Photo © Fred Debacker

Samuel Cattiau discovers his voice with a high and precise range during his training in Applied Arts. He then worked on vocal technique, scenic presence and baroque music repertoire to present his first concerts as a vocal trio. He studied lyrical repertoire at the CRD in Valence-Romans (France).

After having presented for several years pieces and works of baroque operas (Monteverdi, J. Dowland, H. Purcell, G.F. Handel,…), he created Lux Aeterna, a programme of sacred music (A. Vivaldi, G. Fauré – Abbaye de Cluny) adapted for piano and voice. He is interested in medieval music but also in the repertoires of popular songs still practiced today.

Samuel Cattiau has developed a voice timbre over several octaves, from baritone to countertenor, around the sound identity of the places he crosses. Its repertoire – composed of sacred and secular texts – aims to restore a contemporary and lyrical artistic sense to texts, poems and scores from the medieval, renaissance, baroque, Latin, old French, old English, Italian, Gaelic-Portuguese, Spanish,…
He regularly researches old library collections, former seminars, private collections, in France and abroad.

For several years now, he has been meeting musicians from different traditions and cultures, instrumental and vocal practices, and monastic communities practicing singing. His research and interpretations are based on “written” music, oral transmission and improvisation.

Inspired by texts and works of early music, he created the Resonance program with guitarist and composer Quentin Dujardin (Belgium). In 2016, he became “ambassador artist” of the Yehudi Menuhin International Foundation.

His musical creations are presented in France and abroad in international festivals and in buildings of our religious and secular heritage, remarkable for their architecture, history and acoustics.

In 2019, he invited other musicians to join this extraordinary musical adventure linking Music and Heritage for a new album: “Illuminations”.

https://www.samuelcattiau.fr/