DISCOGRAPHY
Jean-Guy Boisvert, clarinet
Christiane Laflamme, flUte
Jean Willy-Kunz, piano
ACD22679
2013
DUO
Chamber musicfor wind instruments developped rapidly in the first half of the 20th ventury. Many works were composed in France, particularly in Paris, in Conservatory cirvcles. Between 1921 and 1974, the period covered by this recording, a significant number of works were written for the combinatoin of flute and clarinet a capella, or with piano or even harpsichord. Each of the composers represented here - Charles Koechlin, whom we especially admire, Jean Cartan, Eugène Bozza, Jean Rivier, and Florent Schmitt - developped their own original language, working on the margins of the dominant style of the day, or even going against the current. Some of them enjoyed remarkably long lives and produced imposing catalogue of works. The language of these composers is alternately tonal, modal, or chromatic, but always has the charm and elegance for which French music is justly celebrated, qualities that cannot be appreciated than by actually listening to the works...
Complete list of works and excerpts of each movement on Atma classique
REVIEWS
An album of chamber music that is equal parts pleasure and curiosity […] these duos and trios make up a series of garlands where the woodwinds interwine like ivy running along a fence rail
John Terrauds, Toronto Star, le 2 juillet 2013
l’union est parfaite comme le propos musical [… ] que de petites douceurs qui se dégustent lentement et mieux encore, le sentiment de découvertes.
Christophe Rodriguez, Journal de Montréal, le 27 juillet 2013 ★★★★
The recording is artfully captured in a warm, close acoustic recorded at the Domaine Forget
Daniel Foley, The Wholenote, le 30 août 2013
lovingly played [... ] this is a treat for wind fanciers, Francophiles, and just anyone else with a taste for honed, small-scale chamber music with a french acent.
Lee Passarella, Audiophile Audition, le 15 octobre 2013
Le livre des mélancolies
Three recent works for clarinet and string quartet, three different approaches to the chamber music, three fascinating interpretive challenges.
Excerpts
…river to the ocean… by Piotr Grella-Mozejko
"Since the commission was by such a master of his nstrument, this piece will always forever remain close to my heart. When I work closely with a performer, I always want to capture his personality int he music I write. With Jean-Guy, I decided to focus on his incredible ability to evoque deeply lyrical soundscapes. More than a mere virtuoso, he is a poet of his instrument. Therefore I envisioned a piece stressing Jean-Guy's poetic and technical talents ...river to the ocean ... ... is a highly ornemental narrative for the always-present clarinet and the very subtle quartet accompaniment."
Le livre des mélancolies by Jean Lesage
"Each of the four basic Hippocratic temperaments - the phlegmatic, choleric, melancholic and sanguine - was linked to astrology. Melancholy was associated with Saturn, popularly believed to bring misfortune regarded by popular opinion as a planet of evil, whose influence was tied to earth and had a paralysing effect (...) Following some psychiatric theories, melancholy must be seen, in its essence, as a modification in the structure of the temporal objectivity. How can it be defined in music?"
Slow Dances (1999) by Tim Brady
"Slow Dances - 1999 was comissioned by Jean-Guy Boisvert and the Quatuor Bozzini. The combination of clarinet and strings suggests a music of slow and subtle textures, of distant melodies and harmonies, of memories of dances and dances of memory."
Reviews
Du miel pour l’oreille [….] le clarinettiste Jean-Guy Boisvert atteint une qualité qui frise la poésie.
Réjean Beaucage - Magazine Voir, le 22 mai 2008
Throughout the album, Boisvert exhibits a stunning technique and command of his instrument.
Mike D. Brownell - All Music Guide
…lithe and supple compositions which have been flawlessly executed by the performers. Each of these three pieces is performed with great care, color, and musicality.
… River to the Ocean… is a haunting and colorful journey.
Quatuor Bozzini makes easy work of the constantly shifting timbral demands in each piece and Jean-Guy Boivert matches the ensemble at every single point along the way.
