GUY BOVET
Guy Bovet, born May 22, 1942, is appreciated in the musical world as a many-sided, original and cultivated artist, active in many fields. He is constantly on the road, travelling to all parts of the world where organs are played. Before the Covid episode, he kept a busy concert schedule of about 60 recitals and concerts a year : things are probably going to be a little quieter for some time.
His discography of over 50 records and videos includes recordings made mostly on historical instruments of Switzerland, Spain, Latin America and lately also in the Philippines. But there are also many recordings on modern organs all over the world. Several of these recordings have been awarded prizes in various countries.
His activities in preservation of historical instruments are recognized everywhere, as well as his cooperation with organ builders in building modern organs. One of the newest projects is a hybrid organ with specific electronic sounds as well as traditional pipework.
With his wife, Marisa, he has revived the 4-manual house organ of the Alain family (Albert, Jehan, Marie-Claire). The instrument is now restored and installed in one of the former convent buildings of the beautiful Clunysian site of Romainmôtier, Switzerland, where yearly organ academies are held every summer since 1968.
As a composer, he has worked much for theatre and films, but his catalogue of over 250 opus numbers includes all kinds of music, of which several organ works, published by various companies (Oxford, Schola Cantorum, Eulenburg, Schott, etc.)
He has published 18th-century pieces for 2, 3 and 4 organs, from the library of the famous Einsiedeln Abbey (Doblinger), the complete organ works by the Spanish composer José Lidón (1748-1827), and a long-awaited new transcription of the Facultad organica (1626) by Francisco Correa de Arauxo (1584-1654) with translation of the treatise in French, German, English and Japanese (Ut Orpheus, Bologna).
He has been titular organist of the Collegiate Church in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Professor of Organ at the Music Academy in Basle, and has taught in several American and Canadian universities, during 20 years at the University of Salamanca, Spain, and at the Conservatory of Bologna, Italy.
A scholar and investigator, he has published over 1000 articles on various organ-related subjects. He is chief editor of the French Swiss magazine « La Tribune de l’Orgue ».
Guy Bovet is Honorary Citizen of the City of Dallas, Texas, doctor honoris causa of the universities of Neuchâtel and Warsaw, Poland and has been honoured repeatedly by the Japanese and by the Filipino governments for his pedagogical and conservational activities. In 2007, he was awarded the prize of the Institut Neuchâtelois.
A passionate fisherman, he speaks 13 languages.