tradition rediscouered

TheBelgian
llornSchool:
a neglected
tradition
rediscouered
bUJohnHumphries
t Christmas,'t977,
twenty eight
and one half millionpeople
'
'tlrrned on BBCIto watchthe
Morecambeand WiseChristmas
Show. The playwhat Ernwrote
that yearstarredEricas (yrano de
Bergerac
and Penelope
l(eithasthe
"What
would it
Queenof France.
tal<efor vou to l<iss
me?"asl<s
de
Bergerac."Chloroform"repliesthe
Queen. Forthis viewerat least,Eric
in tights,pointyshoesand a long
noseis the visionwhichcomesto
mind most readilvwheneverce
Bergerac's
nameis mentioned.
Dim memoriesof that sl<etch
may provideone reasonwhy Flemish
composerRobertHerberigs'
symphoni cpoemfor horn and
orchestra,Cyranode Bergeracis so
little l(nownin the ul<: perhapswe
just can'ttal<eit seriously! And that
is a pity, because
it is an engaging
and dramaticworl<for horn and
largeorchestra
written in rgrz in a
stvlereminiscent
of Dukaswith a
splashof Till Eulenspiegelthrown
in
for good measure. lt is one of the
earliestorchestral
worl<sin the long
llfe of an extraordinary
man who
combinedthe careersof composer,
operaconductor,professional
artist
and writer of popularfiction. The
first performance
of Cyranowas
givenby the Chenthorn player
CharlesHeylbroecl<
and in the r95os
it receivedits first recordingin a
performance
by Mauricevan
Bocxstaele.Van Bocxstaele
was
pupiland a playerwhom
Heylbroel<'s
EdmondLeloirratedat leastas
high ly as Dennis Brain. Cyranois
today represented
in the (D
<atalogue
by a singlerecordingmade
in 1995by Van Bocxstaele's
pupil
/\
I{
Andrévan Driessche.Amongits
present-day
champions
is Jeroen
Billiet,a young Belgianwho lil<e
Herberigs
hasalreadypursueda
multi-faceted
career,in hiscaseas
professional
horn player,teacherand
tirelessresearcher
into Belqianhorn
playinghistory.
Cyranode Bergerac,played
flawlessly
on a Van Cauwelaert
F
pistonhorn wasthe centrepiece
of a
recitalwhich Billietgaverecentlyas
part of hisfinal submission
for the
title of "Laureatdof the Orpheus
Institute"in Chent. The restof his
recitalalsoconsisted
of little-l<nown
piecesby Belgiancomposers
and
rangedfrom the Fantaisie
by MartinJosephMengal,playedon handhorn,
throughto the Chantd'Automneby
RobertCuillemynplayedon a 193o
Alexander.The recitalalsoincluded
a performanceof the Introduction,
Themeand Variationsfor two horns
by Louis-Henri
Merck,whichwas
notablelessfor the musicitselfthan
for the fact that Billietand Marc De
Merlierplayedit on mid-r9th
Century"ModèleMercl<"i nstruments
madeby Mahillonwith just two
valves. Whiletheseinstruments
werecommonduringthe transitionàl
periodbetweenhandhornsand
valvehorns,survivingtwo-valversin
worl<ingorderare rareand to hear
them playedwith suchexpertiseis
rarer stiII.
In writing aboutHerberig's
Cyranode Bergerac,I have
plundered
shamelessly
the second
part of JeroenBilliet'ssubmission
for
his Laureate.Thisis a detailed
accountof zoo Yearsof Belgian
Horn historyand a work which
<hronicles
this hithertoneglected
areaof the instrument's
development
with enthusiasm
and
authority. The performers,
their
instruments,
their teachersandthe
musicthey playedare all described
with oassion
andthe interviews
whichthe authorconductedwith
old-timeBelgianplayersare
entertaining
and revealing.Readers
curiousto find out moreabouta
fascinating
by-roadof horn history
canobtaina copyof this eminently
readable
d issertation
d irectlyfrom
price
the authorat www.corecole.be,
flgfor the bool<,3CDs
and a CD Rom
andJeroenasksanyonewith any
additionalinformationabout Belgian
horn playersin Englandto contact
him at jeroen.bil
[email protected].
