Alexandre Pierre-François Boëly (19 April 1785 – 27 December 1858) was a French composer, organist, pianist, and violist.

Career

Born in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

into a family of musicians, Boëly received his first music lessons from his father, Jean-François, who was a countertenor at the

Sainte-Chapelle The Sainte-Chapelle (; en, Holy Chapel) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France. ...

in Paris and a composer and harp teacher at the

court of Versailles A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...

. He also studied under the Tyrolian pianist Ignaz Ladurner, who introduced him to the work of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

and

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

, which Boëly would champion in his adult career. Besides mastering the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

and organ, Boëly was also a talented

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

. As the

Romantic movement Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

swept through

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

during the 19th century, Boëly was shunned by the official mainstream of musical life in Paris because of his classical sensibilities and his "elitist" fidelity to writing serious music. Boëly regarded with distaste the music that was written and feted by many of his contemporaries. The most popular standards during the

Napoleonic period The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative ...

were compositions that swelled with patriotism or operatic intensity. Entrenching his reactionary reputation, he used his appointment as organist at

Saint Germain l'Auxerrois The Church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois is a Roman Catholic church in the First Arrondissement of Paris, situated at 2 Place du Louvre, directly across from the Louvre Palace. It was named for Germanus of Auxerre, the Bishop of Auxerre (378-4 ...

in 1840 to promote the works of deceased composers who were then only scantily appreciated by the public. These included

Frescobaldi The Frescobaldi are a prominent Florentine noble family that have been involved in the political, social, and economic history of Tuscany since the Middle Ages. Originating in the Val di Pesa in the Chianti, they appear holding important post ...

Couperin The Couperin family was a musical dynasty of professional composers and performers. They were the most prolific family in French musical history, active during the Baroque era (17th—18th centuries). Louis Couperin and his nephew, François Coup ...

and, most importantly of all, the supposedly impenetrable, unplayable

. Such efforts did not win him popular favour, for he was dismissed from his position in 1851 for the "austerity" of his playing. He died a simple piano teacher, but not without enjoying the respect and confidence of a close circle of friends which included

Marie Bigot Marie Kiéné Bigot de Morogues (3 March 1786 – 16 September 1820) was a French pianist and composer. She is best known for her sonatas and études. Career Marie Kiéné was born in Colmar in Alsace. After marrying M. Bigot, she moved to Vienn ...

, Pierre Baillot, Friedrich Kalkbrenner, and

Johann Baptist Cramer Johann (sometimes John) Baptist Cramer (24 February 1771 – 16 April 1858) was an English pianist, composer and music publisher of German origin. He was the son of Wilhelm Cramer, a famous London violinist and conductor, one of a numerous family ...

. Although Boëly was and remains largely unknown to the public, this does not diminish the part he played in the flourishing development of French music during the 19th century. He left behind an impressive oeuvre which numbers about 300 individual works, especially in the genres of chamber music and instrumental pieces for piano or organ. These include twelve books of practice-pieces of different styles and four books for organ with pedals or piano three hands. In old age, he was sought out by two rising young artists,

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was pa ...

and Camille Saint-Saëns, who revered him as a guardian of a noble and pure classical organ tradition. He died of natural causes at 27 rue Ponthieu in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1858 at the age of 73. After a requiem mass at the church of Saint-Philippe-du-Roule in which his pupil Saint-Saëns played the organ, he was buried at the

Montmartre Cemetery The Cemetery of Montmartre (french: link=no, Cimetière de Montmartre) is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, that dates to the early 19th century. Officially known as the Cimetière du Nord, it is the third largest necropolis ...

Bibliography

* Brigitte François-Sappey: "Alexandre Pierre François Boëly", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', ed. S. Sadie and J. Tyrrell (London: Macmillan, 2001) * Craig Cramer: ''The Published Works of Alexandre Pierre François Boëly'', dissertation for the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music ...

External links

* * Kunst der Fuge
Alexandre-Pierre-François Boëly - List of fugues written
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boely, Alexandre 1785 births 1858 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French male classical pianists 19th-century French composers 19th-century organists Composers for piano French classical composers French classical organists French composers of sacred music French male classical composers French male organists People from Versailles Male classical organists