Henk Lauwers
Encyclopedia
Henk Lauwers is a classical
baritone
singer (lyric baritone), born in Ypres
, Belgium
in 1956
As a very young boy soprano
Lauwers performed under direction of Benjamin Britten
his War Requiem
. Later he studied classical flute
but gained international fame as a classical baritone
singer. One of his most notable performances has been his live interpretation of Eight Songs for a Mad King
by Peter Maxwell Davies
in a Transparent Muziektheater production directed by Ian Burton.
, Erato
, Classic Talent, Sony/BMG, Ariola Classic)
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
singer (lyric baritone), born in Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
in 1956
As a very young boy soprano
Boy soprano
A boy soprano is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range. Although a treble, or choirboy, may also be considered to be a boy soprano, the more colloquial term boy soprano is generally only used for boys who sing, perform, or record as soloists, and who may not necessarily...
Lauwers performed under direction of Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
his War Requiem
War Requiem
The War Requiem, Op. 66 is a large-scale, non-liturgical setting of the Requiem Mass composed by Benjamin Britten mostly in 1961 and completed January 1962. Interspersed with the traditional Latin texts, in telling juxtaposition, are settings of Wilfred Owen poems...
. Later he studied classical flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
but gained international fame as a classical baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
singer. One of his most notable performances has been his live interpretation of Eight Songs for a Mad King
Eight Songs for a Mad King
Eight Songs for a Mad King is a monodrama by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies with a libretto by Randolph Stow, based on words of George III. The work was written for the South-African actor Roy Hart and the composer's ensemble the Pierrot Players, and premiered on 22 April 1969...
by Peter Maxwell Davies
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
in a Transparent Muziektheater production directed by Ian Burton.
Performances
- "Maria de Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
," Ástor PiazzollaÁstor PiazzollaÁstor Pantaleón Piazzolla was an Argentine tango composer and bandoneón player. His oeuvre revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music...
, tangoTango musicTango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...
-operita with Rudolf Werthen, Covent GardenCovent GardenCovent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
Festival 2000, Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
Arts Festival 2001, Chiang Kai-ShekChiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
, TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
2002, L'Arsénal, MetzMetzMetz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
2004 and L'Opéra, AvignonAvignonAvignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the... - "Flamma FlammaFlamma FlammaFlamma Flamma - The Fire Requiem is a musical work by Nicholas Lens. It is the first part of the operatic trilogy The Accacha Chronicles. The work was artistically and financially produced by the composer himself and gained international fame when Sony Classical bought the rights in 1994 for...
," Nicholas LensNicholas LensNicholas Lens is a contemporary Belgian author and composer.Lens was born in Ypres near the French border in Flanders, Belgium. His godfather taught him violin when he was five. He studied trumpet and double-bass, first at local academies and then at Royal conservatories. Later on he studied viola...
, Contemporary Art Museum, KölnKOLNKOLN, digital channel 10, is the CBS affiliate in Lincoln, Nebraska. It operates a satellite station, KGIN, on digital channel 11 in Grand Island. KGIN repeats all KOLN programming, but airs separate commercials...
, chamber version with Frank Sheppard, Zeger Vandersteene, Gudrun Vercampt, Geert Callaert - "Je Pleure des Bananes," Arne Sierens
- "TorreTorreTorre means tower in six Romance languages and may refer to:- Biology :* Muir-Torre syndrome, the inherited cancer syndrome...
de Canela," Federico Garcia LorcaFederico García LorcaFederico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
– Hans Rotman with SinfoniettaSinfonietta (orchestra)A Sinfonietta is a name for a musical group that is larger than a chamber ensemble but smaller than a full-size or symphony orchestra.There are many orchestras bearing the name "Sinfonietta", including:* American Sinfonietta...
Nova ArnstadtArnstadtArnstadt is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, situated on the Gera River. It is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia and is nicknamed Das Tor zum Thüringer Wald, The Gate to the Thuringian Forest....
and OperaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Mobile, WeimarWeimarWeimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
, DüsseldorfDüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the... - "Cantate aux étoiles," André Waignien
- "Jonker Lichthart," Jef Van Hoof
- "Weihnachtsoratorium," BachBạchBạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
, I Fiamminghi - "Ulrike," Raoul Desmet
- "De Grote Verzoeking van Sint-Antonius," Louis De Meester
- "Welp-Urt," operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Johan Desmet - "Ikh bin keyn eydes nit gevezn," ("The Puppet DesignerThe Puppet DesignerThe Puppet Designer is a musical chamber work in Yiddish for baritone and chamber orchestra by Nicholas Lens....
"), Nicholas LensNicholas LensNicholas Lens is a contemporary Belgian author and composer.Lens was born in Ypres near the French border in Flanders, Belgium. His godfather taught him violin when he was five. He studied trumpet and double-bass, first at local academies and then at Royal conservatories. Later on he studied viola...
with Rudolf Werthen, I Fiamminghi, ParadisoParadisoParadiso is the Italian or Latinized version for Heaven or Paradise. It may also refer to:* Paradiso , the third part of Dante's Divine Comedy* Paradisio, a Belgian dance act* Paradiso , a music venue in Amsterdam...
AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population... - "Don GiovanniDon GiovanniDon Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
," Mozart, I Fiamminghi - "L'Inganno Felice," Rossini, stage direction Harry Kümmel
- "Empedocles' Turm," Cees NooteboomCees NooteboomCees Nooteboom is a Dutch author. He has won numerous literary awards and has been mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in literature.-Life:...
, Hans Rotman with Sinfonia AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Angermuseum in ErfurtErfurtErfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian... - "Des Esels Schatten," Richard StraussRichard StraussRichard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
, Opera MobileOpera MobileOpera Mobile is a web browser for smartphones and PDA's developed by the Opera Software company. The first version was released in 2000 for the Psion Series 7 and netBook. Today, it is available for a variety of devices that run on Android, S60, Windows Mobile, Maemo , and MeeGo... - "Terra TerraTerra TerraTerra Terra -The Aquarius Era is a musical work by Nicholas Lens. It is the second part of the operatic trilogy The Accacha Chronicles.The work follows on the successful first partFlamma Flamma...
," Nicholas LensNicholas LensNicholas Lens is a contemporary Belgian author and composer.Lens was born in Ypres near the French border in Flanders, Belgium. His godfather taught him violin when he was five. He studied trumpet and double-bass, first at local academies and then at Royal conservatories. Later on he studied viola...
, HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
with The StuttgartStuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
er Kammerorchester, Claron McFaddenClaron McFaddenClaron McFadden is an American soprano. McFadden studied voice at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, finishing her degree in 1984....
, LaVerne Williams, Frank Sheppard, Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares - "8 songs for a Mad King," Peter Maxwell DaviesPeter Maxwell DaviesSir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
with Transparent, Prometheus, Etienne Siebens, Ian Burton
Awards
- Price Alpaerts for Chamber MusicChamber musicChamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
- Price Emmu Luart
- Finalist Bellini-concours
- Price Victor Ligley 1997 for contribution to contemporary work
Recordings
(labels Antler, NaxosNaxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
, Erato
Erato Records
Erato Records is a record label founded in 1953 to promote French classical music. In 1992 it became part of Warner Bros. Records. In 1999 Erato launched a subsidiary Detour Records....
, Classic Talent, Sony/BMG, Ariola Classic)
- "Het Iepersch Liedboek" (Songbook from YpresYpresYpres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
) - "Musiques pour Marie-Thérèse," M.A. CharpentierCharpentierCharpentier is the French word for carpenter and a French surname. A variant spelling is Carpentier. In English the name is spelled Carpenter while in German it is Zimmermann....
- "Orrori dell’AmoreOrrori dell’AmoreOrrori dell'Amore is an orchestral Songbook for vocal soloists and chamber orchestra by Nicholas Lens.-Credits:*Music & Artistic producer: Nicholas Lens*Lyrics: Nicholas Lens - Irma Achten...
," Nicholas LensNicholas LensNicholas Lens is a contemporary Belgian author and composer.Lens was born in Ypres near the French border in Flanders, Belgium. His godfather taught him violin when he was five. He studied trumpet and double-bass, first at local academies and then at Royal conservatories. Later on he studied viola...
with Claron McFaddenClaron McFaddenClaron McFadden is an American soprano. McFadden studied voice at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, finishing her degree in 1984.... - "Manon LescautManon Lescaut (Puccini)Manon Lescaut is an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini. The story is based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost....
," Puccini - "Torre de Canela," Garcia Lorca
- "De Grote Verzoeking van Sint-Antonius," Louis De Meester,
- "The Accacha ChroniclesThe Accacha ChroniclesThe Accacha Chronicles is an operatic trilogy by Nicholas Lens for Soprano, Tenor, Counter-tenor, Mezzo-soprano, Baritone, Bass, male actor, small choir, mixed choir and chamber orchestra.-Reception:...
," Nicholas LensNicholas LensNicholas Lens is a contemporary Belgian author and composer.Lens was born in Ypres near the French border in Flanders, Belgium. His godfather taught him violin when he was five. He studied trumpet and double-bass, first at local academies and then at Royal conservatories. Later on he studied viola...
with Derek Lee RaginDerek Lee RaginDerek Lee Ragin is an American countertenor.Ragin studied as a piano major at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. While at Oberlin he took secondary voice lessons with Richard Anderson. He began his operatic career at Oberlin in Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream as Oberon...
, Claron McFaddenClaron McFaddenClaron McFadden is an American soprano. McFadden studied voice at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, finishing her degree in 1984....
, Ian Honeyman, Jean-Paul Fauchécourt - 'Wilt thou be my dearie," Leopold KozeluchLeopold KozeluchLeopold Kozeluch was a Czech composer and teacher of classical music. He was born in the town of Velvary, in Bohemia .-Life:...
with Diane Andersen, pianoforte.
Sources
- Muziekcentrum Vlaanderen, Biography: Henk Lauwers (in Dutch)
- McCants, Clyde T., Opera for libraries: a guide to core works, audio and video recordings, books and serials, McFarland, 2003. ISBN 0786414421