Description
Book SynopsisThe music of the Dutch composer Alphons Diepenbrock (1862-1921) is one of the glories of European late-Romantic culture, although is hardly known outside his native Netherlands. This translation makes Leo Samama's masterly study of Diepenbrock available to non-Dutch readers for the first time.The music of Alphons Diepenbrock (1862-1921) is one of the glories of European late-Romantic culture. But it is hardly known outside his native Netherlands - a situation this book hopes to change. Diepenbrock's life and his music are deeply intertwined: self-taught as a composer, he was a classics tutor by profession, a Catholic with a fondness for religious mysticism and one of the leading Dutch intellectuals of his day, with Mahler, Schoenberg and Richard Strauss among his circle of friends. In his 'Overture' to this book Robin Holloway describes Diepenbrock's music - most of which involves the voice - as a 'wondrous fusion of Palestrina and Wagner (with Debussy thrown in, and a dash of Mahler)' and praises its 'visionary serenity'. It is that balance between classical clarity and Romantic passion that gives Diepenbrock's compositions their unique character - and their emotional power. Leo Samama's richly illustrated study of Diepenbrock sets him and his music in the context of their times, this translation opening up an important chapter of European history to non-Dutch-speaking readers for the first time.
Table of ContentsOverture Robin Holloway Preface Introduction Historical Context Compositional Skill Understanding Diepenbrock's Sound Ideal Church and Theatre The Universal Artist Fellow Composers Sphere of Influence Opinions Inertia and Longing Correspondence Yearning over Fulfilment Part I: The Life Family and Youth School and University Amsterdam in 1880 De Nieuwe Gids Teaching in Den Bosch Elisabeth de Jong van Beek en Donk Marriage The Road Upwards Mokje and Cécile Richard Strauss Initial Successes Friendships Te Deum Mahler and Debussy A. A. Noske The Rembrandt Year Marsyas Elisabeth and Johanna Johanna and Elisabeth Further Heights Diepenbrock's 50th Birthday War Netherlands, Arise! Missa in die festo Crisis The Birds Faust Peace Electra Finis vitae Part II: The Music Contemporaries The Choral Music Regensburg Cecilianism Smaller Choral Works and Church Songs Missa in die festo Te Deum Secular Choral Works The Lieder The Early Songs Verlaine Spiritual Songs and Hymns to the Night From Perk to Thijm Im grossen Schweigen Rembrandt From Baudelaire to Hölderlin From Van Lerberghe to Verhagen War-Songs Instrumental Works Stage Music Marsyas, of De betooverde bron Gijsbrecht van Aemstel De vogels Faust Electra Appendices One Chronological List of Works Eduard Reeser and Ton Braas Two Articles and Submissions by Diepenbrock Bibliography Index of Diepenbrock's Work General Index