Jay Batner - Sequenza 21, le 31 juillet 2008
Jean-Guy Boisvert, clarinet
Louise-Andrée Baril, piano
Société Nouvelle d'Enregistrement
2003
Amours
The five pieces that Stockhausen regrouped and called Amour are musical gifts, which were composed or dedicated to family members and friends. They all bear titles that relate directly to the emotional or descriptive character of the music. Suzanne Stephens premiered Amour on January 9, 1978 in the Mozartsaal of the Stuggart Liederhalle. ."
Christos Hatzis present his piece this way: the idea of Melisma came to me when I heard an old recording of a famous taksim, a slow non-rythmic improvisatory piece in Greek folk music - by Tassos Chalkia. Similar to the klezmer style of clarinet playing, this tradition hardly ever allows the sound to stay in pitch for any length of time, demanding instead nearly continuous pitch shifts and timbre modulation on most of the notes of the melody. Another characteristic of the Greek folk clarinet sound is the rather pronounced nasal quality of the chalumeau register where dramatic transitions from soft, dark timbres to piercing, forte ones are routine. Melisma was commissioned in 1995 and is dedicated to Jean-Guy Boisvert, with the financial assistance of the Ontario Arts Council.
Clarinet-Terre by Denis Gougeon and Nocturne Jacques Hetu were both written for the International Stepping Stone of the Canadian Music Competition in 1990 and 1977. They are both contest pieces that skillfully combine virtuosity and expression. While Nocturne is more traditional in its virtuoso writing, Clarinette-Terre also explores modern techniques like glissandi, timber trills and extreme dynamics ans registers.
« Ektenes III for clarinet and tape was written for Jean-Guy Boisvert and dedicated to him. The tape part was realized at the Shelan Studio, Montreal. All the pre-recorded sounds were performed by the dedicatee. Ektenes III is an invocation of the man alone, surrounded by a myriad of events of the cosmos ... a contemporary aulos or imbubu player whose litany is answered via electronic and digital events/sounds. »
"Traces is scored for clarinet and interactive electronics. In performance, the clarinet is hooked to a MIDI interface that litterally translate sounds in digital information to be recognized by a computer program called Max. Traces' digital patches create a fascinating tapestry of electronic sounds tailored to the playing of the soloist. It is a dialogue between man and machine. Commissioned through Canada Council for the Arts, the work was premiered at Place des Arts in Montreal on September 25, 1995 for the International Society of Electronic Arts (ISEA) Conference "
REVIEWS
On se souvient de l’avoir vu il y a 10 ans à la SMCQ interprétant avec brio Harlequin de Stockhausen, et on le retrouve ici avec plaisir interprétant les cinq pièces du cycle Amour (1976), du même compositeur. L’instrumentiste adopte une tout autre façon de jouer, très nasale, pour Melisma (1995) de Christos Hatzis, une œuvre qui s’inspire librement du folklore grec, et encore une autre pour Clarinette-Terre (1990) de Denis Gougeon, où la pianiste vient soutenir ses envolées, comme elle le fait aussi dans Nocturne (1977) de Jacques Hétu.
Réjean Beaucage - La Scéna Musicale, août 2007 ★★★★
Boisvert nous entraîne dans un univers en mouvance, aux couleurs aériennes… À la première écoute, «Amours» semble étrange, du moins pour une oreille peu exercée aux recherches contemporaines. On demeure saisi. Incertain de ce que l’on entend. Incertain, mais fasciné.
David Lonergan - L’Acadie nouvelle, 10 novembre 2007
Bravo ! L’enregistrement de Clarinette-Terre est très beau, très sensible. Une très belle sonorité de clarinette et piano.
Denis Gougeon, compositeur, Montréal
ektenes III would probably evoke certain works of Max Ernst - its texture is complex, dense, intriguing, the three components: prerecorded sounds, signal processing and clarinet melt into one fascinating new being, whose suffering is made clearer by suffocated screams from the player.
Piotr Grella-Mozejko - Contact
Jean-Guy Boisvert, clarinet
Louise-Andrée Baril, piano
Société Nouvelle d'Enregistrement
1997
Zodiac
The twelve melodies of Zodiac which occur in the composition Musik im Bauch (Music in the belly) where they are played by musical boxes have been published in a special score entitled Tierkreis, They can be performed by any compination of instruments. Deceivingly simple in appearance, they represent a major aesthetic change in the career of Stockhausen. They have become one of the most popular works of the composer
In his three Nocturnes for clarinet and piano, Boucourechliev treats both instruments as if one was the extension of the other. He notes in the score "piano-clarinet = same instrument." This work reveals new aspects of the personality of the composer, a delicate sensibility, in contrast to the violence of his usual production.
