1

October 2010, Newsletter 70

CChhoorruuss LLiinneess......

News Fame at last! Our Carmina Burana

concert will be filmed for a profes-

sional DVD. This concert is sure to

give us a packed hall and a financial

success so we have all the more rea-

son to perform well.

For our December programme, we

are singing once again with Luc Ver-

tommen and his Buizingen Brass

Band. But there are no ‗easy‘ con-

certs so we must remember our

well-known motto: WTC!

From The Editor English

In this issue you‘ll find an article

about songs and history, Cyril

Orcel‘s comments on his piano

concerto which is premiered in

November, and Simone tells us

more about our new website.

Happy reading!

Your Editor,

Georges Charneux

Français

Plusieurs nouveautés dans cette

édition: un article sur la chan-

son et l‘histoire, ainsi que le

commentaire de Cyril Orcel sur

son concerto pour piano créé en

première partie de notre concert

de novembre. Enfin, Simone

nous en dit plus sur notre nou-

veau site Internet.

Bonne lecture!

Features Cyril Orcel Speaks about his Concerto 6

BCS Gets a New Look, New Website 10

Les Refrains Font un peu l‘Histoire 11

Comings and Goings in The Committee 13

Remembering Our Past Concerts 14

Columns Aspects of Carl Orff‘s Life (1895 – 1982) 3

About Carmina Burana 4

About Frédéric Devreese 5

About Circles 5

About Cyril Orcel 6

The Artists We Will Sing W 7

John Rutter and His Music 8

A Familiar Figure, Luc Vertommen 9

The Buizingen Brass Band 9

Regulars News 1

From The Editor 1

From the Musical Director 2

Le Mot du Président 2

Welcome, New Members 12

Farewell, Departing Members 13

Congratulations to…13

Contact the BCS

bcs.contact@skynet.be

Blog with the BCS

Bcsblog.wordpress.com

Special points of interest…

BCS Gets a New Look, New Website 10

Les Refrains Font un peu l‘Histoire 11

Comings and Goings in The

Committee 13

Remembering Our Past Concerts 14

Lemmensinstituut 26 June 2010 – Photo: Kasia Muszynska

2

From the Musical Director Rehearsing three programs at once is never easy, but it certainly

allows us to enjoy very varied rehearsals! Diversity of program is of

course one of our goals as a choral organization and although these

three composers are all 20th century artists, the differences in their

styles and their vocal writing is immediately evident. Contrast for

example the angular, brusque, primitive rhythms and accents of

Orff‘s signature work, with Vaughan Williams 19th century lyrical

inclinations. Take again John Rutter‘s ‗pop/jazz influenced‘ Gloria

(and other works) blended with the English carol tradition and you

certainly have a wide range of stylistic tendencies!

We‘re very happy to announce that Piers Maxim will be leading our

choral workshop in late May. Piers comes to us highly recommend-

ed and we‘ll have more information for you about him at a later

date.

Beethoven is lurking just around the corner – don‘t forget that the

Missa Solemnis will be performed in the Bozar in December 2011.

It will be a first for the BCS!

In the meantime, let me reiterate what a joy it is to work with you

every Thursday – it‘s truly an honor.

Onwards and upwards!

Eric

Le Mot du Président Les 28 et 29 mai 2011, nous vous invitons à participer à un week-

end de perfectionnement, durant lequel nous aurons l‘occasion

d‘approfondir tant notre technique vocale et chorale que les deux

œuvres que nous donnerons au cours du second semestre, la Sea

Symphony et la Missa Solemnis.

Nous faisons suite à la demande de nombre d‘entre vous, notam-

ment lors de l‘assemblée générale, de nous retrouver tous

ensemble, loin du stress de la ville et de la fatigue du jeudi soir,

pour partager dans les meilleures conditions possibles notre pas-

sion commune.

Nous allons mettre les petits plats dans les grands, pour que cette

rencontre reste, pour toutes et tous, un souvenir inoubliable : en-

vironnement superbe, un « coach » invité de tout haut niveau,

bonne chère, bar accueillant et, le samedi soir, pour ceux qui le

souhaitent, soirée cabaret !

Nous vous donnerons les détails pratiques à mesure que nous les

connaitrons, mais, d‘ores et déjà, notez cette date dans vos agen-

das ; pour que ces « super-répétitions » soient un succès, nous

avons besoin de votre présence à tous !

