Various Composers - Miroir de Peine (Klaartje van Veldhoven; Matthias Havinga)

Information

• Hendrik Andriessen - Maria, schone vrouwe
• Hendrik Andriessen - Miroir de peine
• Hendrik Andriessen - Sonata da chiesa
• Hendrik Andriessen - Magna res est amor
• Hendrik Andriessen - La sainte face
• Henk Badings - Toccata
• Bertus van Lier - Vrijheid
• Henk Badings - Preludium en fuga 2
• Rosy Wertheim - Hymne
• Henk Badings - Preludium en Fuga 4
• Henk Badings - Drie Geestelijke Liederen

Klaartje van Veldhoven, soprano

Matthias Havinga, organ

Date: 2022

Label: Brilliant

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Review

The text accompanying this CD (in both English and Dutch) opens with a “Program Note” that is well worth quoting here in full:

“This CD features music by four Dutch composers, written between 1919 and 1955. The program was created when Klaartje van Veldhoven and Matthias Havinga began searching for works from the same period as Hendrik Andriessen’s most famous piece for voice and organ, Miroir de Peine. During this search, they came across several lesser-known works, now recorded on CD for the first time. This has been made possible in part thanks to the efforts of Lourens Stuifbergen, who prepared editions of Hendrik Andriessen’s Maria, schoone vrouwe and La Sainte Face. Also receiving their CD debut are the Three Sacred Songs by Henk Badings, Freedom by Bertus van Lier, and Hymn by Rosy Wertheim. In addition to these unknown works for organ and soprano, there are three beautiful organ pieces by Henk Badings that also have never been recorded. From his oeuvre, Matthias Havinga selected two Preludes and Fugues, written during the same period as the Three Sacred Songs, and the 1929 Toccata.”

A note that speaks for itself. Still, those inclined to nitpick might argue that Miroir de Peine isn’t actually Hendrik Andriessen’s most famous piece for voice and organ. That honor arguably belongs to the magnificent Magna res est amor. Between 1933 and 1967, it was performed twelve times in its orchestral version by the Concertgebouw Orchestra, by none other than Jo Vincent and Elly Ameling. Even after that period, the work has remained in the spotlight and has been recorded several times with organ accompaniment; on YouTube, the voice and organ version can be easily found and enjoyed.

The notes on Magna res est amor are paired with Rosy Wertheim’s 1929 Hymn, which sets the same text. In the catalog compiled by Lourens Stuifbergen for the Andriessen-De Klerk Foundation (available online), it is noted that Magna res est amor (“The greatest of these is love”) was composed to a text by Thomas à Kempis, dedicated to Mia Peltenburg, and first performed by her on 10 September 1919, accompanied by the composer himself in the Grote Kerk in Haarlem. The original instrumentation of Wertheim’s version—for voice, violin, and organ—was adapted by Matthias Havinga for voice and organ.

Miroir de Peine (“Mirror of Sorrow”) is a five-part cycle set to a text by Henri Ghéon, reflecting on five stages of Christ’s Passion as seen through the eyes of his mother, Mary. Andriessen composed it in 1923, and ten years later arranged it for soprano and string orchestra.

For Freedom, composed in 1945 by Bertus van Lier to a text by Jan Engelsman, Matthias Havinga arranged the original piano part for organ. Van Lier (of Jewish descent) was outspoken during WWII in his opposition to the occupying forces, and after the war, made his views known about colleagues like Henk Badings, who had accepted commissions under the occupation. In the 1950s and 60s, he gained attention with his large choral work The Song of Songs, but after his death in 1972, he faded into the ranks of forgotten composers.

It may come as something of a surprise that Albert de Klerk doesn’t appear as a “strong second” on this release. After all, he succeeded Hendrik Andriessen in 1934—at the age of sixteen—as organist of the St. Joseph Church in Haarlem, a position he held until his death in 1998. He left behind a large body of organ music, with and without vocal parts. Instead, the choice fell on Henk Badings, and that introduces us to the major revelation of this album: the cycle Three Sacred Songs, set to texts by the 17th-century mystic Jan Luyken.

Badings, born in 1907, had already risen to become the Netherlands’ most important composer by the 1930s. In 1942, he was commissioned by the Vienna Philharmonic to write a Symphonic Prologue for the orchestra’s centenary.

Among the solo organ works, the Preludes and Fugues from 1952 and 1955 are especially welcome additions, but the real surprise lies in the piece that closes this CD. The Three Sacred Songs, with a total duration of twenty minutes, are a substantial contribution to the concert repertoire for soprano and organ. Not only because of their length and musical quality, but especially due to their structure, which leaves room for virtuosic interludes, and demands a soprano with an exceptional range (notably the rich low register required at the beginning of the third song).

Naturally, there was only one possible location for this recording: the Joseph Church in Haarlem, where Hendrik Andriessen served as organist from 1913 to 1934. The church’s organ, built in 1906 by Amsterdam organ builder Petrus (“Piet”) Adema, who had Frisian roots, has survived virtually unchanged. It is equally natural that Klaartje van Veldhoven and Matthias Havinga, who have delivered a true labour of love with this CD, deserve the highest praise for their dedication, musicianship, and passion for this forgotten but deeply important repertoire. The CD, needless to say, stands as a magnificent recital in its own right.

— Siebe Riedstra

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Dutch soprano Klaartje van Veldhoven is renowned for her pure tone and sincere interpretations. She studied at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and the Schola Cantorum in Basel. In 2006, she won first prize at the John Kerr Award for English Song in the UK. Van Veldhoven has performed across Europe and the U.S. with renowned ensembles and conductors including Ton Koopman, Sigiswald Kuijken and the Dutch Bach Society. Her repertoire spans Baroque and early music, and she has appeared at leading festivals and venues. Her acclaimed recordings include Bach's Mass in B minor and Pergolesi's Stabat Mater.

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Dutch organist and pianist Matthias Havinga is professor of organ at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and organist at both the Oude Kerk and Koepelkerk in Amsterdam. A graduate in organ from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, he also studied piano and church music at leading Dutch institutions. Havinga has won prizes at international organ competitions and enjoys a global concert career, performing across Europe, the Americas and Russia. His acclaimed recordings on Brilliant Classics span a wide repertoire, and he actively promotes organ music through masterclasses, collaborations, and a successful YouTube channel.

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