Sapphire Song by Donald Steven is a contemplative piece, somewhat in the character of the traditional sakuhachi folk-art music of Japan. It is for the most part completely written out, but it contains several passages of varying length in which the performer improvises on previous material, with certain restrictions. Several contemporary techniques, vibrato, timbre trill, glissando, harmonics, double stops, breathing sound and fluttertongue recall the technique for playing the sakuhachi.
PRAESCIO IV was premiered at the 1990 Clarinet Fest International in Quebec city. The work is the fourth in a series of pieces which integrate the live performer with computer controlled MIDI synthesis equipment. The sounds of the clarinet are "heard" by a computer that reacts to the performer, creating a fascinating dialogue between man and machine. A very energetic work and one of the most compelling interactive composition even by today's standards.
Reviews
…a refreshingly calm and sothing approach to new music. His playing expresses ease and well-being.
Jean-Guy Boisvert’s recording adds an important collection of new music for the clarinet to our repertoire.
Michèle Gingras -The Clarinet Magazine, mai 1995
His technique is unflawed : great legato sound and sure intonation even in the highest registers.
New Music Review, Paris
Tierkreis is recorded in an exemplary fashion.
Suzanne Stephens, Licht Ensemble, Cologne
Le disque Zodiaque propose une brillante interprétation de mes Nocturnes.
André Boucourechliev, Paris
Zodiaque is magnificent. The interpretation of Sapphire Song is exactly as I imagined.
Donald Steven, compositeur, New York
Jean-Guy Boisvert, clarinet
March 2021
LA BELLE AVENTURE I
La belle aventure originated in the necessity – and the dream – of filling an obvious gap in the Canadian repertoire for young clarinetists. In the end, it provides a vast panorama of contemporary creations embodied in some hundred short works, often miniatures. They are, most notably, works of high quality that are either fun or serious, and intended to be played by students in their first to sixth year of study on the clarinet. They were all composed between 2014 and 2018.
This CD present the first 29 pieces, all for unaccompanied clarinet
-
1 à 6, Simon Bertrand : Études
-
7 à 11, Robert Lemay : Train miniature
-
12 à 17, Bruce Mather : Moments musicaux
-
18 et 19, Hope Lee : The snakes
-
20 à 22, Éric Champagne : Suite
-
23 à 28, Michalis Andronikou : The Dreams of Nature
-
29, Jean Lesage : Chant du souvenir et de l’oubli
La belle aventure originated in the necessity – and the dream – of filling an obvious gap in the Canadian repertoire for young clarinetists. In the end, it provides a vast panorama of contemporary creations embodied in a little more than one hundred and fifty short works, often miniatures. They are, most notably, works of high quality that are either fun or serious, and intended to be played by students in their first to sixth year of study on the clarinet and beyond. They were all composed between 2014 and 2021.
The first CD presents 29 pieces, all for unaccompanied clarinet
Posted online march 28 2021
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1 - 6, Simon Bertrand : 6 Études pour clarinette seule
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7 - 11, Robert Lemay : Train miniature
-
12 - 17, Bruce Mather : 6 moments musicaux
-
18 - 19, Hope Lee : The snakes
-
20 - 22, Éric Champagne : Suite
-
23 - 28, Michalis Andronikou : The Dreams of Nature
-
29, Jean Lesage : Chant du souvenir et de l’oubli
CRITIQUES
Gregory Barret in The Clarinet says about the music published by Doberman Yppan (La belle aventure vol. 1, 2, 3 :
Attention to detail is the strength of these works.
Composers demand observance of nuanced dynamics, tempo changes, subdivision, phrasing, myriad articulations and a panoply of general style considerations. The engaged student will be rewarded
The works in volume 3 are slightly longer and would challenge my university students.
