-en-ciel / Se découvrira le printemps" (Turn towards the wind, twirl, spread your wings, In the gray dawn of the rising sun, Find a path to the rainbow, Spring will be discovered"), encourages the bird to keep moving, suggesting that, if it does, it will eventually find spring.
In the second verse, the bird finally reaches an "île immergée," an immersed island, and finds tranquility on the rock. Its ephemeral journey comes to a close as the bird's breath fades away, leaving only memories of winter far away in the mountains. The final line, "Calme sur l'océan," meaning "calm on the ocean," could imply a peaceful ending to the bird's journey or a sense of calm that comes after a turbulent period.
Overall, Caresse sur l'océan is a poetic exploration of the seasons' transitional nature, with the bird's journey from winter to spring serving as a metaphor for change and growth in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Caresse sur l'océan
Gentle stroke on the ocean surface
Porte l'oiseau si léger
Carries the bird that is light
Revenant des terres enneigées
Coming back from the snowy lands
Air éphémère de l'hiver
Ephemeral winter breeze
Au loin ton écho s'éloigne
Your echo fades away in the distance
Châteaux en Espagne
Castles in Spain (referring to unrealizable dreams)
Vire au vent tournoie déploie tes ailes
Turn with the wind, spin and spread your wings
Dans l'aube grise du levant
In the grey dawn of the east
Trouve un chemin vers l'arc-en-ciel
Find a path towards the rainbow
Se découvrira le printemps
Spring will reveal itself
Pose l'oiseau si léger
Place the bird that is light
Sur la pierre d'une île immergée
On the stone of a sunken island
Enfin ton souffle s'éloigne
Finally your breath fades away
Loin dans les montagnes
Far away in the mountains
Calme sur l'océan
Calmness on the ocean
Contributed by Landon M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.