Alexis

3

Aspects of Carl Orff’s Life (1895 – 1982) Born in 1895 to an old Bavarian family, Carl Orff remains famous

for his Carmina Burana (for more, see next page), his relationship

to Nazism and his method for learning music – Schulwerk.

Carl Orff and Nazism

Orff‘s Carmina Burana was hugely popular in Nazi Germany after its

premiere in Frankfurt in 1937, and received numerous perfor-

mances. But the composition with its unfamiliar rhythms was also

denounced with racist taunts. After some initial official discomfort

about the work's frank sexual innuendos, Orff's cantata was ele-

vated to the status of a signature piece in Nazi circles, where it was

treated as an emblem of Third Reich ‗youth culture‘.

Orff was a personal friend of Kurt Huber, one of the founders of the

resistance movement Die Weiße Rose (The White Rose), who was

executed by the Nazis in 1943. Orff by happenstance called at Hu-

ber's house on the day after his arrest. Huber's distraught wife

begged Orff to use his influence to help her husband, but Orff de-

nied her request. If his friendship with Huber came out, he told her,

he would be ‗ruined‘. Huber's wife never saw Orff again. Wracked

by guilt, Orff would later write a letter to his late friend Huber, im-

ploring him for forgiveness.

After World War II, Orff, faced with the possible loss of royalties

from Carmina Burana, claimed to a de-nazification officer that he

was a member of The White Rose, and was himself involved in the

resistance. There was no evidence of this other than his own word,

and other sources dispute his claim. Orff's assertion was, however,

accepted by the American de-nazification authorities, who changed

his previous category of ‗gray unacceptable‘ to ‗gray acceptable‘,

enabling him to continue to compose for public presentation.

Most of Orff's later works extend the language of Carmina Burana

in interesting ways, but they are not operas in the conventional

sense and are rarely performed, even in Germany.

Schulwerk

Orff Schulwerk is a way of teaching and learning music. It uses

songs, dances, rhymes, clapping games and other activities that

children like to do. This provides them with the basis for construct-

ing their own music, and learning to read and write music. Music

happens in a non-competitive environment and takes account of all

children‘s musical skills, whether advanced or basic and often in the

same piece of music!

Special instruments exist to facilitate teaching and learning using

this approach. These include wooden xylophones and marimbas,

metal glockenspiels, metallophones and untuned percussion in-

struments. Orff‘s arrangements and music-making uses simple

elemental features such as pentatonic scales and repetitive accom-

paniments to enable children to quickly achieve musical success.

Improvisation and composition are encouraged as an important

part of the Orff classroom. Carl Orff and his associate, Gunild

Keetman, developed this approach to musical education. It has

proven to be highly successful (notably with children afflicted with

cerebral palsy) and is used in many countries throughout the world.

4

About Carmina Burana Carmina Burana was first staged in Frankfurt by the Frankfurt Op-

era on 8 June 1937 and became an immediate success. Shortly

after the premiere, Orff wrote the following letter to his publisher:

―Everything I have written to date, and which you have, unfortu-

nately, printed, can be destroyed. With Carmina Burana, my

collected works begin.‖

The desire Orff expressed in the letter to his publisher has by and

large been fulfilled: no other composition of his approaches its re-

nown, as evidenced in both pop culture's appropriation of O

Fortuna and the classical world's persistent programming and re-

cording of the work.

The 24 movements of the work – begun and ended by a vigorous

and grandiose appeal to Fortuna, goddess of fate and luck, against

a background of resounding percussion – are set out in three large

themes: spring, the tavern and love. At first, the pastoral gaiety of

spring is evoked in a litany sung in unison; then comes a compari-

son between nature's awakening and that of love, followed by

love's joyous call accompanied by the peal of bells. Near the middle

of the section […], the orchestral dance in Uf dem Anger, marked

by changes in tempo, takes up an old popular Bavarian custom - a

dance tune – which leads to the fluctuating vocal rhythms of Floret

silva nobilis, the girls‘ lament in Middle High German mixed with

Late Latin. The coquettishness of the girls in Chramer, gip die

varwe mir, accentuated with the sound of bells – their attempt to

cast a spell on the men with clever musical makeup – only elicits

derisive comments from the latter. The multi-part dialogue then

gives way to a Bacchic invocation to the Queen of England. Accord-

ing to the most recent research, this is probably Eleanor of

Aquitaine, wife of Henry II of England, whose love affairs have be-

come legendary.

