ABOUT US

BENOÎT DUMON

Born in Marseilles in 1986, Benoit Dumon studied with André Rossi at the Marseilles conservatory, where he won first prize for organ and improvisation. He also studied harpsichord and continuo at the Conservatoire d’Aix-en-Provence with Brigitte Tramier and Natalia Cherachova. He subsequently studied counterpoint with Pierre-Adrien Charpy and harpsichord with Caroline Huynh-Van-Xuan at the CNR de Marseille. He obtained an advanced diploma in organ (4th cycle) in André Rossi’s class.
He studied singing with Raphaëlle Kennedy, and with Monique Zanetti at the Conservatoire d’Aix-en-Provence. He has forged strong ties with many musicians of international stature: Raphaëlle Kennedy, Lisa Magrini, Bénédicte Roussenq, Freddy Eichelberger, Jean-Michel Robert, Anthony Abel, Pascal Marsault, André Rossi, Marc Fillograsso, André Gabriel, Etienne Mangot, Flavio Losco…
As an organist, he regularly performs in recital on France’s finest organs.
Passionate about vocal music in a wide variety of forms, Benoit Dumon created the Ensemble l’Albizzia (Les Zippoventilés) in 2013. With a variable geometry, it covers the repertoire for vocal soloist accompanied by a single instrument, as well as the repertoire for a cappella choir, or with orchestra on period instruments… He is also artistic director of the Ensemble Vocal de Cassis, a group he also founded, as well as of the St Charles choir school (Marseille). Benoit Dumon has recorded several CDs, all of which have received critical acclaim for their technical and stylistic precision, as well as for his highly personal musical choices. (Numerous broadcasts on France Musique, 4/5 in Classica…). In 2018, Benoit Dumon took over as artistic director of the Rencontres Musicales de Cassis. Since 2020, he has been titular organist and choirmaster at Gap Cathedral. Since 2022, he has been artistic director of the Académie Bach Aix, at the request of its previous artistic director, Ulrich Studer.

In 2024, Benoit Dumon has created a new production called “Meditatio”, a concert-reading with the participation of Robin Renucci, a veritable interplay of mirrors between Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s ten Meditations for Lent and French mystical poetry. Magnificent texts by Malherbe, Lacépède, Hugo, Lamartine, Verlaine and Claudel will accompany the ten Passion scenes that Charpentier illustrates in music. Since 2023, Benoit has also been performing with ‘O Solitude’, in which he accompanies his voice alone on stage with the harpsichord, reviving the practice of the 17th century while sublimating the most beautiful pages of English, French and Italian music.

O’SOLITUDE PROJECT

During Lent in 17th-century Paris, the faithful flocked to churches to listen to preachers. During breaks in the sermons, short pieces of music were played. It was probably in this context that Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed his *Méditations pour le Carême*. We have chosen to combine these pieces with a reading of mystical poems from the same period by actor Robin Renucci. The ten meditations follow the stages of the Passion, from the desolation of the world to the sacrifice of Isaac. Although sober and adapted to the austerity of Lent, these works reveal a remarkable musical sophistication, blending melismas, counterpoints and powerful symbols. Charpentier manages to combine sobriety and Baroque inventiveness, fusing Renaissance influences with creative daring, Italian spirit with French elegance.

MEDITATIO

During Lent in 17th-century Paris, the faithful flocked to churches to listen to preachers. During breaks in the sermons, short pieces of music were played. It was probably in this context that Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed his *Méditations pour le Carême*. We have chosen to combine these pieces with a reading of mystical poems from the same period by actor Robin Renucci. The ten meditations follow the stages of the Passion, from the desolation of the world to the sacrifice of Isaac. Although sober and adapted to the austerity of Lent, these works reveal a remarkable musical sophistication, blending melismas, counterpoints and powerful symbols. Charpentier manages to combine sobriety and Baroque inventiveness, fusing Renaissance influences with creative daring, Italian spirit with French elegance.