::.r:i;iilii:$lr1iiii.rl]1Í*liilliiii{rilriiiÍl';rtliiiiil]ïii:llii,iia:li::rtililir::r,lii:irtriii;rili:,:rrrli:l:;r::,]
S nTRLE Y HoP K tNs
Horn,WagnerTuba,ViennaHornand Alphorn
. Hornand Wagnertuba lessons
. Beginners
to advancedwelcome
. Problemswith production
Try my naturalplayingmethods.
or breathing?
. Groupcoachingavailable
Íor hornsand Wagnertubas.
. Set oÍ AlexanderWaonertubasavailable
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I am interested in starting a group in the
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time to time to play horn ensemble music
for fun, such as quartets, sextets,
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Contact me on: 020 8289 8864
Belgian
hornplagers
inBritain:
musical
migrants
froma
smallcountrg
bgJeroen
Biltiet
n r8to, a riot whichfolloweda
I
performance
Brussels
of Auber's
tI opera La Muette de Portici
questfor
sparl<ed
Belgium's
independence
from Holland. This
was eventuallyachiev ed
when a
peacesettlementwhichcalledfor
QueenVictoria'suncle,Prince
Leopoldof Saxe-Coburg,
to be
crownedl(ingof the Belgians
was
agreed. Leopoldwas quicl<to see
the needto revolutionise
his
u nderdeveloped
l<ingdom,
introducing
the first railwaysin
mainlandEuropeand copying
Britain'sindustrialsystem. His
extremelyliberallawsencouraged
investors
to applya ruthless
capitalistmodelthoughfor many
yearsthis creatednot wealth,but
extremepovertyfor most Belgians
and it was not until the turn of the
zoth (entury that the situation
beganto improve.
The l(ingwas alsodetermined
to
introduceè propersystemof musical
education,
with musi<schoolsin
Brussels,
Liège,Chentand elsewhere,
but mus icians
remainedvery poorly
paid,and eventhosewith fixed
positionsin militarybandsfound
survivala struggle. Nevertheless,
by
r84o, a wholegenerationof brilliant
musicians
hadappeared,
andforeign
con(ertorganisers
regularlypoached
talentedyoungsters
from Belgian
orchestras
and bandsin the years
aftertheir graduation.Many went
to Franceasthe Belgians
sharednot
only a languagebut muchof their
culturall ifeand musicalstylewith
their southernneighbour,
but others
went furtherafield.
The prospectof highersalaries
in
Britainwas undoubtedly
an
attra(tion,but therewasanother
reèsonwhy The Unitedl(ingdomwas
a populardestination
for Belgian
horn players.
Until aboutr8zs.British
orchestral
horn playersfavouredthe
naturalhorn overthe valved
instrumentand,althoughBelgian
playerswere mainlytrainedfor the
valvehornfrom the r84osonwards,
moststill l earnedhandhorn sl<ills
and would havebeenableto adapt
easilyto Britishorchestral
^\/^^-+\+'
E^PELLO
^6 t).
LrUl
-
Ma n y Bel gi an pl ayersgot thei r
fi rs t ta s te of E ngl i sh musi cal l i fe
to u ri n g w i th the band of the B el gi an
C u i d e s ,a n org4ni sati onw hi ch made
s e v e ra lv i si ts duri ng the znd hal f of
th e rg th C entury. A mong thei r
n u m b e r w ere al most certai nl y the
h o rn p l a y e rsJean-D ési réeA rtót
(r8 o 3 - t8 87), Loui s-H enriMercl <
(r8 3 r - rg o o ), C harl es-ModesteS i mar
(rB r9 - r8 9 4) A l phonse S tenebruggen
(t8 2 4 - r8 9 5) and hi s brother Jul es
(t8 3 r - a fter r87z). 5ome, i ncl udi ng
S i ma r a n d t he S tenebruggensthen
o b ta i n e d p osi ti onsi n the orchestra
fo r th e i m m ensel yfashi onabl e
.o n .e r t<
Drrt ón hv thg cOndU C tOf
LouisJullien. With his brightly
colouredwaistcoats,
his immaculate
gloves,
white
his bejewelled
baton
and his immenseflair for
showmanship,
Jullienand his
popular
concertsw ere phenomenally
in VictorianEnglandand offered
excellent employmentopportunities
for players.
