Born in Paris, originally from
Ariège, his parents were not musicians at all. Michel Piquemal wanted to play the piano and it was a teacher from the city of Paris,
Françoise Deslogères, who spoke to his parents about it and, thanks to her, he began to study the piano. Then he entered the to do music theory with her as well. When it was necessary to go through 6th class, she was still the one who convinced his parents that he could enter the "Maîtrise de l'ORTF", the already very famous maîtrise. He applied and went in. Michel Piquemal therefore began his singing studies at the "Maîtrise of the ORTF", which has now become the
Maîtrise de Radio France. It is in this lineage that he continued his training with
Pierre Bernac (baritone and favourite interpreter of Francis Poulenc), and
Denise Duval (a fetish interpreter, qualified as a double-female by Francis Poulenc) for the French melody and finally, at the Mozarteum in Salzburg for the interpretation of the Lied. In 1978, he founded the "Ensemble vocal Michel Piquemal" – a professional
ensemble – with which he created works by ,
Roger Calmel,
Jacques Castérède,
Kamilló Lendvay,
Marcel Landowski,
Jean Guillou and
Jean-Louis Florentz. In 1987, Michel Piquemal was entrusted with the direction of the Vittoria Choir and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regional Choir. Musical director of the Grand Choir of the abbey at Dames de Saintes, he is the director of the International Academy and choirs and orchestra of the Festival of the . From 1985 to 1994, he taught at the
Conservatoire de Paris. His discography is rich and diversified. As a baritone, he has recorded works by
Liszt,
Sauguet,
Lalo,
Rossini, with the pianist Christine Lajarrige,
mélodies by
Poulenc. With his various formations, Piquemal made recordings dedicated to
Rossini,
Mendelssohn,
Brahms,
Schubert,
Cornelius,
Donizetti,
Gabriel Fauré,
Guy Ropartz,
Poulenc, Lendvay,
Duruflé,
Arthur Honegger and
Henri Tomasi. Piquemal has been invited to conduct many national and international orchestras, such as those of Bordeaux, Cannes, Marseille, Nice, Avignon, Nancy, the
Orchestre national de Lille, the
Orchestre national d'Île-de-France, the
Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire, the
Orchestre de chambre de Paris, the
Hungarian National Philharmonic, the Budapest Radio Orchestra and the Bucharest Orchestra, the
Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège, the , the
Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux, the
Moroccan Philharmonic Orchestra etc. At the head of his vocal ensemble, Michel Piquemal won in 1996 the third
Victoires de la musique classique with the recording devoted to the integral of the
sacred music by
Maurice Duruflé, published at
Naxos Records. A first Victoire de la musique classique followed by a second, this time with the Vittoria Choir, in 1998, for his recording of "David" by Arthur Honegger, released by Naxos again, and for all his achievements. Recognized by his peers, he is always keen to pass on his passion for music and to give new artists the chance to work with him. After having been Jacques Jouineau's assistant, Michel Piquemal taught singing at the Maîtrise de Radio France, then for nearly ten years at the
Conservatoire de Paris until 1994 and at the
18th arrondissement of Paris's Conservatory until 2012. He has trained and accompanied among others: Nora Gubish, Hélène Le Corre, Sophie Marin-Degor,
Béatrice Uria-Monzon,
Clémentine Margaine and
Norah Amsellem. Piquemal has always sought to discover or rediscover works from the repertoire of forgotten classical music such as the music of
Martial Caillebotte, brother of the impressionist painter
Gustave Caillebotte, which he himself recorded in the form of two albums, including the
Messe solennelle de Pâques, widely acclaimed by critics and for his work as a musician. Indeed, the latter received several awards, among others, the 4 F of
Télérama and the 4 # of the
Diapason magazine, under the label of the
Éditions Hortus. His last Opus is the
MisaTango called "Messe à Buenos Aires" by Martin Palmeri. In parallel to his activities with his choirs and vocal ensemble, Michel Piquemal conducts singing courses, masterclasses or festivals, in order to continue to transmit to an amateur or professional audience, his knowledge of the Direction and Choral Chant, such as the Academy internship at the Music Festival of the Sylvanes Abbey. Michel Piquemal was made an
Officier of the Ordre national du Mérite,
Officier des Arts et des Lettres, and
Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur for all of his musical contributions to heritage. He also has received the Hungarian award Pro Artibus. == Choir conductor ==