Joining the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 16, Jehan Alain was born into a family of musicians – you may have heard of his sister, the organist Marie-Claire Alain.
He studied with Bloch, Caussage, Dupré and Dukas, and his music was influenced by Debussy and his contemporary composer Messiaen.
He was a skilled motorcyclist and joined the Eighth Motorised Armour Division of the French Army as a dispatch rider. In June 1940 he encountered German soldiers and was shot whilst trying to shoot back. He was held in high regard – Henri Dutilleux’s Les citations contains a quotation from Alain, and Maurice Duruflé’s Prélude et fugue sur le nom d’A.L.A.I.N uses his name as a musical motif.
Today’s work is his 1938 inspired by a flautist friend – it is scored for soprano, alto, flute (often working in the texture as a third ‘voice’) and string quartet (or organ), and as the title indicates is modal.
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