Founding member of Les Sacqueboutiers, and a soloist for numerous international ensembles, he regularly plays under the direction of Jordi Savall, Jean-Claude Malgoire, Nicolaus Harnoncourt, Rene Clemencic, Andrew Parrott, William Christie and Philippe Herreweghe.

Following his studies at the conservatories of Toulouse, Versailles and Paris, Canihac obtained the Certificat d’Aptitude a l’Enseignement Musical in 1970 and was named professor of the National Conservatory of the Region of Toulouse. He was one of the first French performers to be interested in the study and practice of early instruments.