Jean-Pascal Chaigne

Jean-Pascal Chaigne studied composition with Allain Gaussin, Emmanuel Nunes and Stefano Gervasoni at the Paris Conservatoire. His catalogue includes two major cycles: Mezza Voce and Objects. The first is composed of seven pieces for voice, harpsichord and string trio on texts by Anne-Marie Albiach. The second, which includes four pieces all written for different ensembles, pays tribute to Pierre Boulez and the form of freedom in writing inaugurated in Le Marteau sans maître, but also to the poet Claude Royet-Journoud, particularly through reference to his book Les objets contiennent l’infini.

These two cycles illustrate the particular interest of Jean-Pascal Chaigne for poetry: first, his will to include his works within coherent and rigorously developed sets – cycles – echoes the requirements of Mallarmé in Le Livre; particularly, his music shares with the work of poets such as Anne-Marie Albiach or Claude Royet-Journoud a research for brevity, intensity, and for glare “which tension rings and overflows” (« dont la tension vibre et déborde ») according to Bernard Noël. Concerned with understanding the music of his predecessors (Emmanuel Nunes, Pierre Boulez, Brian Ferneyhough…), Jean-Pascal Chaigne also conducts research activity – holder of a PhD in musicology, he is the author of several analytical articles – thus nourishing his reflexion on the future of contemporary music. After teaching for several years analysis and harmony in the universities of Nice and Saint-Étienne, he is now professor of composition, orchestration and musical writing in the Annecy Region Conservatory.