An indisputable theatrical spirit emanates from the second part of

the work, entitled In Taberna. It begins with a satirical confession,

and with reckless abandon, professes ‗pravitas‘, or impious behav-

iour. The falsetto voice of the swan roasting on the spit offers a

parody of the tenor buffo; in a drunken speech, the patron saint of

dice comes forward, and proclaims himself the Abbot of Cockaigne;

this festive scene culminates in a rousing male chorus which, with a

gradually increasing number of voices, extols the pleasure of drink-

ing with orgiastic exuberance.

In the third part, Cour d'amours, the themes of feigned innocence,

refinement, lovelorn lament and the search for love assert them-

selves. The men‘s a capella Si puer cum puellula (a frankly crude

erotic poem) is put on an equal footing with In trutina, a lady‘s

tender confession of love to her knight. The hymn to Helen and Ve-

nus ends with the reprise of the powerful first chorus, built on an

ostinato. This repetition symbolises the wheel of fortune turning on

itself; Orff had found it illustrated in miniature in the Carmina Bu-

rana manuscript

Read more about Carl Orff in a Tony Palmer documentary ‘O

Fortuna’ available on DVD (TP118).

5

About Frédéric Devreese Born in Amsterdam on 2 June 1929, Frédéric Devreese is a com-

poser and orchestral conductor. He studied composition with his

father, Godfried Devreese, with Marcel Poot and Ildebrando Pizzetti

at the Academia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and conducting with

René Defossez and Hans Swarowski at the Staats Akademie in Vi-

enna.

His main works include a symphony, an overture, three ballets

(Mascarade, Don Juan, Gemini) three suites for symphony orches-

tra (L’Oeuvre au noir, Benvenuta, La partie d’échecs), four piano

concertos (the fourth was his compulsory work for the Queen Elisa-

beth Competition in 1983), a violin concerto, Canti, a cello con-

certo, a saxophone concertino and Ostinati, a saxophone concerto

written for the Adolphe Sax Competition in 1998.

He has composed around fifty works for piano, including collections

such as Mascarade, Soundtrack 1-3, Black & White, 9 Waltzes,

Short Waltzes and Gemini Suite for two pianos.

He has written music for some 30 films, including for Paul Hasaerts,

André Delvaux, Marion Hänsel, Yves Hanchar, Lieven De Brauwer,

Hugo Claus and Dominique de Rivaz. His works are published on

the Naxos, Marco Polo, Barclay, Virgin, Cyprès and Milan labels,

among others.

Naxos commissioned him to record some 20 CDs for the Anthology

of Romantic Flemish Music.

He worked as conductor and composer at the radio and television

broadcaster BRTN, where he initiated the programme Tenuto, an

annual competition for young soloists.

He was awarded the Prix Italia for his opera Willem Van Saefthing-

hen, and the George Delerue Award, the Joseph Plateau Award

twice for best film music and the Klara Career Award in 2006.

About Circles In Circles, Frédéric Devreese consciously chose a neo-baroque style

as a tribute to Johann Sebastian Bach. The first four measures are

a determining factor in the work, because after the ninth measure,

they repeat up to 24 times, following the circle of fifths. The solo

parts begin with a melodic theme, and then find themselves forced

to follow the accompaniment in continuous transposition. Circles is

pulled into a momentum that becomes more and more turbulent

until it reaches a climax. The work ends with a reputed theme de-

veloped by Johann Sebastian Bach in his Musical Offering.

6

About Cyril Orcel Born in Toulouse in 1964, Cyril Orcel studied piano from the age of

7. At 14, he began to study both piano and percussion at the Brus-

sels Royal Conservatory (where he would meet Philippe Navarre).

During his higher education, he discovered his love for composition,

a true revelation that quickly became his reason for living.

Cyril Orcel claims to live entirely in harmony with the artistic trends

of his time. This has led him to choose an atypical artistic path.

During his classical studies, he played in jazz, funk and rock bands;

he also proclaims himself ―a child of pop‖. As such, he has offered

his services to artists like the Belgian group Vaya Con Dios, for

whom he wrote two songs.

