Peter Benoit (17 August 18348 March 1901) was a
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
composer of Belgian nationality.
Biography
Petrus Leonardus Leopoldus Benoit was born in
Harelbeke
Harelbeke (; vls, Oarlbeke) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Harelbeke proper and the towns of Bavikhove and Hulste. On January 1, 2019, Harelbeke had a total pop ...
,
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
, Belgium in 1834. He was taught music at an early age by his father and the village organist. In 1851 Benoit entered the Brussels Conservatoire, where he remained till 1855, studying primarily with
FJ Fétis. During this period he composed music to many melodramas, and to the opera ''Le Village dans les montagnes'' for the Park Theatre, of which in 1856 he became the resident conductor. In 1857 he won the
Belgian Prix de Rome for his cantata ''Le Meurtre d'Abel''. The accompanying money grant enabled him to travel through Germany. In the course of his journings he found time to write a considerable amount of music, as well as an essay called ''L'École de musique flamande et son avenir''.
Fétis loudly praised his ''Messe solennelle'', which Benoit composed in Brussels on his return from Germany. In 1861 he visited Paris for the production of his opera ''Le Roi des Aulnes'' ("The Erl King"), which, though accepted by the
Théâtre Lyrique
The Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien). The company was founded in 1847 as the Opér ...
, was never performed. (He also composed a work for piano and orchestra called ''Le Roi des Aulnes''.) While there he conducted at the
Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens. Again returning home in 1863, he astonished the musical community with the production in
Antwerp of a sacred tetralogy, consisting of his ''Cantate de Noël'', the above-mentioned Mass, a
Te Deum
The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Ch ...
and a
Requiem, in which were embodied to a large extent his theories about Flemish music. At that time he also came under influence of a novelist Hendrik Conscience.
Benoit passionately pursued the founding of an entirely separate Flemish school, and to that purpose even changed his name from the
French "Pierre" to the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
equivalent "Peter". Through prodigious effort he succeeded in gathering a small group of enthusiasts who recognized with him the potential for a Flemish school that would differ completely from the French and German schools. However, these intentions failed, as the school's faith was tied too closely to Benoit's music, which was hardly more Flemish than it was French or German.
Benoit's most important compositions include the Flemish oratorios ''De Schelde'' (''The river Scheldt'') and ''Lucifer'' (which met complete failure when it was staged in London in 1888), the operas ''Het Dorp in 't Gebergte'' (''The village in the mountains'') and ''Isa'', and the ''Drama Christi'', a huge body of songs, choruses, small cantatas and motets. Benoit also wrote a great number of essays on musical matters.
He also composed a Flute Concerto (Symphonic Tale), Op. 43a, and a Piano Concerto (Symphonic Tale), Op. 43b.
He died in Antwerp on 8 March 1901, aged 66. In Harelbeke a museum remembers of his life and work, called the
Peter Benoit Huis.
Honours
* 1881: Commander in the
Order of Leopold.
* 1882: Member of the
Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium
The Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique, sometimes referred to as ') is the independent learned society of science and arts of the French Comm ...
.
[Index biographique des membres et associés de l'Académie royale de Belgique (1769-2005)]
Notes
References
*
External links
*
Biography on ''Famous Belgians''Biography on ''Naxos.com''*
*
Biography at SVM
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benoit, Peter
1834 births
1901 deaths
19th-century classical composers
19th-century Belgian male musicians
Belgian classical composers
Belgian male classical composers
Belgian opera composers
Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium
Flemish composers
Male opera composers
People from Harelbeke
Prix de Rome (Belgium) winners
Pupils of François-Joseph Fétis
Romantic composers
20th-century Belgian male musicians
Oratorio composers