Camille Saint-Saëns, a famous French composer and organist, praised Boëly as the 'French Bach' for his devotion to the style of old masters and his masterful fugues.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Boëly's pianistic style was rooted in reverence for the past, focusing on old forms and traditional musical virtues rather than the new possibilities explored by contemporaries like Chopin and Liszt.
Recording & Production
This recording was made in the Maison Érard in Amsterdam using an 1853 Érard piano, chosen for its suitability for Boëly's music.
Composer Biography
Alexandre Pierre François Boëly (1785-1858) was highly regarded as a piano teacher, with his colleague Pierre Baillot, a major French violin teacher, calling him 'one of the best in Paris'.
Performer Biography
Stephanie McCallum, the pianist on this recording, is known for her performances of virtuosic 19th-century music, particularly by Liszt and Alkan, and has recorded both of Alkan's sets of studies.
Composer Biography
Boëly served as an organist in Paris at Saint Gervais and later at the historic church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, where he introduced Bach's complex style.
Compositional Technique
Boëly's Op. 16 Suites, like Suite IV in F minor featured on this album, are notable for their contrapuntal writing, including a 'rather long fugue in F minor with two subjects'.
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