Lodewijk de Vocht: Violin Concerto in E minor

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Lodewijk de Vocht (1887-1977)

Violin Concerto in E minor

I. Allegro energico 0:00
II. Andante 9:29
III. Finale: Vivace 20:44

Majumi Fujikawa, violin
Philharmonic Orchestra of Antwerp
Léonce Gras, conductor

Gummarus Ida Ludovicus (Lodewijk) De Vocht ( 1887 - 1977 ) was a Flemish composer and conductor. He was mainly active between the two world wars and wrote mainly choral music. As a student of Lodewijk Mortelmans , he followed in his footsteps. De Vocht received his first musical education with Emile Wambach in the choir of the Antwerp Cathedral. He studied at the Antwerp conservatory with Jan Bacot (violin), Frans Lenaerts (piano), Emile Wambach ( harmony ) and Lodewijk Mortelmans (counterpoint and fugue). He was fourteen when he wrote his first musical work for the Antwerp Saint Augustine Circle, the Groeninger Cantata. At the Antwerp Conservatory he became harmony teacher (1921), orchestra conductor (1925), director of the Conservatory concerts (1934-1952) and director (1944-1952). He taught, among others, Daniel Sternefeld, Jef Maes, and André Cluytens. As a music teacher, de Vocht was also active within Youth and Music Antwerp and was involved with the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. The directorship of the Antwerp conservatory was the source of a bitter struggle. In 1934 de Vocht was a candidate but lost to Flor Alpaerts. The title 'director of the concerts' was a consolation prize. In 1941 the director's position was vacant again. De Vocht was again a candidate, but it went to Jef van Hoof , who was supported by Occupation collaborators. This turned out to be good luck for de Vocht, who succeeded the deposed Van Hoof after the Liberation and was able to hold the position of director for another eight years. From 1913 to 1950, de Vocht was the bandmaster of the Antwerp cathedral. From 1903 he was a violinist at the Maatschappij der Nieuwe Concerts. He performed under the direction of Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Hans Richter, and Felix Weingartner, among others. From 1921 to 1934 he himself was conductor of this orchestra. He is best known as the founder of the Royal Chorale Caecilia, with which he produced, among other things, the opera Les Euménides by Darius Milhaud in Paris (1928). He also performed other contemporary works, such as the Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher by Arthur Honegger, as well as works by Zoltán Kodály, Albert Roussel, etc. He worked closely with the two former composers. From 1937 on, he was conductor of the Brussels Chorale de la Société Philharmonique, with whom he performed annually, such as with the Caecilia Choir, the St. Matthew Passion and The Messiah. De Vocht wrote symphonic works (including 3 symphonies and a symphonic poem), a violin concerto, a piano concerto, a cello concerto, masses, cantatas, choral works, chamber music and songs. His compositions are characterized by a pure melody and a simple, transparent structure. He not only wrote numerous choral works on texts by various Flemish poets, but also made many choral arrangements of (old) Flemish folk songs. He composed hardly any chamber music, but quite a few solo works for guitar and piano (including a sonata and various 'pastorales'). His first sustained activity concerned the writing of songs. Between 1908 and 1910 he wrote the Annual Wreath of Carols around the Hearth on texts by August Cuppens, including the famous "Love gave you a thousand names". Soon after, he also composed songs on texts by other poets such as Guido Gezelle (O 't ruischen van de sliet reed and Het writkenken), Bert Peleman (Scaldis aeterna and Ulenspiegel ballad) and Jozef Simons (Fables based on ancient stories in the folk style).