Jean-Baptiste ROBIN

☀️ A little taste of summer…

The weather has been absolutely beautiful and so warm across France over the past few days! It’s the perfect time to look up at the sky and (re)discover a luminous, celestial piece of music. ✨

Dive into the universe of this piece composed in 2020—a true choreography between Man and Time. ⏳🌌

The musical journey unfolds through two distinct ideas:

Time and the stars: an immutable, brief rhythmic ticking in the strings' pizzicato.

Man: a deep melody starting in the low register of the cellos, gradually rising to the violins like a prayer sent up to the heavens.

At first contrasting, these two themes overlap and intertwine, as if the stars and humanity were trying to touch and unite. Then, the oboe enters, taking up the prayer in a burst of pure joy! 🎶

Following an intense rhythmic section where time spreads to the entire orchestra, the piece moves through a powerful passacaglia, building up to a dramatic climax. At this peak, man is left alone, desperately gazing up at the star at its zenith... before the piece ends lightly with one last tick of time, vanishing almost instantly forever. 🌟

Commissioned by: Orchestre des Pays de Savoie & Fondation FACIM 🏔️
World Premiere: July 12, 2020, at the Festival des Arts Jaillissants, performed by the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie (cond. .chalvin ).

Publisher: (full score and parts available for hire)

FrenchMusic FestivalDesArtsJaillissants OrchestreDesPaysDeSavoie InstaMusic

On this Pentecost Monday, I am very happy to share the 3rd movement of my Veni Creator Spiritus, performed in Dudelange.

The Veni Creator Spiritus, attributed to Rabanus Maurus in the 9th century, is one of the most famous Gregorian hymns. Closely associated with Pentecost, this ancient Roman Catholic prayer also evokes the creation of the universe through the opening verses of the Bible. Pentecost is not only the birth of the Church, but also a celebration of creation itself.

This third movement, The Dancing Time, is inspired by the fifth verse of the hymn, where evil is driven away by the Divine Spirit. That struggle is reflected in the music through an energetic and rhythmic character, built from a motif taken from the Gregorian chant: “That we may walk under Your guidance.”

Score available at

Here is my orchestral transcription of Ravel’s Toccata, made when I was 24 years old.

My organ version, published by , greatly benefited from this orchestration work, which I believe is essential for anyone seriously attempting a keyboard adaptation.