Biography
During 1953 and 1954 Charpentier immersed himself in Hindu music across Bombay and Calcutta, later entering the Paris Conservatoire for lessons with Aubin and Messiaen. These sources fused into the foundation of his personal idiom. Carnatic modes supply the structural basis for most of his pieces, each mode realizing every possible seven-note scale built from intervals of one, two, or three semitones. The karna kangi mode, rendered as C-Db-Ebb-F-G-Ab-Bbb, offers a concrete instance. Messiaen’s presence registers in the composer’s handling of harmony, rhythm, organ style, and theology. Apart from writing music, Charpentier performed as an organist and served as inspector of music for the French Ministry of Cultural Affairs.