At both the organ and the harpsichord, Élisabeth Joyé has made a quest for subtlety the intuitive lodestone of her musical life. Bob van Asperen, Jos van Immerseel, and above all Gustav Leonhardt have guided her in this search for expressiveness and musicality. She has made solo recordings performing J. S. Bach’s Short Preludes and Fugues (Casa), Inventions and Sinfonias, (Alpha) along with works by François Couperin (Alpha) and Jacques Duphly (Alpha), and has recorded with Le Concert Français (Pierre Hantaï), La Simphonie du Marais (Hugo Reyne), Les Musiciens du Louvre (Marc Minkowski) and Le Concert Spirituel (Hervé Niquet), as well as recording music by John Blow with her own ensemble La Canzona (with Gérard Lesne), performing in concert with her musician friends (Benjamin Alard, Simon Heyerick, Emmanuel Balssa, François Fernandez, Sébastien Marq, Pierre Hamon, Christine Plubeau, Monique Zanetti, Karine Serafin, etc.), and appearing at many festivals around the world.
Élisabeth Joyé is also a much sought-after teacher and has always cared deeply about sharing her work on the “Art of playing the harpsichord” with others as part of a quest “to achieve a singing, expressive way of playing”, as J. S. Bach wrote in the preface to Inventions. She teaches at the Conservatoire Erik Satie in the 7e arrondissement in Paris, and gives master classes both in France and abroad.
Photo: Jean-Baptiste Millot