Louis van Waefelghem
Encyclopedia
Louis van Waefelghem was a Belgian violin
ist, violist
and one of the greatest viola d'amore
players of the 19th century. He also composed several works and made transcriptions for viola and viola d'amore.
Waefelghem was educated at the Athénée Royale in Bruges and then studied violin
with Lambert Joseph Meerts at the Koninklijk Conservatorium
in Brussels
. After finding success as a violinist in Germany and at the Opera House
in Budapest
, he moved to Paris in 1863 to pursue a career as a performer on viola
and viola d'amore. He played in the orchestra of the Paris Opera
in 1868 and also in the Pasdeloup Orchestra
. Waefelghem was Examiner of the Viola at the Conservatoire de Paris
before Théophile Laforge
was appointed the first Professor of Viola in 1894. His reputation as a gifted violist quickly spread and, after the Franco-Prussian War
(1870–1871), he traveled to London
where he played in the Royal Opera
orchestra and at chamber concerts of the Musical Union with Joseph Joachim
, Leopold Auer
, Henri Vieuxtemps
, Camillo Sivori
, Pablo de Sarasate
, and others. From 1875 he was the violist of the Quatuor Marsick, along with Guillaume Rémy, Jules Delsart
and founder Martin Pierre Marsick
, one of the best and most famous string quartets in Paris of the time. He also a member of the Quatuor Geloso and of Ovide Musin's quartet with Metzger and Vander Gucht. Waefelghem was the principal violist with the Orchestre Lamoureux from 1881 to 1895.
In 1895 Waefelghem, along with colleagues Laurent Grillet (hurdy gurdy
), Louis Diémer
(harpsichord
) and Jules Delsart
(viola da gamba), founded the Société des Instruments Anciens. The ensemble gave their début at the Salle Pleyel
in Paris on 2 May 1895 and performed throughout Europe with great success. Thereafter Waefelghem devoted himself entirely to the revival and study of the viola d'amore. He quickly became one of the greatest viola d'amore players of the 19th century, and being a highly enthusiastic researcher, restored to the world the complete library of music for the instrument which had sunk into oblivion.
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist, 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...
and one of the greatest viola d'amore
Viola d'amore
The viola d'amore is a 7- or 6-stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin.- Structure and sound :...
players of the 19th century. He also composed several works and made transcriptions for viola and viola d'amore.
Waefelghem was educated at the Athénée Royale in Bruges and then studied violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
with Lambert Joseph Meerts at the Koninklijk Conservatorium
Koninklijk Conservatorium (Brussels)
The Royal Conservatory of Brussels is a drama and music college in Brussels, Belgium. An academy for acting and the arts, it has been attended by many of the top actors and actresses in Belgium such as Josse De Pauw, Luk van Mello and Luk De Konink....
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. After finding success as a violinist in Germany and at the Opera House
Hungarian State Opera House
The Hungarian State Opera House is a neo-Renaissance opera house located in central Budapest, on Andrássy út. It is home to the Budapest Opera Ball, a society event dating back to 1886.-History:...
in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, he moved to Paris in 1863 to pursue a career as a performer on 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...
and viola d'amore. He played in the orchestra of the Paris Opera
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
in 1868 and also in the Pasdeloup Orchestra
Pasdeloup Orchestra
The Pasdeloup Orchestra is the oldest symphony orchestra in France.-History:Founded in 1861 by Jules Pasdeloup with the name Concerts Populaires, it is the oldest orchestra still in existence in Paris...
. Waefelghem was Examiner of the Viola at the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
before Théophile Laforge
Théophile Laforge
Théophile Édouard Laforge was a French violist and first professor of viola at the Conservatoire de Paris....
was appointed the first Professor of Viola in 1894. His reputation as a gifted violist quickly spread and, after the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
(1870–1871), he traveled to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where he played in the Royal Opera
Royal Opera, London
The Royal Opera is an opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968...
orchestra and at chamber concerts of the Musical Union with Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant violinists of the 19th century.-Origins:...
, Leopold Auer
Leopold Auer
Leopold Auer was a Hungarian violinist, teacher, conductor and composer.-Early life and career:...
, Henri Vieuxtemps
Henri Vieuxtemps
Henri François Joseph Vieuxtemps was a Belgian composer and violinist. He occupies an important place in the history of the violin as a prominent exponent of the Franco-Belgian violin school during the mid-19th century....
, Camillo Sivori
Camillo Sivori
Ernesto Camillo Sivori, was an Italian virtuoso violinist and composer.Born in Genoa, he was the only pupil of Paganini. He also studied with Restano, Giacomo Costa and Dellepiane....
, Pablo de Sarasate
Pablo de Sarasate
Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués was a Navarrese Spanish violinist and composer of the Romantic period.-Career:Pablo Sarasate was born in Pamplona, Navarre, the son of an artillery bandmaster...