His experience as a composer of symphonic classical music have

led him to be sought out both in Belgium and France to compose

music for fictional films, TV films, documentaries and sometimes

even music for prestigious advertising films (for example, the pub-

licity campaign for Lancôme‘s Miracle perfume).

Through Orcel‘s musical work for the cinema, he has perfected the

use of new digital musical techniques that allow him to combine

certain colours of current popular music with traditional tonal sym-

phonic music.

Cyril Orcel Speaks about his Concerto The most important aspect of this concerto, and of my composition

work in general, is my wish to unite great music with a general au-

dience (the largest audience possible).

Though I‘m particularly fond of the great composers such as

Brahms, Ravel, Debussy, Scriabin, Stravinsky, etc., it‘s still an

older form of music whose audience is becoming smaller and

smaller. And despite my music conservatoire studies, I am also a

child of pop who listens to everything the musical world produces

today. That is why my concerto contains references to music both

past and present.

This First Concerto for Piano is a real repertoire work; it‘s dazzling

and quite technical for the pianist. It is structured into three

movements: a powerful, impressionist first movement, a slow and

very poetic, almost hypnotic second movement, and a quick third

movement with very assertive rhythms.

The orchestral arrangement necessary for the concerto is the same

as that for a Brahms piano concerto. Only the percussion section is

larger, featuring two bass drums. But it is the harmonic distribution

of the instruments that makes the work very different from classi-

cal arrangements. Counterpoint is mainly used, even for the

woodwinds and brass. The harmonies are inspired by various types

of tonal music – classical, romantic, impressionist and jazz – and

the ostinato rhythmic sequences, which one might call classical,

make reference to current funk music.

―To elicit dreams and to give pleasure‖ – this is my only musical

objective, my only reason for composing.

7

The Artists We Will Sing With Pierre-Yves Gronier (conductor)

Born in 1959 in northern France, he began studying at the Lille

Conservatoire in 1973 and afterwards went to the Orchestre Na-

tional de Lille. He dreamt of founding his own orchestra and in

1992 he formed the Orchestre Symphonique des Etudiants Lille

Flandres (OSELF). Six years later he created the ensemble Musica,

this time made up of professional musicians. In 2006, the OSELF

made way for the Symphonistes Européens which gathers French

and Belgian professional, semi-professional and good amateur

players together. Recently he was named artistic director of the In-

ternational Festival of Marrakech.

Laurent Wagschal, pianist

After having started his musical studies in Annecy, Laurent Wag-

schal went to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique of

Paris to study piano and chamber music. After winning two first

prizes, he began a remarkable career as a soloist and member of

chamber ensembles. In his discography he has tried to champion

rarely performed composers as well as French music.

Amaryllis Grégoire, soprano

A lyric coloratura soprano, she was a semi-finalist at the Queen

Elisabeth singing competition in 1992. She is equally at ease in op-

era, oratorio, song cycles and contemporary music. In her recitals,

she is generally accompanied by the pianist Luc Devos. She has

sung the Queen of the Night many times on stage, as well as the

soprano part in Carmina Burana. We have sung with her once be-

fore in Verdi‘s Requiem, conducted by Michel Tilkin.

Luc de Meulenaere, tenor

He first started studying architecture and graphic arts but since

1980 has devoted his time to singing. In 1984, he made his debut

in the choir of La Monnaie, singing solo parts in many productions.

In 1983, he joined the Malufi Singers as counter tenor and has

sung the complete vocal chamber music repertoire with them. He

sings in many concerts and is well known for his impersonation of

the Swan in Carmina Burana.

Lionel Lhote, baritone

After having commenced his vocal training with his father, the Bel-

gian baritone Lionel Lhote continued his studies at the Royal

Conservatoire of Mons and then at the Royal Conservatoire of Brus-

sels where he obtained his diplôme supérieur de chant opéra in

1999. In 2000, he was a semi-finalist in the Belvédère Competition

in Vienna and a finalist at the auditions of the Opéra de la Bastille

in Paris.

Lionel won sixth prize at the Queen Elisabeth singing competition in

2004.

8

John Rutter and His Music John Rutter was born in London in 1945 and received his first

musical education as a chorister at Highgate School. He went on to

study music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he wrote his first

published compositions and conducted his first recording while still

a student.

His compositional career has embraced large and small-scale

choral works, orchestral and instrumental pieces, a piano concerto,

two children's operas, music for television, and specialist writing for

such groups as the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and the King's

Singers.

