Peter Benoit (17 August 1834 – 8 March 1901), was a
Flemish composer of Belgian nationality born in
Harelbeke, Flanders, Belgium in 1834. He was taught
music at an early age by his father and the village
organist. In 1851 Benoit entered the Brussels
Conservatoire, where he remained till 1855, studying
primarily with FJ Fétis. During this period he composed
music to many melodramas, and to the opera Le Village
dans les montagnes for the Park Theatre, of which in
1856 he became the resident conductor. In 1857 he won
the Belgian Prix de Rome for his cantata Le Meurtre
d'Abel. The accompanying money grant enabled him to
travel through Germany. In the course of his journings
he found time to write a considerable amount of music,
as well as an essay called L'École de musique flamande
et son avenir.
Fétis loudly praised his Messe solennelle, which Benoit
composed in Brussels on his return from Germany. In
1861 he visited Paris for the production of his opera
Le Roi des Aulnes ("The Erl King"), which, though
accepted by the Théâtre Lyrique, was never performed.
(He also composed a work for piano and orchestra called
Le Roi des Aulnes.) While there he conducted at the
Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens. Again returning home, he
astonished the musical community with the production in
Antwerp of a sacred tetralogy, consisting of his
Cantate de Noël, the above-mentioned Mass, a Te Deum
and a Requiem, in which were embodied to a large extent
his theories about Flemish music.
Benoit passionately pursued the founding of an entirely
separate Flemish school, and to that purpose even
changed his name from the French "Pierre" to the Dutch
equivalent "Peter". Through prodigious effort he
succeeded in gathering a small group of enthusiasts who
recognized with him the potential for a Flemish school
that would differ completely from the French and German
schools. However these intentions failed, as the
school's faith was tied too closely to Benoit's music,
which was hardly more Flemish than it was French or
German.
Benoit's most important compositions include the
Flemish oratorios De Schelde (The river Scheldt) and
Lucifer (which met complete failure when it was staged
in London in 1888), the operas Het Dorp in 't Gebergte
(The village in the mountains) and Isa, and the Drama
Christi, a huge body of songs, choruses, small cantatas
and motets. Benoit also wrote a great number of essays
on musical matters.
'Hoogmis' is the second of Benoit's religious tetralogy
(the other parts being Kerstmis, Te Deum, and the
Requiem).
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Benoit).
Although originally written for Chorus and Orchestra, I
created this Interpretation of the Kyrie from "Hoogmis"
for Winds (Flute, Oboe, English Horn & Bassoon) and
Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello). |
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