Jean-Guy Boisvert, clarinette
2018
LA BELLE AVENTURE II
La belle aventure originated in the necessity – and the dream – of filling an obvious gap in the Canadian repertoire for young clarinetists. In the end, it provides a vast panorama of contemporary creations embodied in some hundred short works, often miniatures. They are, most notably, works of high quality that are either fun or serious, and intended to be played by students in their first to sixth year of study on the clarinet. They were all composed between 2014 and 2018.
This CD present the first 29 pieces, all for unaccompanied clarinet
-
1 à 6, Simon Bertrand : Études
-
7 à 11, Robert Lemay : Train miniature
-
12 à 17, Bruce Mather : Moments musicaux
-
18 et 19, Hope Lee : The snakes
-
20 à 22, Éric Champagne : Suite
-
23 à 28, Michalis Andronikou : The Dreams of Nature
-
29, Jean Lesage : Chant du souvenir et de l’oubli
This second CD proposes four progressive suites for clarinet and piano. The luminous Visages de la paix op 52 by François-Hugues Leclair, in line with post-impressionist French aesthetics give occasionally a prominent and virtuosic place to the piano (no 4, Comme un pur rayonnement, à la vitesse de la lumière) or present "earworm" melodies to listen to or play in a loop (no 3, Doux et imperturbable)). Richard Gibson's darker Winter Scenes explore in free lyrical atonal language different aspects of Canadian Winter ((Le chant du loup artique, L'aurore boréale, La patinoire, a little jazz waltz) and Alain Perron's 6 Hexagones, the universe of the wholetone scale, sometimes called the oriental scale (no 3, Pavillon asiatique). Nicolas Gilbert's 7 pieces alternate atonal poetic minimalism (no 2, Chant intérieur) with wonderful expressive challenges (no 5, La ligne des eaux) or technical and coordination tour de force (no 7, Manège ancien)
Posted online August 2021
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1 - 6, François-Hugues Leclair : Visages de la paix op 52
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7 - 12, Richard Gibson : Winter scenes
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13 - 18, Alain Perron : 6 Hexagones
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19 - 25, Nicolas Gilbert : 7 pièces pour clarinette et piano
CRITIQUES
Le compositeur Richard Gibson
J'ai eu la chance de tout écouter-sans distractions, et c'est diificile de trouver des mots pour exprimer adéquatement mon niveau de plaisir par rapport à la grande sensibilité et musicalité que vous avez apporté tous les deux à mes pièces. C'est plutôt rare d'entendre un tel niveau de perfection!
Oui, Philippe est extraordinaire..une touche 'Ravelesque'/cristalline ..quelle précision!
Je trouve que le clarinettiste est également merveilieux..wow!
Jean-Guy Boisvert, clarinet
Christiane Laflamme, flUte
Jean Willy-Kunz, piano
ACD22679
2013
DUO
Chamber musicfor wind instruments developped rapidly in the first half of the 20th ventury. Many works were composed in France, particularly in Paris, in Conservatory cirvcles. Between 1921 and 1974, the period covered by this recording, a significant number of works were written for the combinatoin of flute and clarinet a capella, or with piano or even harpsichord. Each of the composers represented here - Charles Koechlin, whom we especially admire, Jean Cartan, Eugène Bozza, Jean Rivier, and Florent Schmitt - developped their own original language, working on the margins of the dominant style of the day, or even going against the current. Some of them enjoyed remarkably long lives and produced imposing catalogue of works. The language of these composers is alternately tonal, modal, or chromatic, but always has the charm and elegance for which French music is justly celebrated, qualities that cannot be appreciated than by actually listening to the works...
Complete list of works and excerpts of each movement on Atma classique
REVIEWS
An album of chamber music that is equal parts pleasure and curiosity […] these duos and trios make up a series of garlands where the woodwinds interwine like ivy running along a fence rail
John Terrauds, Toronto Star, le 2 juillet 2013
l’union est parfaite comme le propos musical [… ] que de petites douceurs qui se dégustent lentement et mieux encore, le sentiment de découvertes.
Christophe Rodriguez, Journal de Montréal, le 27 juillet 2013 ★★★★
The recording is artfully captured in a warm, close acoustic recorded at the Domaine Forget
Daniel Foley, The Wholenote, le 30 août 2013
lovingly played [... ] this is a treat for wind fanciers, Francophiles, and just anyone else with a taste for honed, small-scale chamber music with a french acent.
