DEBORAH HAYES

Madame Brillon de Jouy

(1744-1824)

The French pianist and composer Anne-Louise Brillon de Jouy, née Boyvin d'Hardancourt, maintained a distinguished salon where she performed her own music and a wealth of other vocal and instrumental music. 

The 2-CD set Madame Brillon: The Piano Sonatas Rediscovered (Naxos GP-872–873, issued April  2021) contains performances by Nicolas Horvath of her only solo keyboard work, the ‘Sonatte in A Minor’, and the twelve sonatas of her Troisième Recueil (“Third Collection”) of sonatas, dedicated to her two daughters. The twelve have ad libitum violin accompaniment which is omitted on the Naxos CD. 

The scores are not dated, but she probably composed the sonatas in the 1760s and 1770s, beginning when she was eighteen years old, perhaps younger. The manuscript of the Sonnatte in A minor, Madame Brillon’s only solo keyboard work, is in her hand. Crossed-out measures and partially abbreviated notation indicate that it was for her own use in salon performances. The twelve numbered sonatas are in the hand of a copyist and are dedicated to Mesdemoiselles Brillon, the composer’s two daughters.