Professional Documents
Culture Documents
choral music for the church, and music for his own
instrument; his first organ work dates from 1923, the year
of his graduation, and his last (Op 140) from 1986, the
year of his death. The organ music ranges from virtuoso
concert works to shorter and simpler pieces for liturgical
use, including over 300 chorale preludes. I do not
compose at an instrument, he said, do not improvise to
get in the mood, but I write at my desk. A composition
grows from within. When an idea or musical theme has
sufficiently ripened inside me, then inevitably comes the
moment when I have to write it down, where and
whenever it may be: at home, on a journey, in a train, boat,
plane. The craftsmanship is very important, but it should
be subordinated to the creative process When one is
fully dedicated to ones work, the inspiration will come.
Flor Peeters was trained at the Lemmens Institute as a
Catholic church musician. Gregorian chant was a lifelong
source of inspiration, and he found a natural means
of expression in the strength and purity of the medieval
modes, which formed the basis of his own musical
language. Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens, who founded the
Institute in 1879, was a central figure in the organ world
of the nineteenth century. His complete technical command of the instrument was founded on rational and
precisely formulated principles, which he passed on to his
French pupils Widor and Guilmant; inherited and rigidly
codified by their pupil Marcel Dupr, these principles
formed the foundation of the teaching of the Paris
Conservatoire until the 1950s. Peeters was brought up in
this tradition, and his early works exhibit many of the
characteristics of the French style, with rich chromatic
harmony and conventional symphonic registration. He
performed some of Duprs major works, but his greatest
love was Csar Franck; Francks music appeared in almost
all his concert programmes throughout his life. Peeters
also found a twin soul in Francks successor at Ste-Clotilde
in Paris, Charles Tournemire, who shared his love of plainsong and the old modes. Although Tournemire was twice
Peeters age, and they were only able to meet personally
on rare occasions, they formed a close friendship. When
Tournemire died in 1939, he bequeathed to Peeters the
original console played by Franck at Ste-Clotilde, which
had been removed when the organ was modernized in
1933. This unpatriotic bequest caused an uproar in Paris,
but the precious relic eventually reached Belgium after the
War, and held pride of place as a valuable teaching aid in
Peeters music studio in Mechelen.
However, this sympathy with the shared French
tradition was only one element in Peeters inclusive and
diverse artistic personality. He was Flemish, not French,
and his passion for the culture of his own land led him
in a different direction. Its rich heritage of old organs and
the glories of its Renaissance polyphony naturally led him
towards early music, in which he became a specialist,
editing and publishing many anthologies of Old Masters
Flemish, of course, but also English, French, German,
Italian and Spanish. His mature music is often described
as neoclassical, and most of it is essentially polyphonic,
with an emphasis on simplicity and clarity, transparent
linear textures and pungent, incisive tone-colours. Peeters
was an almost exact contemporary of Maurice Durufl,
who shared his love of plainsong and the modes. But
where Durufl, with a typically French sensibility, conjured
subtle impressionist soundscapes from his modal
language, Peeters preferred sharper contours and brighter
coloursVan Gogh, perhaps, compared with Durufls
Monet.
* * *
Peeters largest orchestral work was a forty-minute Organ
Concerto; composed during the dark final weeks of
1944 during the bloody Ardennes Offensive (the Battle of
3
All Hyperion and Helios compact discs may be purchased over the internet at
www.hyperion-records.co.uk
where you can also listen to extracts of all recordings and browse an up-to-date catalogue
If you have enjoyed this recording perhaps you would like a catalogue listing the many others available on the Hyperion and Helios labels. If so,
please write to Hyperion Records Ltd, PO Box 25, London SE9 1AX, England, or email us at info@hyperion-records.co.uk, and we will be pleased to
send you one free of charge.
