Performers: Colin St. Martin, baroque flute; Christina Scott Edelen, harpsichord
Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689–1755) spent his early life in Lorraine, and after a few years in Perpignan in the south of France, moved to Paris sometime between 1722 and 1724. He was a prolific composer, publishing over 100 collections of various genres from his arrival in the capital until his death. This rate of production indicates a popularity that made him wealthy without noble patronage and, in turn, reveals the rising strength of bourgeois/commercial musical life. A great number of his pieces are for flute (in many combinations), yet he cultivated the other instruments of domestic music making as well. He capitalized on the popularity of Italian innovation and made early and effective use of the Italian idea of the concerto. His vocal works and operas were well known at his time, but it is for his instrumental music that he is known today.