Simarplayedfor Jullienfrom
r854to r857and wasjoinedby Jules
Stenebruggen
in r857, Alphonse
tool<part i n Jullien'sUStour of r853+, but then workedon the contlnent
until r88o,when he returnedto
Londonto playin a seriesof concerts
with someof the mostdistinguished
musicians
of the day. Accordingto
the Belgianperiodical,
Le 6uide
Musicale:
Our compatriotMr A.
Steenebruggen,
the famoushorn
player,who is at this moment in
London,hasbeeninvited to play at
the principalmusicalgatherings,and
everywherehe goes,he is a great
< tt((c < s Nofahl v < o i n the Fl oral
Hall and in the Steinway Hall, where
h e p l a y e d a R omanceby S ai nt-S aens
accompaniedby the composer He
has - amongst other things - been the
partner of Mr Chailes Hallé and Mme
Norman-Neruda for à trio by Brahms.
Alphonse Stenebruggen
Photo: Baden-Baden City Archive
Thi s performanceof the Br ahm s
Tri o, sai d by the horn hi sto r ian WFH
B l andford to have been the f ir st in
E ngl andw as a pi ecew i th which
S tenebruggenseemsto have been
parti cul arl yassoci ated:he was an
experi encedperformer on the hand
horn, the i nstrument for which
B rahms i ntended i t and knew t he
composerfrom summer se asons
spent pl àyi ng i n the orches t r aat
B aden-B aden. There i s even
< i rcumstanti alevi denceto suggest
that < omposerand horn pl ayer
w orked on the pi ecetogether . O n
the strength of these perfor m ances.
S tenebruggenw as appoi nt ed
pri nci pal horn at C ovent C ar den
though he had returned to St r asbur g
before r885.
A mong S tenebrugqen'sor h'
concertsduri ng the rB B o t-. ' .
one i n w hi ch he ro
i n perforn-a-c and H unl rt S :l :.:' :- --: , - 5
- S -- à- aent ical
Mus .- - - :progr--r--r i ^.TÊ rac featu r ed
anoi he: 3e,granhorn pl aye r , Pier r e
V an H aLrte(r824 - rB 8z), a nd it is
+L - - f
- ,^
l - .- .1
^ ^ - - i kl ^
rnar lne
nac
-recom m encec
P OssrD re
S tenebruggenfor the concer t . Var
H aute had studi ed w i th Ma r t inJosephMengal i n C hent be f or e
gai ni ng a rst P ri ze i n C al l ay '<( èssèt
the P ari sC onservatoi reand t he
positionof principalhorn at the city's
Opèra(omique.
PierreVan Haute <ircar8óo
Photo: Royal Ghent Conservatoire
Library
Conservatoire
the Brussels
under
Mercl<,
winningtst Prizefor horn in
r885. EugeneGoossens,
a former
<olleague
of hi s in Belgium,then
invitedhim to Londonto playin the
CarlRosaOperaCompanywherehe
spentfive yearsasthe ensemble's
principalhorn. Therehe met and
marriedAnnettaLaubach,
the
principalcontralto,helpingto mal<e
his moveto the Unitedl(incdom
morePermanenr.
It wasas a memberof the
Queen'sHallOrcheitrathat
Vandermeerschen
madehis marl<:on
19o3,the orchestra
3o September
wasthrown into confusionwhen
RobertNewman,the orchestral
that the
managerannounced
freelanceplayerswould henceforth
be put on annualcontractsand could
no longersenddeputiesto
rehearsals.+ó of the players
resigned
immediately
anda
committeeof six,including
wasformedto
Vandermeerschen
for a new
recruitmusicians
whichwasto become
organisation
the LondonSymphonyOrchestra.
