Jacques Charpentier
b. 1933
French
Biography
Jacques Charpentier, who was born in Paris in 1933, spent 18 months in Bombay and Calcutta absorbing Indian music before returning to France to study at the Paris Conservatoire with Tony Aubin and Olivier Messiaen. He worked as Chief Inspector and then Director of Music, Opera and Dance at the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, taking an active role in government concerning the reorganisation of music in France, particularly in the fields of specialised education, the organ, Gregorian chant and traditional music. He has written a great number of works covering a wide range of genres: for piano and for organ; chamber, incidental and symphonic music; opera; concertos for various ensembles; vocal and choral works.