Raphaël Pichon (born in 1984 in Paris) is a French

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a s ...

, choral and orchestral conductor.

Biography

Raphaël Pichon was a member of the Maîtrise des Petits chanteurs de Versailles during his childhood. He then studied violin and piano at the before joining 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 ...

, where he studied singing and conducting. First of all a countertenor, he sang under the direction of

Ton Koopman Antonius Gerhardus Michael Koopman (; born 2 October 1944), known professionally as Ton Koopman, is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orches ...

Jordi Savall Jordi Savall i Bernadet (; born 1 August 1941) is a Spanish conductor, composer and viol player. He has been one of the major figures in the field of Western early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for popularizing the viol family of ...

, Gustav Leonhardt,

Laurence Equilbey Laurence Equilbey (born 6 March 1962) is a French conductor, known for her work in the choral repertoire, and more recently as the founder and music director of the Insula Orchestra. Equilbey studied piano and flute in her early life. She under ...

Paul Agnew Paul Agnew (born 1964 in Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europ ...

, Jean Tubéry, Vincent Dumestre,

Bruno Boterf Bruno Boterf is a contemporary French tenor, specialising in Baroque and early music. Biography Boterf began his career within the and the Groupe Vocal de France before joining the Ensemble Clément Janequin of which he was a member until 2007. ...

, Michel Laplénie and

Sébastien d'Hérin Sébastien d'Hérin is a French harpsichordist and conductor. As a harpsichordist he studied under Gustav Leonhardt, Pierre Hantaï, Bob van Asperen, Kenneth Gilbert and Christophe Rousset. He founded his own ensemble, Les Nouveaux Caractères in ...

. He also collaborated with and

Gabriel Garrido Gabriel Garrido is an Argentinian conductor specialising in Italian baroque and the recovery of the baroque musical heritage of Latin America. Garrido was born 1950 in Buenos Aires, and at the age of 17 with the Argentine recorder quartet, Pro Arte ...

. In 2006, during his studies at the Paris Conservatory, Raphaël Pichon created the "

ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus * ''En ...

Pygmalion", dedicated to the repertoire on period instruments. Very quickly, their recordings received a very favourable reception from the critics: an album of mass compositions by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

( ''Missæ Breves'', BWV 234 and 235) in 2008, was awarded a golden Diapason, and an Editor's Choice of the British magazine ''Gramophone''. In September 2012, their third album, ''Missa'', a recording of the first version of the ''

Mass in B minor The Mass in B minor (), BWV 232, is an extended setting of the Mass ordinary by Johann Sebastian Bach. The composition was completed in 1749, the year before the composer's death, and was to a large extent based on earlier work, such as a Sanctu ...

'' by Bach was rewarded by the magazine ''

Télérama ''Télérama'' is a weekly French cultural and television magazine published in Paris, France. The name is a contraction of its earlier title: ''Télévision-Radio-Cinéma''. Fabienne Pascaud is currently managing editor. Ludovic Desautez is dep ...

''. Raphaël Pichon has also directed the chamber choir "OTrente",Chœur de chambre
on OTrente turned towards the romantic and contemporary repertoire.

Opera

A recording of ''Dardanus'' by Jean-Philippe Rameau appeared in 2013. In 2015, appeared a live recording of Rameau's ''

Castor et Pollux ''Castor et Pollux'' (''Castor and Pollux'') is an opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau, first performed on 24 October 1737 by the Académie royale de musique at its theatre in the Palais-Royal in Paris. The librettist was Pierre-Joseph-Justin Bernard ...

''. (subscription required) Also in 2015 Pygmalion performed ''Dardanus'' at the

Opéra de Bordeaux This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

in a staged production by

Michel Fau Michel Fau (born 1964) is a French comedian, actor and theatre director. Personal life At 18, he left his hometown for training at French National Academy of Dramatic Arts from 1986 to 1989. He trained with Michel Bouquet, Gerard Desarthe and ...

References

External links

Portrait of Raphaël Pichon
on ''

''
Raphaël Pichon : sacré chef d’orchestre !
on Télérama
Raphaël Pichon
on Rayfieldallied.com
Raphaël Pichon : ''La musique classique n'a rien de raisonnable''
on Télérama {{DEFAULTSORT:Pichon, Raphaël 1984 births Musicians from Paris Living people Conservatoire de Paris alumni French countertenors French choral conductors French male conductors (music) French performers of early music Founders of early music ensembles 21st-century French singers 21st-century French conductors (music) 21st-century French male singers Harmonia Mundi artists