A Chat with Benjamin Alard

A Chat with Benjamin Alard Born in Rouen in 1985 to a Cauchois farming family, Benjamin Alard began studying piano at the age of seven. He later took up the organ at the Dieppe and Rouen Conservatories, and harpsichord with Elisabeth Joyé at the Paris Conservatory. His passion for early music led him to the Schola Cantorum in Basel for further studies under Jean- Claude Zehnder (organ) and Andrea Marcon (harpsichord). Benjamin Alard won first prize at the 2004 Bruges International Harpsichord Competition and the 2007 Gottfried Silbermann Organ Competition in Freiberg. In 2007 he was named a Juventus laureate. As recitalist on both harpsichord and organ, Benjamin Alard has performed in festivals and venues around the world. A member of the baroque orchestra La Petite Bande since 2005, he also performs chamber music with violinist François Fernandez, with the brothers Barthold, Sigiswald, and Wileand Kuijekn, and in a harpsichord duo with Élisabeth Joyé. He is organist at Saint-Louis-en l’Île, and oversees an annual series of keyboard concerts there (Claviers en l’île) dedicated to J.S. Bach. Benjamin Alard’s recordings include the Andreas Bach Buch, the Bauyn Manuscript, J.S. Bach Organ Trio Sonatas, and the first two parts of Bach’s Clavier-Übung (Partitas, Italian Concerto, and French Ouverture). How did music first enter your life? The mysterious sounds produced by the organ have fascinated me since my childhood, as has the voice: it is pure expression itself, like solemnized words. I then learned to play the organ with the parish priest in my village, who was passionate about the instrument. Through him I discovered the instrument and learned pedal technique, as until that time I had only played piano. What made you turn to the harpsichord? It was because of my passion for early music, and because of the musicians I was lucky enough to hear at the Dieppe Festival, such as Gustav Leonhardt, La Petite Bande, Jordi Savall, and others. The music conservatory in the small city of Dieppe offered many opportunities to study early music. Was your passion for music something your parents encouraged? My parents are not musicians at all, but they always encouraged me, and helped me to cultivate my talent. When did you decide to seriously pursue a career in music? I never asked myself that question! Playing the music of Bach on the organ or the harpsichord: do you have a personal preference? I don’t have a preference – they each have their qualities. Two Canadian pianists, Glenn Gould and Angela Hewitt, are well known for their interpretation of the Goldberg Variations on modern piano. What can audiences expect when they come to hear your performances on the instrument for which the work was originally written? Bach’s corpus is immense, and can be approached from in many different ways. Nothing disturbs me as long as one respects the composer’s thoughts and the score. The Goldberg Variations are very well known, perhaps overly so. To approach them in a wholesome way, one must detach oneself from all other versions, as beautiful as they might be. It’s the problem with any well-known work, like a painting for instance. One must forget it, go look somewhere elsewhere, and then come back to it. The strong connection to Sigiswald Kuijken is common to both you and Tafelmusik’s Chief Artistic Advisor, Jeanne Lamon. What has it been like to work with him? Sigiswald Kuijken is a wonderful musician, and playing with him is a very remarkable experience. He doesn’t conduct per se; rather he ensures that everyone speaks the same language and with goodwill, without trying to outshine one’s neighbour. That’s what is most important in chamber music. What excites you about coming to Toronto and working with members of Tafelmusik? I’m very enthusiastic about experiencing this series of concerts, and about meeting new musicians about whom I’ve heard so much! You can get to know Benjamin by viewing his contributions to the wonderful website “All of Bach,” created by the Netherlands Bach Society (allofbach.com). Each week the site features a performance of a work by Bach, as well as in-depth interviews with the performers. Benjamin is featured in performances and discussions of the G-Minor Prelude and Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier (Book I), and of the Five Little Preludes (BWV 939-943). .

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