Jef "Joseph" Maes was a Belgian composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 and violist

Viola

The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...

.

Encouraged by his friend, André Cluytens

André Cluytens

André Cluytens was a Belgian-born French conductor who was active in the concert hall, opera house and recording studio. His repertoire extended from Viennese classics through French composers to 20th century works...

, he completed his study at the Flämi conservatory in Antwerp. He studied viola

Viola

The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...

 with Napoleon Distelmans

Napoleon Distelmans

Napoleon Distelmans was a Flemish violist with the Antwerp Conservatory in the early 1900s.Distelmans's father was a shoemaker who dreamed of training his children to be musicians. Distelmans's mother died while giving birth to her sixth child, and the children's father raised them to play in a...

; chamber music

Chamber music

Chamber 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...

 with Albert van de Vijver; and counterpoint

Counterpoint

In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...

 and fuge with Karel Candael.

When he was 23 years old, he composed his first work, which was a romantic Meditation for violin and piano.

After his studies, he was employed for two years as a violist in the opera orchestra in Antwerp; in 1926 he participated in an orchestra under the conductorship of Lodewijk de Vocht, Nieuwe Concerten. In 1930 he was a soloist with the well-known Dierentuin concerts in Antwerp, directed by Flor Alpaerts

Flor Alpaerts

Flor Alpaerts was a Belgian conductor, pedagogue and composer. He graduated from the Vlaamse Muziekschool in 1901....

. Afterwards he was a violist for about 10 years with the Casino Orchestra in Knokke

Knokke

Knokke is one of a group of communities that are all grouped in the administrative community Knokke-Heist, in the province of West Flanders in Flanders, Belgium. Knokke itself has 15,653 inhabitants .Knokke-Heist has 33,818 inhabitants ....

. In 1933 he lectured at the music academy in Boom, Antwerp

Boom, Antwerp

Boom is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Boom proper. On January 1, 2006 Boom had a total population of 16,096. The total area is 7.37 km² which gives a population density of...

; ten years later he was appointed director of the academy. From 1942 to 1955 he lectured in harmony teachings at the Royal Flämi Conservatory in Antwerp. He also lectured in chamber music from 1955 to 1970.

Along with Gaston Ariën, J.A. Zwijsen and Steven Candael, Maes founded the Antwerpse Philharmonie (Antwerp Philharmonic Orchestra) in 1955, their first concert given on December 10, 1956. The orchestra is now known as the Royal Flemish Philharmonic or DeFilharmonie.

Beginning in 1961 he led the annual International Music Camp, organized through "youth and music" in Belgium during the summer holidays. He was also a musical mentor in Turnhout.

Selected works

Opera

• Marise (1946)
• De antikwaar, Television Opera (1959); libretto by Anton van Wilderode
  Anton van Wilderode
  Cyriel Paul Coupé , pseudonym Anton van Wilderode was a Belgian writer and poet.Coupé was born in Moerbeke-Waas. He was ordained as a priest on 21 May 1944, and graduated in Classical philology at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven...
  
  

Ballet

• Tu auras nom... Tristan (1964); after Joseph Bedier
  Joseph Bédier
  Joseph Bédier was a French writer and scholar and historian of medieval France.-Biography:Bédier was born in Paris, France to Adolphe Bédier, a lawyer of Breton origin, and spent his childhood in Réunion. He was a professor of medieval French literature at the Université de Fribourg, Switzerland ...
  
  

Orchestra

• Drie rythmen in dansvorm (Three Rhythms in Dance Form) (1931)
• Concertstück (Concert Piece) (1938)
• Overtura buffa (1939)
• Symfonie in G (Symphony No. 1) (1953)
• Ouverture concertante (1961)
• Symphony No. 2 in A major (1965)
• Partita for string orchestra (1966)
• Praeludium, Pantomime, Scherzo (1966)
• De verloofden for chamber orchestra (1969)
• Mei 1871 for speaker and orchestra (1971)
• Symphony No. 3 (1975)
• Intrada (1980)

Wind orchestra

• Vijf volksdansen (Five Folk Dances) (1956)
• Bel canto Ouverture (1967)
• Suite (1977)
• Feestouverture (Festival Overture)