When Adolf Borsdorfhadto stop
playingfirst horn,Vandermeerschen
job with
sharedthe principal's
ThomasBusbyand playedwith the
LSOuntil r93zwhen ill-healthforced
his retirement.
A photographof him,taken
aroundr8óo showsa man who was
clearlyfar from wealthy:the right
arm of hiscoat is seriously
damaged,
with a largetear at the shoulder. ln
the hope,perhaps,
of improvinghis
financialposition,he tried his lucl<in
England,
wherehis namebeganto
RaymondMeert (c.r88o- c.r95o)
àppearon concertprogrammes
both
was
from a slightlyyounger
as"Van Haute"and in its French
qeneration
than Vandermeerschen
"Du Bois". By r8ó7,he
translation,
was amongthe bestmusicians
in
Londonwhen JulesRivièrehiredhim
to playfirst hornfor a seriesof
concertsin the AlhambraTheatrein
Leicester
Square. ln t87t he was
livingin the capitalwith hiswife,
and he playedin concertsat Covent
Cardenin ft13, but duringthe r87os
he frequentlyworl<edin Manchester.
Duringt87t-zhe playedthi rd horn in
the HalléOrchestra
and in t875
succeeded
Paquisas its principal. lt
is to be hopedthat by this time, his
financialpositionhad become
sufficientlvse(urefor him to afforda
newjacl<et
!
A Belgian-born
horn playerwho
hada longerlastingeffecton British
r,nusical
life was Henri-Louis
Vandermeerschen,
(r8óó - t934)the
sonof a fishmonaerwho studiedat
and studiedwith CharlesHeylbroecl<
in Ghent,wherehe obtaineda rst
Prizein r9o3. By tgo7, he had
movedto Glasgow,
wherehe played
3rd hornto Alf Brainin the Scottish
Orchestra
and the followingyear
becamesectionprincipalwhen Brain
movedto London. A further move
in r9ró saw him
to Manchester
becomerst horn in the Hallé
a posthe helduntil r938,
Orchestra,
with a breal<
of threeyearsfrom
193+- 1937when he played3rdto
Alan Hyde. Duringhistime in
Manchester,
he alsoplayedfirst horn
with the LiverpoolPhilharmonic
Societyand,on róth February,t928,
wassoloistin Mozart's3rd horn
con(ertowith the Halléat the Free
TradeHall. From 943 - i9+5 Meert
returnedto the orchestrato helpout
asath horn. Blandfordheardhim
playand described
him as"guite
Foundingmembersof the London
SymphonyOrchestraat the
Worcester Festiva| (<urrently
displayedat the BarbicanCentre,
London). Vandermeerschen
standsat the right on the back
row. His trademarkspectacles
with blue lensescan be made out
in the photograph,
Photo: LondonSymphony
Orchestra
good, with a fine command of the
high register, though like other
braves Belgeshe is over-fond of the
B-flat alto crook".
Th ro ughout his c are e r,h e p l a y e d
o n a si n gle hor n m ade b y M a h i l l o n ,
t h e Be l g ian m anuf ac t u re r w h o fro m
r8 4 4 u n t il 1922 m aint a i n e d a b ra n c h
in L o n d on.
l n t9 t z , F r édér icCo e d e rti e r,
an o th e r Hey lbr oe< kpu p i l j o i n e d
M e e rt a s z nd hor n in t h e Sc o tti s h
Orch e str a. He was s li g h tl y o l d e r,
ha vi n g won a z nd P r izea t C h e n t i n
r8 9 3 a n d his appoint m e n t ma y h a v e
b e e n a t t he inv it at ion o f e i th e r
M e e rt h im s elf or of t he o rc h e s tra ' s
Be l g i a n leader ,Henr i V e rb ru g g h e n ..
