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.
Compère guilleri
Bruno Coulais Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Il s'en fut à la chasse, à la chasse aux perdrix Carabi
Titi Carabi totot carabo compère Guilleri
Te lairas-tu, te lairas-tu, te lairas-tu mouri
Il s'en fut à la chasse, à la chasse aux perdrix Carabi
Il monta sur un arbre pour voir ses chiens couri Carabi
Titi Carabi toto carabo compère Guilleri
The lyrics to Bruno Coulais's song Compère guilleri tell a story of a little man named Guilleri Carabi who went out hunting for partridges. He climbed up a tree to watch his dogs run, but the song keeps repeating a phrase that asks if Guilleri will abandon himself and let himself die. It's unclear why this phrase is repeated, but it adds a haunting and eerie tone to the song.
Overall, the song seems to be commenting on the dangers and risks involved in hunting, particularly with dogs. The phrase "Te lairas-tu mouri" (will you let yourself die) could be seen as a cautionary reminder that hunting can be a dangerous activity, and that one must take care to not get caught up in the excitement and forget about their own safety.
Interestingly, the lyrics to Compère guilleri are actually from a traditional French folk song called "Le Furet du bois joli," which dates back to the 18th century. This song has been covered and adapted by many artists over the years, including Coulais, who used it in his score for the 2004 French film Les Choristes.
Line by Line Meaning
Il était un p'tit homme appelé Guilleri Carabi
There was a man named Guilleri Carabi who was small in stature
Il s'en fut à la chasse, à la chasse aux perdrix Carabi
He went hunting, specifically for partridges
Titi Carabi totot carabo compère Guilleri
His friend Titi Carabi asked him a question
Te lairas-tu, te lairas-tu, te lairas-tu mouri
Will you stay there and die?
Il s'en fut à la chasse, à la chasse aux perdrix Carabi
He went hunting again for partridges
Il monta sur un arbre pour voir ses chiens couri Carabi
He climbed a tree to see his dogs running
Titi Carabi toto carabo compère Guilleri
His friend Titi Carabi asked him the same question again
Te lairas-tu, te lairas-tu, te lairas-tu mouri
Will you stay there and die?
Writer(s): Traditional, Bruno Coulais Copyright: Galatee Films, Passerelle, Peermusic France
Contributed by Eva O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.