In 1976, before completing his studies with Ton Koopman in Amsterdam, Hendrik Bouman began his career as the original harpsichordist of Musica Antiqua Köln (1976–83) by recording, with his ensemble, an award-winning first record with EMI/Reflex.

He rapidly acquired a reputation as “an extraordinary harpsichordist” 1 with his many award-winning recordings for DGG/Archiv, and world tours under the auspices of the Goethe Institute in Asia, India, North America and South America. Together with his colleagues, Hendrik Bouman contributed to setting new standards of Baroque performance in concerts and recordings.

Hendrik Bouman - Recital & demonstration in the concert series of Aurodhan Art Gallery, Pondicherry, India

Lucy van Dael & Sieuwert Verster,

co-founders - Orchestra of the 18th Century  during the World Premiere of  Bouman’s ‘La Festa di Lucia.’

Hendrik Bouman directing the World  Premiere of  his ‘La Festa di Lucia’

Members of the Dutch Orchestra of the 18th Century commission Hendrik Bouman to write La Festa di Lucia, to honour its co-founder and former leader (concert master) Lucy van Dael. He directs Lucy's Band in its World Premiere in Amsterdam in 2011.

Musica Antiqua Köln, Hendrik Bouman is 2nd from the right

As conductor, Hendrik Bouman began his "meteoric career" 3 in Montréal in 1985, by "magnificently" 4 directing an orchestra of fifty musicians and over a hundred choristers, in a celebration of the Québec mass Tu me cherches by Alain Pièrard, for an assembly of two thousand people in the Basilique Notre Dame to mark the International Year of Youth.

A year later, Hendrik Bouman founds his period orchestra Les Nations de Montréal, and gains rapidly a reputation of being "literally inhabited by music" 5. 

In a live broadcast for Radio Canada, celebrating the tricentenary of the composer Jean-Baptiste Lully, Hendrik Bouman directs his orchestra Les Nations de Montréal with soloists and choir of the Atelier de l'Opéra of Laval University in the 20th century world première of Lully's opera Amadis de Gaulle, which is subsequently broadcast in France, Switzerland and Belgium.

Les Nations de Montréal, under the direction of Hendrik Bouman, was the first orchestra on period instruments to be invited to give a couple of concerts in the prestigious Concerts Populaires d'Été de la Ville de Montréal in the Maurice Richard sports arena for an audience of 5000 people.

Hendrik Bouman directs his ensemble Haydn Heritage in a recording for Radio Canada of Musique en Nouvelle France: Petit Motets, that was subsequently released on CD on the Radio Canada / REM label, which Diapason (Paris) qualified as "a unique programme of great beauty" by an ensemble "of immense musical and stylistic qualities." 6

Hendrik Bouman was guest conductor of the Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal and of the Portland Baroque Orchestra & Choir, notably in a "compelling, intelligent and jubilant" performance of Handel's Messiah. 7

In the UNESCO-sponsored international township, Auroville in South India, in 2008, Hendrik Bouman is commissioned to compose stage music in Baroque style and to direct soloists and chorus from the harpsichord for the Ellen production of  Molière's Malade Imaginaire.

Hendrik Bouman, composer / guest music director in Molière’s ‘Hypochondriac’, Auroville, India, 2008.

Hendrik Bouman in recital at the

Handel House, London

Hendrik Bouman has received several grants from Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom for his innovative work as composer-performer of period music and as founding-director of festivals featuring his music:

Halifax 1749 Baroque (Canada) 1999 sponsored by the Minister of Education &  Culture of Nova Scotia and the Maritime Conservatory of the Arts; 12

Baroque by the Sea (Maritimes Canada) 1999 & 2005 sponsored by he Minister of Education and Culture of  Prince Edward Island;

Baroque SaMuse Concert Series (Montréal, Canada) 2006-2007 1 sponsored by the Musicians’ Guild and the City of Lachine; 13

Baroque by the Sea Eastbourne Concert Series and Festival (Sussex, United Kingdom) 2009  13 sponsored by Berkeley Homes UK for their offering of the All Saints’ Chapel in Eastbourne to host the series and festival.

During the Canadian Indian River Festival, Hendrik Bouman presents his new ensemble Concerto Felice, founded with his former colleague Hajo Bäss (co-founder of Musica Antiqua Köln), in World Premières of Hendrik Bouman’s chamber and orchestral music, written in Baroque style. The concert is broadcast by CBC Halifax and Radio Canada Moncton.