Lee Passarella, Audiophile Audition, le 15 octobre 2013
Le livre des mélancolies
Three recent works for clarinet and string quartet, three different approaches to the chamber music, three fascinating interpretive challenges.
Excerpts
…river to the ocean… by Piotr Grella-Mozejko
"Since the commission was by such a master of his nstrument, this piece will always forever remain close to my heart. When I work closely with a performer, I always want to capture his personality int he music I write. With Jean-Guy, I decided to focus on his incredible ability to evoque deeply lyrical soundscapes. More than a mere virtuoso, he is a poet of his instrument. Therefore I envisioned a piece stressing Jean-Guy's poetic and technical talents ...river to the ocean ... ... is a highly ornemental narrative for the always-present clarinet and the very subtle quartet accompaniment."
Le livre des mélancolies by Jean Lesage
"Each of the four basic Hippocratic temperaments - the phlegmatic, choleric, melancholic and sanguine - was linked to astrology. Melancholy was associated with Saturn, popularly believed to bring misfortune regarded by popular opinion as a planet of evil, whose influence was tied to earth and had a paralysing effect (...) Following some psychiatric theories, melancholy must be seen, in its essence, as a modification in the structure of the temporal objectivity. How can it be defined in music?"
Slow Dances (1999) by Tim Brady
"Slow Dances - 1999 was comissioned by Jean-Guy Boisvert and the Quatuor Bozzini. The combination of clarinet and strings suggests a music of slow and subtle textures, of distant melodies and harmonies, of memories of dances and dances of memory."
Reviews
Du miel pour l’oreille [….] le clarinettiste Jean-Guy Boisvert atteint une qualité qui frise la poésie.
Réjean Beaucage - Magazine Voir, le 22 mai 2008
Throughout the album, Boisvert exhibits a stunning technique and command of his instrument.
Mike D. Brownell - All Music Guide
…lithe and supple compositions which have been flawlessly executed by the performers. Each of these three pieces is performed with great care, color, and musicality.
… River to the Ocean… is a haunting and colorful journey.
Quatuor Bozzini makes easy work of the constantly shifting timbral demands in each piece and Jean-Guy Boivert matches the ensemble at every single point along the way.
Jay Batner - Sequenza 21, le 31 juillet 2008
Jean-Guy Boisvert, clarinet
Louise-Andrée Baril, piano
Société Nouvelle d'Enregistrement
2003
Amours
The five pieces that Stockhausen regrouped and called Amour are musical gifts, which were composed or dedicated to family members and friends. They all bear titles that relate directly to the emotional or descriptive character of the music. Suzanne Stephens premiered Amour on January 9, 1978 in the Mozartsaal of the Stuggart Liederhalle. ."
Christos Hatzis present his piece this way: the idea of Melisma came to me when I heard an old recording of a famous taksim, a slow non-rythmic improvisatory piece in Greek folk music - by Tassos Chalkia. Similar to the klezmer style of clarinet playing, this tradition hardly ever allows the sound to stay in pitch for any length of time, demanding instead nearly continuous pitch shifts and timbre modulation on most of the notes of the melody. Another characteristic of the Greek folk clarinet sound is the rather pronounced nasal quality of the chalumeau register where dramatic transitions from soft, dark timbres to piercing, forte ones are routine. Melisma was commissioned in 1995 and is dedicated to Jean-Guy Boisvert, with the financial assistance of the Ontario Arts Council.
Clarinet-Terre by Denis Gougeon and Nocturne Jacques Hetu were both written for the International Stepping Stone of the Canadian Music Competition in 1990 and 1977. They are both contest pieces that skillfully combine virtuosity and expression. While Nocturne is more traditional in its virtuoso writing, Clarinette-Terre also explores modern techniques like glissandi, timber trills and extreme dynamics ans registers.