Concertante

• Meditatie (Meditation) for violin and orchestra (1929)
• Légende for violin and orchestra (1933)
• Arabeske en scherzo (Arabesque and Scherzo) for flute and orchestra (1935)
• Concerto for viola and orchestra (1937)
• Concerto for viola and orchestra (1943)
• Concertstuk (Concert Piece) for trombone and orchestra (1944)
• Concerto [No. 1] for piano and orchestra (1948)
• Concerto for violin and orchestra (1951)
• Concerto for harpsichord and string orchestra (1955)
• Burlesque for bassoon and orchestra (1957)
• Dialoog (Dialogue) for violin and orchestra (1973)
• Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra (1975)

Chamber music

• Meditatie (Meditation) for violin and piano (1927)
• Andante rustique for viola and piano (1934)
• Sonata in D for violin and piano (1934)
• Sonatine for flute and viola (1934)
• Arabeske en scherzo (Arabesque and Scherzo) for flute and piano (1935); also orchestrated
• Intermezzo for viola and piano (1935)
• Concertstuk for trombone (or tuba, or oboe, or bassoon) and piano (1944)
• Burlesque for bassoon and piano (1957); also orchestrated
• Concertstuk for trumpet and piano (1957)
• Nocturne for guitar (1959)
• Prélude et allegro for brass quintet (1959)
• Duo for violin and piano (1962)
• Etude No. 17 for timpani and piano (1962)
• Trio for violin, viola and percussion (1964)
• Vier kontrasten (4 Contrasts) for 4 clarinets (1965)
• Divertimento for viola or violin and piano (1966)
• Impromptu for cello and piano (1966)
• Studie (Etude) for double bass and piano (1966)
• Quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and piano (1968)
• Suite for percussion and piano (1968)
• String Quartet (1970)
• Studie (Etude) for violin solo (1978)
• Saxo-scope for 4 saxophones (1979)
• Kamermuziek (Chamber Music) for flute, violin, guitar and cello (1981)
• Trio for 2 flutes and cello (1985)
• Sérénade fantasque for violin and piano

Keyboard

• Etude No. 2 in E for piano (1960)
• Pavane for harpsichord (1965)
• Studie for organ (1966)
• Divertimento [No. 1] for piano (1970)
• Divertimento No. 2 for piano (1977)
• Serenade voor Sylvia for piano (1981)

Vocal

• Drie gedichten (Three Poems) for vocal quartet (1927)
• Wees blij for voice and orchestra (1936)
• Wandellied for medium voice and piano (1947)
• Rosa Mystica for soprano and piano or orchestra (1958)

Choral

• Vierstemmige mis for male chorus and organ or orchestra (1962)
• Vier oude Volksliederen (Four Old Folk Songs) for mixed chorus and orchestra (1968)
• Klaaglied om de verdwenen reigers for mixed chorus and piano (1971)
• Zomer for mixed chorus a cappella (1973)

Incidental music

• Het raadsel, Incidental music (1938); play by Jef Mennekens
• Ezelsvel, Incidental music (1942); play by Henri Ghéon
  Henri Ghéon
  Henri Ghéon , born Henri Vangeon in Bray-sur-Seine, Seine-et-Marne, was a French playwright, novelist, poet and critic. Brought up by a devout Roman Catholic mother, he lost his faith in his early teens, while still at the Lycée in Sens...
  
  
• Momotaro, Incidental music (1943); play by Edgar Den Haene based on Momotarō
  Momotaro
  is a popular hero from Japanese folklore. His name literally means Peach Tarō; as Tarō is a common Japanese boy's name, it is often translated as Peach Boy...
  
  from Japanese folklore
• Tim en de Chinese klok, Incidental music (1943); play by Martien De Beuck
• Saidjah, Incidental music (1946)
• O ha, de negerjongen, Incidental music (1952)
• Lorre, de papegaai van de more keizer, Incidental music (1953); play by Eugeen De Ridder
• Witje, Incidental music (1953); play by Alphonse Daudet
  Alphonse Daudet
  Alphonse Daudet was a French novelist. He was the father of Léon Daudet and Lucien Daudet.- Early life :Alphonse Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the bourgeoisie. The father, Vincent Daudet, was a silk manufacturer — a man dogged through life by misfortune...
  
  
• Wij spelen Indiaan, Incidental music (1955); words by T. Brown and H. Finchnar
• De boom die leerde spreken, Incidental music (1958); words by Eugène Winters

External links

• Jef Maes at CeBeDeM