From 1975 to 1979 he was Director of Music at Clare College,

whose choir he directed in a number of broadcasts and recordings.

After giving up the Clare post to allow more time for composition,

he formed the Cambridge Singers as a professional chamber choir

primarily dedicated to recording, and he now divides his time be-

tween composition and conducting. He has guest-conducted or

lectured everywhere in the world. In 1980 he was made an hono-

rary Fellow of Westminster Choir College, Princeton, and in 1988 a

Fellow of the Guild of Church Musicians. In 1996 the Archbishop of

Canterbury conferred a Lambeth Doctorate of Music upon him in recognition of his contribution to church music.

In 1984 Rutter formed his own record label, Collegium, in the

hopes of bringing choral music to a wider audience through perfor-

mances of the highest possible quality. "I just wanted a vehicle for

the Cambridge Singers," he says, "and a way of recording the mu-

sic I wanted, when I wanted, with whom I wanted, in the buildings

I wanted, with the engineers and the producers that I wanted."

Collegium has achieved great success and wide acclaim over the

years. "There was a much larger audience worldwide for the sort of

music we were recording than we had ever known. It's really, really

heartening, because it shows that choral music is much closer to

the centre of people's affections than is often suspected."

A healthy amount of the repertoire released on the Collegium label

has to do with Christmas. When asked about his feelings on the

holiday, Rutter replies, "For me, first and foremost, Christmas is

happy memories of the way it was celebrated when I was a kid. As

everyone would probably say, it revolves around the family and

gatherings. But it also revolves around my school chapel. I was at a

school in north London that happened to have a chapel with a fine

choir. And our Christmas carol service was the high point of our

singing year. So I actually developed a love of the whole music of

Christmas, along with the message of Christmas, from when I was

a kid. With music, your Christmas can always be perfect. With real-

life Christmas, there's always something that's going to go a bit

wrong. You're hoping it's going to snow on Christmas Day, but it

doesn't. Or your turkey smells absolutely gorgeous, but it turns out that it's a bit burned when you come to eat it. But the music of

Christmas is always perfect, and so I love to remember and cele-

brate Christmas in music and song."

9

A Familiar Figure, Luc Vertommen Luc Vertommen was born in Leest (near Mechelen). In that small

village he got acquainted with the band-music scene by way of the

local fanfare band. He moved on to study music theory and prac-

ticed the cornet and the piano at the music academies of Mechelen

and Willebroek. Luc completed his higher musical education at the

Lemmens Institute in Leuven with a triple Laureate Certificate for

Trumpet, Music History and Band Conducting. Subsequently, he

obtained a First Prize for Chamber Music at the Brussels Conserva-

toire. Later, he also obtained a master's degree in Wind Band

Conducting at the Leuven Lemmens Institute.

After his training, Luc worked with many leading Belgian symphonic

orchestras and ensembles as a freelance trumpet player. Shortly

after, he became immersed full time in the band music world: as a

brass and instrumental ensemble teacher at the music academy of

Zaventem and band conducting teacher at the Servais Academy of

Halle, and also as conductor of the Brass Band Buizingen, the Royal

Fanfare Band 'De Berthoutzonen' of Hallaar and Delta Brass Zeel-

and (NL).

Luc Vertommen has worked with many famous soloists and com-

posers. As a cornet player he was laureate at the National Soloist

Contest of the then Flemish Brass Band Federation. He played with

the Brass Band Midden Brabant and Brass Band Willebroek.

Luc has written two books around the band music theme. He regu-

larly arranges music for bands, which has been recorded on several

CDs. At the moment, Luc is compiling a series of CDs and books on

the history of Flemish band music, entitled Anthology of Flemish

Band Music.

Luc Vertommen has his own publishing company, Traxon Mu-

sic/Band Press, with an extended catalogue containing more than

200 original works for band by Flemish composers. Luc Vertommen

is a member of WASBE, the musical commission of the Royal Music

Federation of Flemish Brabant and of the brass band commission of

the Flemish Amateur Music Organisation (Vlamo).

The Buizingen Brass Band Founded in 1975, the Buizingen Brass Band is one of the best, if

not the best, Belgian brass band.