Hendrik Bouman directs his Orchestra Les Nations de Montréal in a rehearsal for the 20th C. World Premiere of Lully's Amadis in a live broadcast by Radio Canada

Hendrik Bouman in recital in Nice, France on his harpsichord which he designed and built in 2006. The lid painting is by the artist Gino Arcidiacono

Hendrik Bouman directs from the harpsichord Les Nations de Montréal in the Ogilvy Concert series, Montréal, recorded by CBC/ Radio Canada

1. 1.Diapason Paris, April 1990 - CD Musique en Nouvelle France, REM / Radio Canada - click CD  photo                                        
   

2. 2.The Gazette, Montréal, 1991 - ‘Prestige Concert‘ of the  Mozart Festival of the Opéra de Montréal  - Critique
   

3. 3.The Gazette, Montréal, 2007 - Artist Portrait
   

4. 4.The Gazette, Montréal, 1985 -  Concert - Basilica of Notre Dame, Montreal
   

5. 5.Le Devoir, Montréal, 1988 - Concerts Populaires de la Ville de Montréal
   

6. 6.Diapason, Paris April 1990 - CD, Musique en Nouvelle France, REM / Radio Canada - click CD photo
   

7. 7.The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon, USA 1990 - Handel’s Messiah
   

8. 8.CBCNews Canada,1997 - HRH Princess Diana’s Ground by Hendrik Bouman
   

9. 9.Radio France / France Musique 2003 - Introduction to improvising in baroque style (in french)
   

10. 10. Harpsichord & Fortepiano magazine, 2012 - Hendrik Bouman CD 5 Baroque Concerto for Anna
    

11. 11. Discography
    

12. 12. Baroque SaMuse Concert Series, Montréal, 2006-2007 - Events & sponsorship
    

13. 13. Baroque by the Sea Eastbourne, United Kingdom, 2009 - Events & sponsorship LIENS 
    

14. 
    

15. 

    Hendrik Bouman - short biography
    

16. Baroque SaMuse - soloists’ biographies
    

17. Media Reviews
    

18.                    World of Music

Hendrik Bouman’s new ensemble, The Baroque Muse / Baroque SaMuse, unite at its core prominent musician friends from various countries where Bouman resided and with whom he has collaborated and gave World Premieres of his works over the years:

Simon Standage (The English Concert, Academy of Ancient Music, Collegium Musicum 90 - UK)

Olivier Brault (Apollo’s Fire, Akron Symphony - USA; Sonate 1704, Les Boréades - Montréal)

Heiko ter Schegget (Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Nederlandse Bachvereniging - Netherlands) Grégoire Jeay (Toronto Tafelmusik, Les Boréades - Montréal)

Tormod Dalen (Concert Spirituel, Paris; Norwegian Baroque Orchestra, Oslo)

Hajo Bäss (La Staggione Frankfort; co-founder of Les Adieux and Musica Antiqua Köln - Germany).

Following individual duo performances with Hendrik Bouman in his Baroque by the Sea Eastbourne Concert series and Festival, these musicians came together in 2009 to perform in World Premiere in Brighton, England, Hendrik Bouman's 5 Baroque Concertos for Anna, followed immediately by a recording of those for his label ARYA at Viscount Gage’s ancestral manor, Firle Place in the Sussex Downs, England.

In 1992, the Opéra de Montréal invites Hendrik Bouman on the fortepiano, to give the Prestige Concert 2 in its Mozart Festival with his guest, the Canadian soprano Nancy Argenta, to celebrate the bicentenary of Mozart.

Bouman’s Montréal recital of Schubert’s Winterreise with his countryman, the baryton Max van Egmond, was recorded by Radio Canada.

As soloist he has toured with Marie Leonhardt's ensemble Mateus in Germany, Italy, and Holland. In Canada he was invited to join the Soloists of Tafelmusik [Toronto] on tour in the province of Ontario and in Montréal Québec.

He has appeared as soloist with Ton Koopman in Bach's multi-harpsichords concertos in Germany.

