The World At His Fingertips
Who is Guy Bovet? Teacher
Jeannine: You have influenced students the world over with your inspirational teaching in festivals, universities, and academies. You were honored twice by the Japanese government for your activities as a teacher and most recently by the government of the Philippines for the education of young Filipino organists. What is your greatest joy as a teacher?
Guy Bovet: First, to share some of the great music I love with other artists, young or old. Also, to try to inspire the people I teach: knowing about music, styles and repertoire is certainly necessary, but the ability to tell a story, the freedom one enjoys and the liberty to make use of it to give joy and enthusiasm to musicians and to the public are qualities even more important than science. A musician must think and feel, and the feelings must go on to the listeners. My greatest joy perhaps is to see how a student “inhabits” a piece of music and makes it her/his own.
Scholar
Jeannine: Several years ago you published a new edition
of Francisco Correa de Arauxo’s Facultad organica of 1626, (Ut Orpheus, Bologna, 2007) which includes translation and explanation of the treatise in French, German, English and Japanese. Would you speak to the importance of this treatise for the organ world?
Guy Bovet: Correa’s treatise is especially wonderful, because it has been written by a practical musician for other practical musicians. Even though it is sometimes difficult to understand (partly also because Correa himself made some mistakes when writing it because he wasn’t really a theoretician), it expresses so much love for music that one can only be carried along and animated by this love. And, needless to say, his music is so beautiful and powerful that one can only be amazed by so much invention and so much genius.
Historian
Jeannine: As a historian you are known world-wide for the preservation of historical organs from the organ of the Alain family to those in Mexico and the Philipppines. What do you feel is your most important contribution in this field?
Guy Bovet: The Alain organ would probably not exist any more without the action we took to rescue it. So, the organ world has an unique instrument, so important for those who want to understand Jehan Alain’s music. But the work on the Hispanic historical organs has been important as well, not only because of the preservation of beautiful musical instrument, but also because it helped recuperating a fantastic repertoire, which now becomes slowly better-known and better played.
Performer
Jeannine: You are constantly on the road traveling sharing organ music with audiences to the far reaches of the world – as you say “wherever organs are played.” What drives you to continue this grueling 60+concert/year schedule?
Guy Bovet: We must defend our instrument and try to make it attractive to the public. Otherwise it will disappear. A concert is still, more than any recording, the moment where you have a chance to share and to show what an amazing instrument we have the luck to play. Also, now that I have friends all over the world, the concert tours are an occasion to see them !
Composer
Jeannine: Your music runs the gamut from music for theatre and films to the recent Don Quijote Suite for Organ, 4 hands. What is the piece you share most often with your audiences and students?
Guy Bovet: These times, it is the Don Quijote suite (also in the 2-hands version) which I play most often. But ertainly, the most played of all my pieces is “Salamanca”! I haven’t been able to do any better than that…!
Jeannine: Thank you to my teacher, mentor, and friend for taking the time to share your thoughts with all of us.
Please visit Guy's website to read the details of his work in many music arenas literally around the globe: http://www.guybovet.org/main_en.html
Who is Guy Bovet? Teacher
Jeannine: You have influenced students the world over with your inspirational teaching in festivals, universities, and academies. You were honored twice by the Japanese government for your activities as a teacher and most recently by the government of the Philippines for the education of young Filipino organists. What is your greatest joy as a teacher?
Guy Bovet: First, to share some of the great music I love with other artists, young or old. Also, to try to inspire the people I teach: knowing about music, styles and repertoire is certainly necessary, but the ability to tell a story, the freedom one enjoys and the liberty to make use of it to give joy and enthusiasm to musicians and to the public are qualities even more important than science. A musician must think and feel, and the feelings must go on to the listeners. My greatest joy perhaps is to see how a student “inhabits” a piece of music and makes it her/his own.
Scholar
Jeannine: Several years ago you published a new edition
of Francisco Correa de Arauxo’s Facultad organica of 1626, (Ut Orpheus, Bologna, 2007) which includes translation and explanation of the treatise in French, German, English and Japanese. Would you speak to the importance of this treatise for the organ world?
Guy Bovet: Correa’s treatise is especially wonderful, because it has been written by a practical musician for other practical musicians. Even though it is sometimes difficult to understand (partly also because Correa himself made some mistakes when writing it because he wasn’t really a theoretician), it expresses so much love for music that one can only be carried along and animated by this love. And, needless to say, his music is so beautiful and powerful that one can only be amazed by so much invention and so much genius.
Historian
Jeannine: As a historian you are known world-wide for the preservation of historical organs from the organ of the Alain family to those in Mexico and the Philipppines. What do you feel is your most important contribution in this field?
Guy Bovet: The Alain organ would probably not exist any more without the action we took to rescue it. So, the organ world has an unique instrument, so important for those who want to understand Jehan Alain’s music. But the work on the Hispanic historical organs has been important as well, not only because of the preservation of beautiful musical instrument, but also because it helped recuperating a fantastic repertoire, which now becomes slowly better-known and better played.
Performer
Jeannine: You are constantly on the road traveling sharing organ music with audiences to the far reaches of the world – as you say “wherever organs are played.” What drives you to continue this grueling 60+concert/year schedule?
Guy Bovet: We must defend our instrument and try to make it attractive to the public. Otherwise it will disappear. A concert is still, more than any recording, the moment where you have a chance to share and to show what an amazing instrument we have the luck to play. Also, now that I have friends all over the world, the concert tours are an occasion to see them !
Composer
Jeannine: Your music runs the gamut from music for theatre and films to the recent Don Quijote Suite for Organ, 4 hands. What is the piece you share most often with your audiences and students?
Guy Bovet: These times, it is the Don Quijote suite (also in the 2-hands version) which I play most often. But ertainly, the most played of all my pieces is “Salamanca”! I haven’t been able to do any better than that…!
Jeannine: Thank you to my teacher, mentor, and friend for taking the time to share your thoughts with all of us.
Please visit Guy's website to read the details of his work in many music arenas literally around the globe: http://www.guybovet.org/main_en.html