Biography
Jean-Claude Petit is a French composer, arranger and conductor. Born on 14 November 1943 in Vaires-sur-Marne, he studied harmony and counterpoint at the Conservatoire de Paris after accompanying jazz musicians in his youth. He worked as an arranger for French pop and jazz recordings in the 1960s and 1970s, including string arrangements for Mink DeVille's Le Chat Bleu, before receiving film scoring credits from the late 1970s.
He is known for his scores for Jean de Florette (1986), Manon of the Spring (1986), The Return of the Musketeers (1989), Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), The Horseman on the Roof (1995) and Les Misérables (2000). Petit also contributed to the disco group Santa Esmeralda as keyboardist, arranger and composer. His score for Cyrano de Bergerac won the César Award for Best Original Music and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.