World Premiere of Hendrik Bouman's "5 Concertos for Anna", Brighton, United Kingdom

The Baroque Muse, direction Hendrik Bouman

from left to right: Heiko ter Schegget, Hendrik Bouman, Simon Standage,

Olivier Brault, Judy Tarling, Andrew Kerr, Tormod Dalen

The British magazine Harpsichord & Fortepiano in its review of the CD, states that “Bouman’s writing is elegant, grounded in knowledge of historic styles and performance practices; his scoring for strings exemplary; Bouman does not compromise when it comes to his choice of players; the disc sparkles with instrumental performance at its best; reminding the listener that music is a supreme form of entertainment." 10

In the period between 2009 and 2016, soloists of The Baroque Muse record in England and Germany, for ARYA Hendrik Bouman's solo compositions for unaccompanied instruments for his CD 7 Baroque Solos for Anna.

Hendrik Bouman brings out more of his solo keyboard music for ARYA, recorded in Canada, England and France, on his CD Third Notebook for Anna on the fortepiano, and for his CDs Fourth Notebook for Anna and Fifth Notebook for Anna on the harpsichord he designed and built.

Hendrik Bouman playing the Dowd  harpsichord

in the Chagall Museum in the Chamber Music Series of the Opéra de Nice, France

Hendrik Bouman's innovative career as a performer of his new Baroque and Classical compositions, as well as that of conductor and even harpsichord builder, captures the attention of the media; CBC/Radio Canada, CBCTV and ATV Canada broadcast several feature portraits including 'live' World Premiere performances of his works.

On Easter Day 2003, Radio France broadcasts for its programme À l'Improviste,9 Hendrik Bouman's recital of free improvisations in Baroque style. On

Hendrik Bouman, chef and soloist with his Concerto Felice

giving World Premieres in Beaulieu sur Mer, France -

left to right: Hajo Bäss, Flavio Losco, Patricia Gagnon, Alain Pièrard, Hendrik Bouman, Jean-Paul Talvard and Benoît Machuel

Concerto Felice, Indian River Festival, 1999

Baroque SaMuse in the Montréal Baroque Festival left to right: Olivier Brault, Hendrik Bouman, Isabelle Bozzini, Grégoire Jeay, Hélène Plouffe

this occasion he played on the historical Ruckers-Taskin harpsichord in the Musée de la Cité de la Musique in Paris. Ten years previously, he had introduced an ex-tempore improvisation in Baroque style at the request of Radio Canada during a recital in the Festival Domaine Forget, Québec.

In 2015, on Christmas Day, an hour programme featuring Hendrik Bouman’s compositions is broadcast by Fine Music FM in Sydney, Australia.

In the same year Concerto Felice hosts the Festival Halifax 1749 Baroque in Halifax, Canada, in which its co-founders Hajo Bass and Hendrik Bouman play the World Premieres of Bouman’s Sonata for violin and obligato harpsichord, and his Fantasy for solo violin.

Concerto Felice makes its European debut in Beaulieu sur Mer, France, featuring Hendrik Bouman’s orchestral period compositions, followed by a concert in the Festival de Wallonie, Belgium. In 2007, Bouman and his ensemble, now under the name Baroque SaMuse [The Baroque Muse] take part in the Montreal Baroque Festival with a programme entitled The Seventh Heaven which is entirely dedicated to Hendrik Bouman’s contemporary Baroque works.

impression upon him with its ancient and uninterrupted musical tradition, dating back centuries, which inspired him to approach the European musical heritage of the Baroque and Classical era in a similar manner.

Former professor of harpsichord, fortepiano and historical performance practice at Concordia University, Montréal, and Laval University in Québec, Canada, Hendrik Bouman is invited to give  masterclasses and lecture-recitals in France, Monaco, Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, United States and India, including historical performance practice, chamber music, harpsichord and fortepiano and notably, the art of improvising and composing in the styles of the 17th & 18th Century.

Hendrik Bouman also coaches candidates for international competitions, such as Bruges and Paris, and accompanies aspirant composers in their mastering of writing in baroque and classical styles.

Hendrik Bouman pursued his musical journey beyond his native Netherlands, residing in Germany, and subsequently with his family in Québec, Italy, Maritimes Canada, the United Kingdom and France. While playing with musicians from these countries he assimilated specific aspects of the Baroque and Classical musical heritage of these adopted homes, while acquiring proficiency in five languages. Additionally, during prolonged stays, India has made an

Hendrik Bouman performs in prestigious venues, ranging from Amsterdam's Concertgebouw and London's Queen Elisabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall and Handel House, Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum and Holywell Music Room to the Chapelle Royale in the Château Versailles and Sainte Chapelle, Paris, Nice’s Musée Chagall, Gulbenkian Hall, Lisbon, Schwetzinger Palace, Germany, the San Marco Basilica in Venice, Place des Arts and the Basilique Notre Dame in Montréal, Jordon Hall in Boston.

