Gouvy: Songs

Featuring

MeeAe Cecilia Nam
Joel Schoenhals
John Elwes
Louis Théodore Gouvy

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Composer's Artistic Vision

The main characteristic of Théodore Gouvy's art is the union of French and German national elements, integrating the principal characteristics of each.

Composer Biography

Théodore Gouvy failed his bar exams twice in Paris, leading his mother to support his musical ambitions, but he was refused admission to the Paris Conservatoire by Luigi Cherubini, its director, who considered him German.

Album & Artwork

Toccata Classics was founded to release recordings of music from the Renaissance to the present day that have been previously ignored by microphones.

Composition History

Théodore Gouvy set 40 poems by the Renaissance poet Pierre de Ronsard to music, believing he had "discovered" Ronsard, who had been neglected for 300 years.

Recording & Production

Fifteen of the 26 songs on this album are first recordings, and it is the first time any of these songs have been recorded at the composer's intended pitch.

Composer Biography

Théodore Gouvy, the composer, was born in a region of Lorraine where the border moved, making his brothers French but him technically German.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Théodore Gouvy, despite his instrumental compositions, felt a strong attraction to the voice, considering it the dominant element in any musical texture.