In 1997, their achievements were recognised with their nomi-

nation as Cultural Ambassador of Flanders. Under the baton of

their conductor and artistic director Luc Vertommen, they are

currently (2009) Belgian National Champions, Flemish Open Cham-

pions as well as Dutch Open Champions (Eurobrass). They also

came third in 2009 at the World Music Contest in Kerkrade (Hol-

land). In 2010, they competed in the European Brass Band

Championships in Linz, Austria. The band has also recorded a num-

ber of CDs featuring Belgian composers of the past century

including Paul Gilson, Marcel Poot and August de Boeck

10

BCS Gets a New Look, New Website It all started with a simple question. ―Have you ever thought of

updating the website?” I inquired of Alan Hope, then VP of

Communications for the BCS, in the spring of 2009. I wanted the

BCS to have a website that would match its quality and reputa-

tion. I had experience with just such a project; and unlike with

previous choirs, I had the time to give. So, I decided to offer my

help.

Having been waiting for just such an offer, Alan eagerly accepted

off we went. Instead of a site update, we quickly determined

that the BCS needed an entirely new website. So we hired a pro-

fessional web development and design firm and launched into a full

visual branding initiative, with a new logo to accompany the web-

site. Despite serving in a volunteer capacity, we treated this project

just like our other professional projects – we gathered stakeholder

input, did tons of research, and spent literally hundreds of hours in

meetings, hammering out compromises and discussing technical

details

A powerful PR tool, our primary audience for the site is the public,

including potential partners and sponsors, as well as prospective

members. The site‘s second important function is to communicate

with our existing membership. Regarding the design, our goals

were clear: to create a clean, modern design, easily navigated, and

professional without being snobby. In any design project, it is diffi-

cult for people to separate their personal preferences from the

objective value of a design. Therefore it was my job to keep re-

minding everyone to evaluate our progress against those

qualitative criteria. (Well, that along with serving as co-project

manager, content writer, design consultant, best-practice re-

searcher, interim webmaster, general coordinator…).

Having overseen the project from idea to launch, I declined the of-

fer to act as the long-term site administrator, and instead Andrew

Kong has undertaken that role. And, as with every project of this

magnitude, there are a host of people to thank: PragmaWork—

Karim Kancel, Grisha De Ruyver, and Zoé Bezençon (design and de-

velopment); Alexis de Baets, Rudi van Reijsen, and Paul Thirion

(translation creation and editing); the BCS Steering Committee

(general input, funding and support). Last, but certainly not least,

is Alan Hope, without whom this project quite simply would not

have happened.

Simone Howell Raarup

11

Les Refrains Font un peu l’Histoire On pense volontiers que seuls les discours des tribuns ou les livres

des grands auteurs sont capables d‘agir sur l‘histoire. Erreur. Par-

fois quelques mesures d‘une mélodie simple quelques mots qui

s‘impriment facilement dans la mémoire parviennent à façonner

une identité collective, à mettre en mouvement des peuples. Quand

Verdi compose Va Pensiero, il ne sait pas encore qu‘il va compter

parmi les inventeurs de l‘Italie unifiée, libérée de ses oppresseurs

autrichiens. Verdi reprend le texte du psaume 137 de la Bible (qui a

connu maintes autres destinées musicales avec son texte anglais

By the Rivers of Babylon) mais en prenant soin de ne pas heurter

l‘œil vigilant de la censure qui veille en 1842 dans la Lombardie im-

périale. Il retranche les formules bibliques « nos vainqueurs » et «

nos oppresseurs » mais chacun sait quel est le texte original du

psalmiste. Et quand, le 9 mai à la Scala de Milan, on entend pour la

première fois Va pensiero, l‘ovation déborde de la salle d‘opera et

envahit toute l‘Italie. Et pendant presque 30 ans, la foule

l‘entonnera à chaque victoire de l‘unification italienne.

La rue et les cérémonies officielles : peu d‘objets passent aussi bien

d‘une circonstance à l‘autre que les chansons. La Marseillaise avant

d‘être la rengaine de la pompe tricolore de l‘Etat français a été un

chant de gueux et de va- nu- pieds, un hymne pour champs de ba-

tailles et barricades. Plus émouvant encore, le fameux Chant des

partisans : on sait qu‘il a résonné dans les combats désespérés des

maquis et dans le cœur d‘un peuple écrasé sous la botte nazie et

collaborationniste. Quel que soit l‘interprète qui s‘en empare, quel-

que chose survient qui transcende tout, un frisson commun à tous

les Français, une émotion qui les unit, une sensation qui tient à la

fois du souvenir et du projet. Et ces chansons ne sont pas seule-

ment des marqueurs de mémoire, de petits mausolées en souvenir

d‘un temps, d‘une lutte, d‘un espoir. Ces chansons sont le temps, la

lutte ou l‘espoir.

