Pierre Hamon

As early as the 1980s, Pierre Hamon was already involved as a recorder virtuoso in the development of early music performance in France, particularly in medieval music (as a member of Gilles Binchois’s ensemble, co-conductor of Alla Francesca, and initiator of projects and recordings dedicated to the works of Guillaume de Machaut). He has worked closely and regularly with Jordi Savall since 1995. Deepening his love of early music, he became interested in the traditional music of Europe and other cultures. In 1998, he became a student of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, a great master of Hindustani classical music and bansuri flute. Subsequently, his relentless search for the basic movements and sounds of humanity led him to explore the fascinating world of pre-Columbian civilisations and their flutes, as well as the musical tradition of the Native Americans, which is strongly related to nature and birdsong.

Many of his recordings have received international critical acclaim, as well as awards and prizes (including the Diapason d’Or and a nomination for the Victoires de la Musique).

 

In 1994, he was invited to set up and teach France’s first class in recorder at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique and worked as a lecturer at the Conservatoire de Lyon for the further three decades. The artist is regularly invited to give masterclasses at leading early music institutions such as the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, the Royal College of Music in London and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Amsterdam, and has lectured at the Haute École de Musique in Geneva since 2022.

 

He is the composer and performer of original music for the animated films Pachamama (2018, dir. Juan Antin, nominated for the Césars in 2019) and Jehanne by Atam Rasho (2021).