He partipates in international festivals such as Festival de Besançon, Flanders Festival, Holland Festival and the Oude Muziek Festival in the Netherlands, the Berliner Festwoche, the City of London Festival, the English Bach Festival, Festival Mozart of the Montréal Opera and Festival Montréal Baroque and Domaine Forget, Québec, as well as in prestigious series, such as Musica e Poesia, Milano, Italy, in Palais Lascaris and Musique de Chambre de l’Opéra de Nice, and the Musée de la Cité de la Musique, Paris, and the Concerts Populaires d'Été de la Ville de Montréal.

During his concert tours and recitals Hendrik Bouman played a number of historical instruments: harpsichords by Ruckers (Münster); Couchet and Delin (Brussels); Goermans, Tisserman, Kirckman and Smith (Oxford), Zell (Hamburg), Dulcken (Nurmberg); Taskin (Milano); Ruckers/Taskin (Paris); a clavichord by Hass (Oxford); a square piano by Clementi (Nice); and 19th C. pianos by Chickering, Érard and Broadwood in private collections (Canada & United Kingdom).

Since over twenty years Hendrik Bouman receives wide acclaim from the media, the public and colleagues for his Baroque and Classical compositions which he dedicates to his wife and muse Anna. His catalogue comprises 135 compositions (the equivalent of 20 hours of music) for a variety of instruments in solo, duo, chamber and orchestral formations as well as for vocal music and Baroque theatre. 

To date, Hendrik Bouman has recorded 7 CDs of his works and has given World Premieres of over 100 compositions in his solo and duo recitals, and with his ensembles Concerto Felice, Baroque SaMuse / The Baroque Muse in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and India. His compositions are also performed in Italy, Germany, Sweden, Norway and the United States.

At Christmas 1994, CBC broadcasts Hendrik Bouman playing on his harpsichord his arrangements of traditional Christmas music which the radio had commissioned. On the 2nd of September 1997, CBCTV News broadcasts, as a tribute to HRH Princess Diana, Hendrik Bouman's composition "Her Royal Highness Princess Diana's Ground" 8 on footage of the Princess of Wales's visit to Canada. In the following year, his "Menuet du Matin" is selected as a theme for Radio Canada's daily programme Les Bonheurs de Sophie.

In 1999, following the acclaim of his award-winning CDs Notebook for Anna I & II for harpsichord and piano, Hendrik Bouman is invited to give several World Premieres of his music for harpsichord and piano in a recital recorded by CBC Halifax ‘All the Best’.

In the same year Concerto Felice hosts the Festival Halifax 1749 Baroque in Halifax, Canada, in which its founders

Hendrik Bouman is invited to give recitals on the harpsichord and fortepiano in Europe, Canada, the USA, South Africa and India. Numerous recitals were recorded by European and Canadian radio broadcasters as well as on Canadian, Italian and Danish television.

Over the years Hendrik Bouman has given duo recitals with renowned artists: vocal soloists - Carolyn Watkinson, Nancy Argenta, Lyne Fortin, Susie LeBlanc, Max van Egmond, Charles Daniels, Michel Ducharme;

violinists - Simon Standage, Marie Leonhardt, Olivier Brault, and both violinists and viola players Hajo Bäss, Hélène Plouffe; flautists - Heiko ter Schegget, Francis Colpron, Wilbert Hazelzet, Liselyn Adams, Grégoire Jeay; cellists - Tormod Dalen, Susie Napper, Jaap ter Linden, Ifan Williams; and harpsichordist - Mireille Lagacé, Ton and Tini Koopman.

In 2018 for the 20th Anniversary of

the first issue on CD of Hendrik’s

period compositions, ARYA produces

a limited edition box set of 7 CDs

of his concertos, unaccompanied

solos and solo keyboard music.

Hendrik Bouman & Simon Standage during the Phillip Bate Recital in the historic Holywell Music Room, Oxford University, United Kingdom

Little BachTrack composé  et interprété par ©Hendrik Bouman

Italian harpsichord designed and built by Hendrik Bouman

CD Notebook for Anna  I 1997 [Arya]

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