Parfois, cet art ne hisse pas les drapeaux ni ne pousse les foules au

combat. La chanson surgit comme une petite sœur turbulente ou

un grand frère audacieux et entraîne la société tout entière. Quand

en 1972, Charles Aznavour chante Comme ils disent, une bonne

partie de l‘opinion pense encore que les homosexuels ne sont pas

des gens comme les autres. D‘une part, il utilise le mot « homo »

qui tranche avec le vocabulaire plus brutal que l‘on emploie

d‘ordinaire. D‘autre part, que ce discours soit écrit et porté par Az-

navour, hétérosexuel qui a chanté les plus poignants chansons

d‘amour, voilà qui décuple les forces de Comme ils disent.

Pour cette raison même, cette chanson fera plus que mille discours.

Ainsi en est-il également de Strange Fruits par Billie Holiday pour

porter les premiers coups à la ségrégation raciale aux Etats Unis,

de Volver de Carlos Gardel pour donner à tous les hispanophones

d‘Amérique du Sud des rêves communs, de Say It Loud de James

Brown pour rendre leur dignité aux Noirs américains. Si nous

sommes plus dans des époques aussi fécondes en refrains immor-

tels que la révolution française ou la libération, nous comprendrons

sans doute bientôt quelles chansons d‘aujourd‘hui nous transfor-

ment sans que nous nous en rendions compte.

(D’après un article de Bertrand Dicale, historien de la chan-

son, paru dans La Croix du 24 septembre)

12

Welcome, New Members Bori Hoffbauer (Hungary –Soprano)

I went to a music primary school back at home, and started singing

in choirs from the age of 8. I was a member of Ad Libitum Chamber

Choir of Baja (my hometown), and a successful participant of sev-

eral national and international choir contests! I started a new life in

Belgium 2.5 years ago, and have realized that I can't live without

singing here either, so I'm happy I could join BCS.

Zuleika Welham (Belgium – Soprano)

I am currently a student in Leuven, studying music therapy at the

Lemmens Institute. I have lived in Brussels for 7 years, but I grew

up and spent most of my life in England. These past two years I

was a member of La Choraline (the Monnaie opera house youth

choir) and in 2008, I sang the Knabe part in Elias by Mendelssohn

at the Bozar. I‘m now looking forward to singing with the BCS!

Ragnhild Berg (Norway – Alto)

I moved to Brussels in June to work for the European Commission

dealing with international cooperation in education. I come from

Norway, where I have sung in choirs since I was little. For the last

8 years I have been a member of a small choir singing mostly Nor-

wegian folk music, but also other genres like popular music,

classical music and madrigals. I like being outside hiking or run-

ning, and exploring the beautiful city of Brussels!

Elsa Garcia-Maltras (Spain – Alto)

Back in Brussels and really glad to join BCS again! I was a member

from 2002 to 2004 and have very good memories...including sing-

ing at the Royal Wedding. I am a music lover – I used to play the

violin in a former life – and I also like playing sports, reading books

and basking in the sun whilst sipping a mojito (sigh).

Maggy Triest (Belgium – Alto)

I am a freelance translator and I‘ve always been fond of foreign

(and musical) languages. I play piano and accordion but my real

passion is choral music. I started singing in a small choir (La Psa-

lette) but the more I sing, the more I enjoy it. There are so many

beautiful pieces to discover! I regularly attend summer stages (I

sang Vic Nees‘ Trumpet Te Deum this summer in Vaison). I was a

member of the Namur Symphonic Choir, Sturm & Klang and nowa-

days of Polyphonia (director Denis Menier). I also like dogs, cooking

and trekking in the mountains. Sans musique, la vie serait une er-

reur !

Jens Carlander (Sweden – Tenor)

I moved from Sweden to Brussels in mid August 2010 as a result of

my wife getting a job here. Currently, my main responsibility is

taking care of our two boys, 3 and 6 years old. In Sweden I sang in

the male choir Orphei Drangar which - together with the Swedish

Radio Symphony Orchestra - performed Oedipus Rex at Bozar in

September 2009!