« Ektenes III for clarinet and tape was written for Jean-Guy Boisvert and dedicated to him. The tape part was realized at the Shelan Studio, Montreal. All the pre-recorded sounds were performed by the dedicatee. Ektenes III is an invocation of the man alone, surrounded by a myriad of events of the cosmos ... a contemporary aulos or imbubu player whose litany is answered via electronic and digital events/sounds. »
"Traces is scored for clarinet and interactive electronics. In performance, the clarinet is hooked to a MIDI interface that litterally translate sounds in digital information to be recognized by a computer program called Max. Traces' digital patches create a fascinating tapestry of electronic sounds tailored to the playing of the soloist. It is a dialogue between man and machine. Commissioned through Canada Council for the Arts, the work was premiered at Place des Arts in Montreal on September 25, 1995 for the International Society of Electronic Arts (ISEA) Conference "
REVIEWS
On se souvient de l’avoir vu il y a 10 ans à la SMCQ interprétant avec brio Harlequin de Stockhausen, et on le retrouve ici avec plaisir interprétant les cinq pièces du cycle Amour (1976), du même compositeur. L’instrumentiste adopte une tout autre façon de jouer, très nasale, pour Melisma (1995) de Christos Hatzis, une œuvre qui s’inspire librement du folklore grec, et encore une autre pour Clarinette-Terre (1990) de Denis Gougeon, où la pianiste vient soutenir ses envolées, comme elle le fait aussi dans Nocturne (1977) de Jacques Hétu.
Réjean Beaucage - La Scéna Musicale, août 2007 ★★★★
Boisvert nous entraîne dans un univers en mouvance, aux couleurs aériennes… À la première écoute, «Amours» semble étrange, du moins pour une oreille peu exercée aux recherches contemporaines. On demeure saisi. Incertain de ce que l’on entend. Incertain, mais fasciné.
David Lonergan - L’Acadie nouvelle, 10 novembre 2007
Bravo ! L’enregistrement de Clarinette-Terre est très beau, très sensible. Une très belle sonorité de clarinette et piano.
Denis Gougeon, compositeur, Montréal
ektenes III would probably evoke certain works of Max Ernst - its texture is complex, dense, intriguing, the three components: prerecorded sounds, signal processing and clarinet melt into one fascinating new being, whose suffering is made clearer by suffocated screams from the player.
Piotr Grella-Mozejko - Contact
Jean-Guy Boisvert, clarinet
Louise-Andrée Baril, piano
Société Nouvelle d'Enregistrement
1997
Zodiac
The twelve melodies of Zodiac which occur in the composition Musik im Bauch (Music in the belly) where they are played by musical boxes have been published in a special score entitled Tierkreis, They can be performed by any compination of instruments. Deceivingly simple in appearance, they represent a major aesthetic change in the career of Stockhausen. They have become one of the most popular works of the composer
In his three Nocturnes for clarinet and piano, Boucourechliev treats both instruments as if one was the extension of the other. He notes in the score "piano-clarinet = same instrument." This work reveals new aspects of the personality of the composer, a delicate sensibility, in contrast to the violence of his usual production.
Sapphire Song by Donald Steven is a contemplative piece, somewhat in the character of the traditional sakuhachi folk-art music of Japan. It is for the most part completely written out, but it contains several passages of varying length in which the performer improvises on previous material, with certain restrictions. Several contemporary techniques, vibrato, timbre trill, glissando, harmonics, double stops, breathing sound and fluttertongue recall the technique for playing the sakuhachi.
PRAESCIO IV was premiered at the 1990 Clarinet Fest International in Quebec city. The work is the fourth in a series of pieces which integrate the live performer with computer controlled MIDI synthesis equipment. The sounds of the clarinet are "heard" by a computer that reacts to the performer, creating a fascinating dialogue between man and machine. A very energetic work and one of the most compelling interactive composition even by today's standards.
Reviews
…a refreshingly calm and sothing approach to new music. His playing expresses ease and well-being.
Jean-Guy Boisvert’s recording adds an important collection of new music for the clarinet to our repertoire.
Michèle Gingras -The Clarinet Magazine, mai 1995
His technique is unflawed : great legato sound and sure intonation even in the highest registers.
New Music Review, Paris
Tierkreis is recorded in an exemplary fashion.
Suzanne Stephens, Licht Ensemble, Cologne
Le disque Zodiaque propose une brillante interprétation de mes Nocturnes.
André Boucourechliev, Paris
Zodiaque is magnificent. The interpretation of Sapphire Song is exactly as I imagined.
Donald Steven, compositeur, New York
