Fernand Caratge composer / arranger

Fernand Caratgé (1902–1991) was born in Béziers. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Philippe Gaubert at the same time as Robert Hériché and Lucien Lavaillotte and obtained his Premier Prix in 1924, playing Incantation et Danse by Marc Delmas. A review from the 1920s said he had '…a charming and distinguished sound, great virtuosity and sense of the music'. After a period of freelance playing, during which he travelled widely, he was for a time first flute in an orchestra in Bucharest before returning to France as first flute in the Lamoureux Orchestra (from 1935 to 1962). He was also a member of the orchestra of the Opéra Comique from 1951 to 1968. In 1942 he succeeded René Le Roy in the Ars Rediviva Ensemble, directed by the harpsichordist Claude Crussard. Following a tragic airplane accident in 1947 in which the other members of the ensemble lost their lives, Caratgé formed a new ensemble, of which he became director. Caratgé was for many years an admirer of the flutes of the great Paris flute maker Louis Lot and in 1951 became the man who tested all the instruments made by Marigaux, the firm that purchased the Louis Lot name. Fernand Caratgé's recording career began in the 78 RPM era. His output was modest but included some important recordings. Caratgé was assistant to Gaston Crunelle at the Paris Conservatoire from 1951 to 1969, where his students included Pierre Yves Artaud, William Bennett, Roger Bourdin, Adrian Brett, Peter Lloyd, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Günther Rumpel. Many young flute players consulted Caratgé on performances of Bach, which was a particular specialty of his. He was a committed teacher who produced editions of music for the Paris publisher Alphonse Leduc, including an important revision of the flute method of Henry Altès, published in 1956. Caratgé taught the flute at the École Normale de Musique de Paris to an advanced age where he inspired his students with his extraordinary knowledge of the repertoire. Fernand Caratgé died in the Paris suburb of Villejuif in 1991.