Valentin Clastrier

Valentin Clastrier (born Gérard Clastrier, 1947) is a French musician and composer, specializing in contemporary classical music, avant-garde, and jazz for the hurdy-gurdy. Before Clastrier's innovations, other musicians have been using the instrument in the performance of European Medieval and folk musics.

Valentin Clastrier
Born	1947 (age 77–78) Nice, France
Genres	Contemporary classical, experimental, jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instrument	Hurdy-gurdy
Years active	1970–present
Website	http://www.valentinclastrier.com/

Life and career

Valentin Clastrier was born in Nice in 1947 into a musical family; – his father was a baritone singer. Initially trained as a classical guitarist, Clastrier performed with chanson artists such as Jacques Brel and Ricet Barrier in the 1960s. In 1970, he started playing the hurdy-gurdy and began exploring it without prior involvement in traditional folk contexts.^[1][2]

Clastrier soon dedicated himself exclusively to the hurdy-gurdy, approaching the instrument as a medium for contemporary composition and experimentation. In collaboration with luthier Denis Siorat, he developed an electro-acoustic model in 1987 featuring 27 strings, greatly exceeding the six-string configuration of traditional instruments.^[3] Since 2006, Clastrier has continued instrument innovation with luthier Wolfgang Weichselbaumer, working toward a redesigned prototype that integrates digital and acoustic techniques.^[4]

Musical style and innovations

Clastrier has performed and recorded extensively across Europe. His original compositions for the instrument in both acoustic and electroacoustic versions have been recorded in collaboration with other contemporary European musicians, including tubist and serpent player Michel Godard, accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier, saxophonist/clarinetists Michael Riessler, Steven Kamperman and Louis Sclavis, as well as percussionists Gérard Siracusa and Carlo Rizzo. His recordings span avant-garde, jazz, and early music, defying traditional genre boundaries.^[5][6][7]

Clastrier has been credited with transforming the hurdy-gurdy into a modern concert instrument, employing microtonality, rhythmic complexity, and electronic processing. Musicologist Piotr Nowotnik identified Clastrier as "the pivotal figure in the 20th-century modernization of the hurdy-gurdy," introducing new articulations and expressive techniques that redefined its possibilities.^[8] His approach draws from contemporary classical music, free jazz, and modal traditions, creating what critics have described as “an orchestra compressed into a single instrument.”^[9]

Teaching and influence

Clastrier has influenced a new generation of hurdy-gurdy players through workshops, masterclasses, and participation in experimental ensembles such as La Nòvia, which emphasizes modal and drone-based traditions.^[1]

Recognitions

In 1982, he received the Grand Prix du Disque of the Académie Charles-Cros for his album La vielle à roue de l’imaginaire.^[10] In 1984, Clastrier was named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture for his contributions to music and instrument innovation.

Selected discography

• La vielle à roue de l’imaginaire (1982) – Grand Prix du Disque, Académie Charles-Cros
• Les Maîtres de la Vielle à Roue (1987)
• Hérésie (1992)
• Le bûcher des silences (1994)
• Les chants du Mandrin(2010) Soundtrack for the movie by Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche
• Valentin Clastrier(2013, Innacor Records)
• Fabuloseries (2016, with Steven Kamperman)

See also

• French jazz
• Dominique Regef