The Hyperion catalogue can also be accessed on the Internet at www.hyperion-records.co.uk
DARCY
Trinkwon
Yannick Toussaint
8'
8'
8'
4'
4'
2 2/3'
2'
2'
1 3/5'
1 1/3'
IV
16'
8'
16'
8'
8'
8'
8'
4'
4'
2'
2'
IVV
IIIII
V
16'
8'
4'
8' III
IIISvellevrk (enclosed)
Bourdon
16'
Diapason
8'
Rohrflute
8'
Viola de Gamba
8'
Voix Cleste
8'
Prestant
4'
Flute Octavinte
4'
Octavin
2'
Nazard
2 2/3'
Tierce
1 3/5'
Piccolo
1'
Plein Jeu
V
Basson
16'
Trompette
8'
Hautbois
8'
Voix Humaine
8'
Clairon
4'
Tremulant
IV/III
IVSolovrk (enclosed)
Flte Harmonique
8'
Fltes Clestes
8' II
Dulciana
8'
Unda Maris
8'
Flte Traversire
4'
Clarinet
8'
English Horn
16'
Tremulant
Tuba Mirabilis
8'
Tuba
4'
Pedal
Bourdon
Principal
Subbass
Octave
Open Flute
Octave
Nachthorn
Mixture
Bombarde
Posaune
Fagot
Trompete
I/P
II/P
III/P
IV/P
II4/P
32'
16'
16'
8'
8'
4'
4'
VVI
32'
16'
16'
8'
9
Charlotte Wood
FLOR PEETERS
* * *
La plus vaste uvre orchestrale de Peeters fut un Concerto
pour orgue de quarante minutes compos dans les
sombres dernires semaines de 1944, pendant la sanglante bataille des Ardennes, et cr la Radio belge
lanne suivante, aprs la Libration. En 1955, Peeters tira
de son finale un arrangement rduit pour orgue solo.
Publi sous le titre Concert Piece (Morceau de concert),
il souvre sur la spectaculaire cadenza solo du concerto
et sachve sur les brillantes pages conclusives avec, au
milieu, un interlude plus paisible, incorporant certains
lments lyriques de la version orchestrale, plus longue.
Dans les annes 1930, Peeters composa une Rhapsodie
flamande quil dcrivit comme une fresque du caractre
flamand : rythme nergique, forme dcorative, substance
vigoureuse, registration truculente, nature puissante
une description qui pourrait tout autant convenir son
concerto.
LAria, qui date galement de la guerre, tait lorigine,
en 1943, le mouvement lent dune Sonate pour trompette
et piano et demeure un incontournable des programmes
dexamen pour tout jeune trompettiste ambitieux. Peeters
larrangea aussi pour violon, pour violoncelle et pour
orgue solo et cest sous cette dernire forme quon
lentend le plus souvent. La mlodie expressive se dploie
par-dessus un accompagnement de doux accords rptsune technique quon retrouve, avec un effet tout
aussi loquent, dans le mouvement lent du Concerto pour
orgue. Comme si souvent dans les plus belles uvres
11
13
Note de linterprte
Ltoile de la popularit musicale de Flor Peeters
nagure si brillante dans le milieu de lorguea quelque
peu pli ces dernires annes, consquence des
changements de mode mais aussi dun prjug contre
certains compositeurs, trs souvent au vu dune ou deux
pices seulement. Cest dommage car luvre vaste et
expertement cisel de Peetersdune taille et dune
envergure rarement gales par des compositeurs pour
orguervle beaucoup de contraste et dimagination. Il
est grand temps de le redcouvrir.
Jai tudi plusieurs uvres de Peeters durant mes
premires annes dapprentissage de lorgue, auprs de H.
A. Bate. Le corpus de prludes-chorals op. 39lune des
premires pices que je travaillaime sduisit demble
par ses harmonies luxuriantes, ses mandres fascinants et
son invention. H. A. Bate connaissait et apprciait tout
particulirement Peeters (dont il avait fortuitement cr la
Suite modale dans les annes 1940, lors dun direct de la
BBC), avec qui sa fille Jennifer entretenait par ailleurs un
Si vous souhaitez de plus amples dtails sur ces enregistrements, et sur les nombreuses autres publications du label Hyperion, veuillez nous crire
Hyperion Records Ltd, PO Box 25, London SE9 1AX, England, ou nous contacter par courrier lectronique info@hyperion-records.co.uk, et nous
serons ravis de vous faire parvenir notre catalogue gratuitement.