H e d o e s not s eem t o ha v e s e ttl e d ,
f o r i n ryt 4, he em igr ate d to N e w
Yo rl <.Whet her he f oun d th e Bri ti s h
f re e l a n c eway of lif e di ffi c u l t to c o p e
wi th i s not r ec or ded,t h o u g h 4 4
ye a rs e ar lier , Le G uide M u s i c a l e h a d
wa rn e d i t s r eader st hat :
The Ul( (and London in particular)
will soon become the magical place
for all travelling musicians. Those
who move fastest are already trying
to get contrdcts. Soon there will be
ten thousand of them, of whom there
might be a hundred who will be able
to achieve the goal of their visit to
this city: the others will return with
nothing, with empty pockets and
disillusioned ds never before.
Me e r t was t he las t h i g h -p ro fi l e
Be l g i a n h or n play er t o w o rl < i n
Bri ta i n a nd, s inc et he r9 ó o s , th e U l <
h a s b e co m e a net ex Do rte ro f h o rn
p l a ye rs. S om e, inc lud i n g R AM
p ro fe sso rP ip E as t op ha v e e v e n h e l d
p o sts i n B elgium , but t h e Be l g i a n
n a tl o n 's c ont r ibut ion t o th e m i x fro m
wh i ch the B r it is h hor n s ty l e
de ve l o p edis one whic h s h o u l d n o t b e
f org o tte n.
J e ro e n Billiet
leroenBilliet(born Tielt,West-Flanders,
Belgium1977)studiedthe horn at the Royal
Conservatoires
of Ghentand Brussels
with
Luc Bergé.He took masterclasses
with
André VanDriessche,
FroydisReeWekre,
UlrichHiibnerand ClaudeMauryas well as
lessonswith other leadingplayers.
In 2oo1he passedthe final examfor
horn with great distinctionin Brussels,
and
obtainedthe degreesof Masterin Musicand
lvlasterof MusicEducationin the sameyear.
Since1999he hasbeena freelanceplayerwith severalorchestras
(including
PrimaLaMusica,I Fiamminghi,
Flemish
BritirhHornÍociety
,l090599
U.K. Registered
ChoriiyNo.
2008ÍEtflvRl BooKInGÍoRm
Co n tq ct detoi l s
No m e /s
Address
Delreanr Frrs
ï0fÁt TOTAT
5TÀNDARD
No. :0Nct5st0lts'
fl0, 8HS
Í'/llMBtRl{0. t{ul[BtR L
Whole Evénf
(l0om-ó
30pm,
indudÍng
ollconcerts)
825
Horn Trio & Solo Horn
Concert (l 30pm)
F in o l Gol o C oncert {5pm)
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Ê
. GroÍp Concession:Block book Íor fhree or more delegotes ond scve l57o .
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E
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Cheques mode out io: British Horn Sociely
Pleose send the completed booking form with remiltonce fo:
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BUT MAY BE SUBJECTTOCHANGE
AtL DEÍAIIS CORRECTAT THE TIME OF PRINTINGTHIS },EAFLÊT
Opera,FlandersSymphony Orchestra,
I'OpéraRoyal de Wallonie . . . ).
During his studies he took a pdrticular
interest in historical performancepractice,
taking up the natural horn in 1999.From
then, he played and toured with some of
Europe'sfinest ensemblesperforming on
period instruments: I'Orchestredes Champs
Elysées(Philippe Herreweghe), Lles
Agrémens, Concerto Kóln, Anima Eterna
(Jos Van lmmerseel), Il Fondamento (Paul
Dombrecht), lesMusiciensdu LouvreGrenoble(Marc Minkowski) . . . mostly as
principal horn. On a regular basishe can be
heard in recitals or chamber music. His
interests stretch from the early baroque
horn to the modern horn.
Besidesthis, he is teacher of horn
at the conservàtoiresof Tielt, Brugesand
Oudenaarde.
Sincezoot he has worked on an
academicpost-graduatestudy at the
OrpheusInstituut in Ghent, and obtained
the title of "Laureateof the Orpheus
institute" con brio in June >oo8.
Hallé concert programmer9z8
CatterickCollection
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