Marie-Claire Jamet (born 27 November 1933 in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

) is a French classical

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

ist.

Biography

Marie-Claire Jamet is the daughter of Pierre Jamet, also a harpist. After winning the 1st prize of harp and the 1st prize of

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, Marie-Claire Jamet was harp solo of the National Orchestra of Radio France, then soloist of the

Ensemble Inter-Contemporain The Ensemble intercontemporain (EIC) is a French music ensemble, based in Paris, that is dedicated to contemporary music. Pierre Boulez founded the EIC in 1976 for this purpose, the first permanent organization of its type in the world. Organ ...

directed by

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

. She now dedicates herself to her solo activity. Marie-Claire Jamet has given more than 2000 concerts in the United States, Europe, Japan, India, Russia, Canada, Australia, etc. She has created numerous works for harp and orchestra, flute and harp, harp alone. From 1959 to 1978, she also headed the "Marie-Claire Jamet quintet", composed of a flute, a

string trio A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. From at least the 19th century on, the term "string trio" with otherwise unspecified instrumentation normally refers to the combination violin, viola and cell ...

and a harp.

Christian Lardé Christian Lardé (3 February 1930 –16 November 2012) Biography Lardé was awarded the first prize of flute and chamber music at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1951, he obtained the 2nd prize of the Geneva International Music Competition.

, José Sanchez, Jacques Dejean, and Pierre DegennePierre Degenne
/ref> were parts of this renown quintet that left many recordings.

Discography (partial)

* Françaix,

Haendel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and sec ...

. Récital flute and harp. With Christian Lardé (flute). *

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

: l'essentiel de son œuvre. Choirs of the

Opéra de Paris The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

, The London Symphony Orchestra and orchestre de la Radio Suisse italienne. *

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

. Two concertos for flute. With Christian Lardé. Orchestra under the direction of Paul Kuentz. CD, Arion * Six danses populaires roumaines. With Christian Lardé. CD, Arion * Pièce en forme de habanera. With Christian Lardé. Arion Paris *

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

, collection "Sur les traces de…". CD, With Christian Lardé (flute) and Guy Deplus (clarinet). Orchestre national de Paris, under the direction of

Manuel Rosenthal Manuel Rosenthal (18 June 1904 – 5 June 2003) was a French composer and conductor who held leading positions with musical organizations in France and America. He was friends with many contemporary composers, and despite a considerable list of c ...

. Prelude and fugue * Romance: les plus beaux airs classiques pour se détendre.

Honours

Marie-Claire Jamet was made a chevalier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

16 March 1995, then an officer 13 July 2012.

References

External links

Marie-Claire Jamet's discography
on Discogs
Entretien avec Marie-Claire Jamet
on HarpBlog
Quintette Marie-Claire Jamet ''Introduction et allegro pour harpe''
on INA.fr (16 June 1963)
Portrait of Marie-Claire Jamet
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Jamet, Marie-Claire French classical harpists 1933 births Living people Musicians from Reims Officers of the Legion of Honour 20th-century French women musicians