Le catalogue Hyprion est galement accessible sur Internet : www.hyperion-records.co.uk
14
FLOR PEETERS
Orgelmusik
* * *
Peeters grtes Orchesterwerk ist das vierzig Minuten
lange Orgelkonzert, das er whrend der blutigen
Ardennen-Offensive in den letzten, dunklen Wochen des
Jahres 1944 komponierte und das seine Urauffhrung im
belgischen Rundfunk nach der Befreiung des Landes im
folgenden Jahr erlebte. 1955 verffentlichte Peeters unter
dem Namen Concert Piece eine gekrzte Fassung des
letzten Satzes fr Orgelsolo. Das Stck beginnt mit der
spektakulren Solokadenz des Konzerts und schliet
mit den brillanten letzten Seiten, deren ruhigeres
Zwischenspiel in der Mitte einige der strker lyrischen
Elemente aus der lngeren Orchesterfassung enthlt. In
den Dreiiger Jahren hatte Peeters eine Flmische
Rhapsodie komponiert, ber die er sagte, sie sei ein
Fresco des flmischen Charakters: energisch im
Rhythmus, dekorativ in der Form, von lebhafter Substanz,
farbenreicher Registrierung und starker von Natur, eine
Beschreibung, die man ebenso gut auf das Konzert
anwenden knnte.
Auch die Aria entstand in der Kriegszeit, und zwar
zunchst 1943 als langsamer Satz einer Sonate fr
16
18
Wenn Ihnen die vorliegende Aufnahme gefallen hat, lassen Sie sich unseren umfassenden Katalog von Hyperion- und Helios-Aufnahmen
schicken. Ein Exemplar erhalten Sie kostenlos von: Hyperion Records Ltd., PO Box 25, London SE9 1AX, oder senden Sie uns eine E-Mail unter
info@hyperion-records.co.uk. Wir schicken Ihnen gern gratis einen Katalog zu.
Der Hyperion Katalog kann auch im Internet eingesehen werden: www.hyperion-records.co.uk
Copyright subsists in all Hyperion recordings and it is illegal to copy them, in whole or in part, for any purpose whatsoever, without
permission from the copyright holder, Hyperion Records Ltd, PO Box 25, London SE9 1AX, England. Any unauthorized copying
or re-recording, broadcasting, or public performance of this or any other Hyperion recording will constitute an infringement of
copyright. Applications for a public performance licence should be sent to Phonographic Performance Ltd, 1 Upper James Street,
London W1F 9DE
19
FLOR PEETERS
CDA67825
(19031986)
DARCY TRINKWON
Marcussen organ, Tonbridge School Chapel
[7'01]
[3'42]
[14'28]
[2'44]
[3'38]
[3'54]
[4'10]
[15'28]
[1'08]
[1'33]
[1'43]
[0'41]
[2'04]
[1'15]
[2'39]
[2'28]
[1'53]
[4'05]
[1'27]
[8'09]
[7'36]
[3'50]
[2'06]
[1'39]
[6'56]
[5'06]
CDA67825
Duration 74'47
FLOR PEETERS
DDD
(19031986)
[7'01]
[3'42]
3 Suite modale Op 43
[14'28]
[15'28]
[4'05]
[1'27]
[8'09]
[7'36]
[6'56]
[5'06]
DARCY TRINKWON
Marcussen organ, Tonbridge School Chapel
MADE IN FRANCE
www.hyperion-records.co.uk
HYPERION RECORDS LIMITED . LONDON . ENGLAND
Hyperion
CDA67825
Hyperion
CDA67825