Vivier was born to unknown parents in Montreal. He was adopted at the age of three by a poor French-Canadian family. From the age of 13, he attended boarding schools run by the Marist Brothers, a religious order that prepared young boys for a vocation in the priesthood. In 1966, at the age of 18, Vivier was asked to leave the novitiate for “lack of maturity”. His earliest works date from this period. He was always openly gay. In 1971, following study with Gilles Tremblay, he studied for three years in Europe, first with Gottfried Michael Koenig at the Institute for Sonology in Utrecht, and then in Cologne with Karlheinz Stockhausen.
Career
Vivier learned much from Stockhausen, and his early works have aspects that are derivative of his teacher, though his later works bear little resemblance. In 1974, he returned to Montreal and began to establish his reputation. He spent some years travelling in Japan, Bali and Iran. Vivier's opera Kopernikus, to his own libretto, was premièred on 8 May 1980 at the Monument-National in Montreal. In 1982, Vivier moved to Paris. He was murdered there on 7 March 1983 by Pascal Dolzan, a homeless 19-year-old truqueur he had met that evening at a bar. His body was discovered at home much later on 12 March.
Selected works
Ojikawa for soprano, clarinet and percussion
Prolifération for ondes Martenot, piano and percussion
Musik für das Ende for twenty voices and percussion
Deva et Asura for chamber orchestra
Chants for seven female voices
O! Kosmos for soprano and choir
Désintégration for two pianos, four violins and two violas
Lettura di Dante for soprano and mixed septet
Liebesgedichte for voices and ensemble
Hymnen an die nacht for soprano and piano
Pianoforte for piano
Siddhartha for orchestra
Learning for four violins and percussion
Pulau Dewata for any combination of instruments
Shiraz for piano
Journal for voices and percussionist
Love Songs for four women and three men, a capella
Paramirabo for flute, violin, cello and piano
Greeting Music for flute, oboe, percussion, piano and violoncello
Kopernikus: Rituel de la Mort opera in two acts, premiered in Montreal on 8 May 1980 ; U.S. premiere, 12 June 2016, Ojai Festival, staged by Peter Sellars
Orion for orchestra
Lonely Child for soprano and orchestra
Zipangu for string orchestra
Cinq chansons for percussion
Bouchara for soprano and chamber orchestra
Prologue pour un Marco Polo for thirteen instruments, four voices and narrator
Samarkand for wind quintet and piano
Wo bist du Licht! for mezzo-soprano, orchestra and tape
Et je reverrai cette ville étrange for ensemble
Trois Airs pour un opéra imaginaire for soprano and ensemble
Glaubst du an die Unsterblichkeit der Seele for voices and ensemble
Discography
Prologue pour un Marco Polo for 13 instruments, 4 voices and narrator, Bouchara for soprano en chamber orchestra, Zipangu for string orchestra, Lonely Child for soprano and orchestra. Schönberg ensemble, Asko ensemble, conductor: Reinbert de Leeuw. Susan Narucki, Alison Wells, Helena Rasker, Peter Hall, James Ottaway, Harry van der Kamp, Johan Leysen. CD Philips 454 231-2
Orion for orchestra, Siddhartha for orchestra, 5 Songs for percussion. WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, conductor: Peter Rundel. Christian Dierstein, percussion. CD Kairos KAI0012472.
Wo bist du Licht! for mezzo-soprano, orchestra and tape, Greeting Music for flute, oboe, percussion, piano and violoncello, Bouchara for soprano and chamber orchestra, Trois Airs pour un opéra imaginaire for soprano and ensemble. Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, conductor: Walter Boudreau, Marie-Annick Béliveau, Marie-Danielle Parent, Ingrid Schmithusen. CD ATMA Classique ACD22252.
Chants for seven female voices, Jesus erbarme dich for voice and chorus, Love Songs for four women and three men, a capella, Journal for choir, one percussion player, and four solo voices. Ensemble Solistes XXI, conductor: Rachid Safir. 2 CD Soupir S206-NT103.
Shiraz for piano, Pianoforte for piano, Désintégration for two pianos,. Kristi Becker, Ursula Kniehs, pianos. CD Pianovox PIA 529-2.
Kopernikus: Rituel de la Mort opera in two acts. Opera Factory Freiburg, Holst-Sinfonietta, conductor: Klaus Simon. CD Bastille Musique 1.
Kopernikus: Rituel de la Mort opera in two acts , Prologue pour un Marco Polo for thirteen instruments, four voices and narrator, Shiraz for piano, Lonely Child for soprano and orchestra, Zipangu for string orchestra, Wo bist du Licht! for mezzo-soprano, orchestra and tape, Glaubst du an die Unsterblichkeit der Seele for voices and ensemble DVD 2. Asko Ensemble; Schönberg Ensemble, conductor: Reinbert de Leeuw. 2 DVD Opus Arte OA0943D.
