Now a unique French exemplar of what in the U.S. might be called classical/world music crossover, Hugues de Courson has consistently sought to broaden the scope of his musical abilities and activities over the course of his distinguished five-decade career. He spent his early childhood in Spain. While still in school, de Courson was writing songs with classmate Patrick Modiano, and some of them were later recorded by the durable French pop-rock vocalist Fran?oise Hardy.

In 1973 de Courson and Gabriel Yacoub formed the group Malicorne, a folk-oriented act influenced by Steeleye Span and by the contemporaneous revival in the folk music of the ethnically Celtic French region of Brittany. Later de Courson formed his own label, Ballon Noir (Black Balloon), issuing discs by Dan Ar Bras, Kolinda, and others. In the 1980s he expanded his own composition endeavors, writing music primarily for modern dance presentations.

The winner of a French Foreign Ministry stipend in 1992, de Courson undertook a three-year journey around the Mediterranean basin, immersing himself in the traditional music of various countries and creating new compositions. One of these was an oratorio, Yam, for an ensemble of 150 mixed Arabic and classical musicians; the work was performed in Nazareth and Jerusalem. His Nouba Beshtake?a was presented by the Cairo Opera.