Christiane-Josée Vigneron-Ramackers (25 January 1914 – 30 August 2002), also known as Jo Delande, was a Belgian

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

, conductor and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. She is known for founding the Academie voor Muziek, Theater & Dans in

Maasmechelen Maasmechelen (; ) is a municipality located on the Meuse in the Belgian province of Limburg. It comprises the former municipalities of Mechelen-aan-de-Maas, Vucht, Leut, Meeswijk, Uikhoven, Eisden, Opgrimbie, Boorsem, and Kotem. As a result ...

in 1945 and for several prize-winning compositions.

Biography

Josée Vigneron-Ramackers was born on 25 January 1914, in Leopoldsburg, Limbourg in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Her father was director of the boys' school of the Coal Mines in

Eisden Maasmechelen (; ) is a Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located on the Meuse in the Belgium, Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg. It comprises the former municipalities of Mechelen-aan-de-Maas, Vucht, Le ...

, where she lived from 1921. Her mother was the daughter of lyricist Jean-G. Close, and a soprano singing in charity concerts. She studied at the ''Zusters Kindsheid Jesu's'' (Sisters of the Childhood of Jesus) normal school in

Hasselt Hasselt (, , ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. As of 1 August 2023, Hasselt had a total population of 80,846. The old ...

, and at the Limburgse Orgel- en Zangschool under the tuition of Herman and Arthur Meulemans, where she learned

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

and

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

. She obtained her organ, piano and teaching diplomas in 1934. Vigneron-Ramackers was then appointed to the Koninklÿk Atheneum of Eisden and the Atheneum of

Maaseik Maaseik (; ) is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of Limburg. Both in size (close to 77 km2) and in population (approx. 25,000 inhabitants, of whom some 3,000 non-Belgian), it is the 8th largest municipality in Limburg. The to ...

, where she taught singing and drawing from 1934 to 1969. In the meantime, she pursued her studies by correspondence, learning about

fugue In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...

with Herman Meulemans, and

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

with Arthur Meulemans and

Paul Gilson Paul Gilson (Brussels, 15 June 1865 – Brussels, 3 April 1942) was a Belgian musician and composer. Biography Paul Gilson was born in Brussels. In 1866, his family moved to Ruisbroek in the Belgian province of Brabant. There he studied th ...

. In 1945, she founded the free music school Tuinwijk in Eisden, which would become the Gemeentelijke Muziekacademie in 1973, when taken over by the

community, and served as its director until 1979. According to the ', this academy was seen as "the cradle of musical life in the whole Maasland region." There, great importance was paid to the all-round education of musicians: compulsory Dutch and cultural history courses were introduced, as well as numerous exhibitions and drawing lessons. In 1955, she created the ''Jeugd en Muziek'' department in Eisden, and opened a free music course for youth (''Jeugdmuziekschool'') in her academy, in order to remedy to some extent the pedagogical shortcomings of formal music education. Vigneron-Ramackers also got involved in her father's school orchestra, turning the pre-war amateur band into a full-fledged chamber orchestra, the ''Kamerorkest van de Muziekacademie''. She received the Koopal Prize from the Ministry of Education and Culture in 1961 for five of her compositions. On 8 February 1978, she was awarded the prize for music of the province of Limburg. On 14 March 1981, she was made Officer of the

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgiu ...

by the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Vandermeulen.

Musical style

Most of her music was composed with small ensembles in mind. She was at first influenced by the impressionist current, then her work turned out to be more in the neo-classical vein.

Compositions

Works for orchestra

* 1958: ''Concertino'', for

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

and chamber orchestra * 1969: ''Mobiles'', for 4

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

s, percussion and string orchestra * ''Studies'', for small orchestra

Works for wind orchestra

* 1957: ''Vier etudes'', for symphonic wind orchestra

Musical theatre

Stage music

* 1936: ''Er was eens'' * 1937: ''De Sneeuwkoningin'' * 1938: ''Het daghet'' (text by Ysbrand Paulus Stasse)

Vocal music

Works for choir

* 1972: ''Drie zangen van liefde en dood''

Songs

* 1943: ''Rossignol, es-tu damné?'', for voice and piano * 1943: ''Quatre mélodies'', for voice and piano * 1956: ''Trois mélodies'', for voice and orchestra * 1972: ''Vocalise'', for voice and piano, op. 18 * 1981: ''Vocalise 2'', for voice and piano, op. 20 * 1982: ''Huit mélodies'', for voice and piano * 1984: ''Dix Vocalises'', for voice and piano * ''Sept mélodies'', for soprano and piano, op. 61 * ''Vieilles chansons et rondes françaises'', for middle voice and piano

Chamber music

* 1958: ''Duo rhapsodique'', for clarinet and piano * 1958: ''Hommage à Maurice Van Guchte'', for clarinet octet * 1959: ''Saxofoonkwartet'' * 1965: ''Petit cortège presque chinois'', for piano and two

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfic ...

, op. 10 * 1968: ''3 Études de style'', for oboe and saxophone * 1972: ''Alternato'', for

cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn (mainly North America), is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially ...

and piano * 1984: ''Sonatine'', for oboe and organ

Works for organ

* 1972: ''Haute Fagnes'', op. 15

Works for piano

* 1967: ''Ballade des oiseaux captifs'' * 1968: ''6 Mini studi'', op. 11 * 1971: ''2 Preludi'', op. 12

Works for guitar

* 1972: ''Variations sur Harbouya''

Pedagogical works

* 1967: ''Van kleuterdreun naar notenleer'' * 1968: ''Door volkslied tot notenleer'' * 1971: ''Notenboekje''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vigneron-Ramackers, Josee 1914 births 2002 deaths 20th-century Belgian classical composers Belgian women classical composers Belgian classical composers Officers of the Order of Leopold II 20th-century women composers