13

Christian Olesen (Denmark – Bass)

I'm a Dane, born in the Netherlands, and have lived in the Nether-

lands, Denmark, USA, Belgium and the UK. I've sung throughout

school and I sang in the Durham University Choral Society, per-

forming a couple of times a year in Durham Cathedral, including

works by Duruflé, Haydn, Brahms and Elgar. When I'm not singing,

I work at BNP Paribas Fortis, and play golf when I can.

Comings and Goings in The Committee The structure of our committee has recently changed. David Wood

has resigned as Vice President – Concerts and joins the Communi-

cation Team assisted by two newcomers, Andrew and Paul. Let us

find out a bit more about both of them.

Andrew Kong (Webmaster)

I have been in the bass section of our choir for five years. It is both

a great honour and a small challenge to take up this post. Thanks

to the enormous effort of Alan Hope and Simone Raarup, our new

website has just been launched. I will do my utmost to keep it

user-friendly and up-to-date. Please support me by sending in your

feedback and suggestions, and contributing to the content (includ-

ing photos) and translation.

Paul Thirion (Marketing)

Originally from Liège, I have been living in Brussels for ten years. I

teach Dutch and English in a secondary school. I have been a

member of several parish choirs and small music groups in Belgium

and abroad but I‘ve never had the opportunity to be part of a choir

such as the BCS. It has always been one of my dreams.

Sue Davies resigns as committee secretary and replaces David

Wood as Vice President – Concerts.

We are looking for a new committee secretary and someone to be

responsible for our relations with media and sponsors. Volunteers

are most welcome.

Farewell, Departing Members Laura Grant, Claire Elise Harris & Lizzy Puddicombe (so-

pranos), Eva Hertel (alto), Claude Coutié & Jean-Pierre

Demiddeleer (tenors) Alan Hope & Carlton Meredith (basses)

Congratulations to…

Rebecca Steel-Jazinska (alto) who is mother of Elsie Maja, born

on 29 September.

Thanks to those who took part in making this edition: Eric, Alexis, Simone, Andrew,

Audrey Perroy, Cyril Orcel, Bori, Zuleima, Elsa, Maggy, Ragnhild, Jens, Christian (bios), Beth, Roxanne Parisse (translations), Fiona (proofreading), Kasia Muszynska & Nora (pictures).

14

Remembering Our Past Concerts

May - Chant d’Oiseau

The Chant d‘Oiseau church was a perfect setting for our perfor-

mance of sacred music where we sang two major works, Schubert‘s

Mass in G and Lauridsen‘s Lux Aeterna. The concert opened with a

beautiful setting of O Lord, support us by an excellent (but still un-

known) American composer. Very rarely performed, the Schubert

Mass made a strong impression on the audience. The small choir of

volunteers singing the solo parts in the Sanctus was brilliant and

Margaret McBride‘s voice was a revelation for many of us. Well

done, Margaret!

Ovations too for the Belgian orchestral premiere of Lauridsen‘s Lux

Aeterna! The work, very well written for the choir, requires a wide

palette of nuances Eric succeeded in getting. Thank you, Mr Biebl,

for your Ave Maria which highlighted the men‘s sections. Barber‘s

Adagio for Strings always makes a great impression; one can‘t say

the same about Copland‘s Quiet City, however talented our soloists

may have been.

It was very pleasing for both Eric and us to hear several musicians

spontaneously congratulating us on this concert – it encourages us

to keep working hard!

June – Lemmens Instituut

Change of scene for our June concert sung at the Lemmens Insti-

tute in Leuven, a place not easily accessible, as several of us will

remember! The pieces chosen by Eric were demanding and quite

unusual: a horn player told me the Schubert pieces for men‘s choir

were something as new for him as for us. The Lili Boulanger pieces

display a great harmonic refinement but at the same time – espe-

cially due to the texts – a very dated aesthetic. However, our two

pianists, Catherine Mertens and Luc Devos, were supreme in this

repertoire.

The third movement of the Symphony of Psalms had made life diffi-

cult for us and we can say the concert was the best rehearsal of

this splendid work! What a pity we didn‘t have a larger audience –

how can we compete with a football match on television? Thanks to

those who attended all the same. With the satisfaction of having

done well, we could at last have a drink at the bar!