, and others. From 1875 he was the violist of the Quatuor Marsick, along with Guillaume Rémy, Jules Delsart
Jules Delsart
Jules Delsart was a 19th-century French cellist and teacher. He is best known for his arrangement for cello and piano of César Franck's Violin Sonata in A major...
and founder Martin Pierre Marsick
Martin Pierre Marsick
Martin Pierre Joseph Marsick , was a Belgian violin player and teacher.In 1854, seven-year old Marsick was admitted to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Liège, to study violin with Désiré Heynberg...
, one of the best and most famous string quartets in Paris of the time. He also a member of the Quatuor Geloso and of Ovide Musin's quartet with Metzger and Vander Gucht. Waefelghem was the principal violist with the Orchestre Lamoureux from 1881 to 1895.
In 1895 Waefelghem, along with colleagues Laurent Grillet (hurdy gurdy
Hurdy gurdy
The hurdy gurdy or hurdy-gurdy is a stringed musical instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to a violin...
), Louis Diémer
Louis Diémer
Louis-Joseph Diémer was a French pianist and composer.- Life :Diémer studied at the Paris Conservatoire, winning premiers prix in piano, harmony and accompaniment, counterpoint and fugue, and solfège, and a second prix in organ...
(harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
) and Jules Delsart
Jules Delsart
Jules Delsart was a 19th-century French cellist and teacher. He is best known for his arrangement for cello and piano of César Franck's Violin Sonata in A major...
(viola da gamba), founded the Société des Instruments Anciens. The ensemble gave their début at the Salle Pleyel
Salle Pleyel
The Salle Pleyel is a concert hall in Paris, France. The resident ensembles are the Orchestre de Paris and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.-History and Design:...
in Paris on 2 May 1895 and performed throughout Europe with great success. Thereafter Waefelghem devoted himself entirely to the revival and study of the viola d'amore. He quickly became one of the greatest viola d'amore players of the 19th century, and being a highly enthusiastic researcher, restored to the world the complete library of music for the instrument which had sunk into oblivion.
Original compositions
- Pastorale in G major for violin and piano (1875)
- Rêverie for violin and piano (1875)
- Romance in D major for violin or viola d'amore and piano (1891)
- Soir d'automne (Autumn Evening), Melody for viola d'amore or viola and piano or harp (1903)
Transcriptions and editions
- Attilio AriostiAttilio AriostiAttilio Malachia Ariosti was an Italian composer in the Baroque style, born in Bologna. He produced more than 30 operas and oratorios, numerous cantatas and instrumental works.-Life:He was born into the middle class...
(1666–1729)
- Sonata No.2 for viola d'amore or viola and piano (1715); original for viola da gamba and basso continuo; transcription (1896)
- Marin MaraisMarin MaraisMarin Marais was a French composer and viol player. He studied composition with Jean-Baptiste Lully, often conducting his operas, and with master of the bass viol Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe for 6 months. He was hired as a musician in 1676 to the royal court of Versailles...
(1656–1728)
- Marin Marais
- Chaconne for viola d'amore or viola and piano (1686); original for viola da gamba and basso continuo; transcription (1893?)
- Sarabande for viola d'amore or viola and piano (1686); original for viola da gamba and basso continuo; transcription (1893?)
- Jean Paul Égide MartiniJean Paul Egide MartiniJean Paul Egide Martini, was a composer of classical music. Sometimes known as Martini Il Tedesco, he is best known today for the vocal romance "Plaisir d'Amour," on which the 1961 Elvis Presley standard "Can't Help Falling in Love" is based...
(1741–1816)
- Jean Paul Égide Martini
- Plaisir d'amourPlaisir d'Amour"Plaisir d'amour" is a classical French love song written in 1780 by Jean Paul Égide Martini . Hector Berlioz arranged it for orchestra...
(1784) for viola d'amore or viola and piano (c.1888)- Louis-Toussaint Milandre (18th century)
- Andante et menuet (1770) for viola d'amore or viola and piano (1889?)
- Camille Saint-SaënsCamille Saint-SaënsCharles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
(1835–1921)
- Camille Saint-Saëns
- Le cygneLe CygneLe Cygne is a scholarly journal, published once a year, in April, by the International Marie de France Society.It is included in the Modern Language Association International Bibliography database....
(The Swan) from The Carnival of the AnimalsThe Carnival of the AnimalsLe carnaval des animaux is a musical suite of fourteen movements by the French Romantic composer Camille Saint-Saëns. The orchestral work has a duration between 22 and 30 minutes.-History:...
(1886) for viola or viola d'amore and piano (1895?) - Sérénade for viola and piano, Op.16 No.2 (1862); original for cello and piano
- Alessandro ScarlattiAlessandro ScarlattiAlessandro Scarlatti was an Italian Baroque composer especially famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti.-Life:Scarlatti was born in...
(1660–1725)
- Alessandro Scarlatti
- Aria "Vaga rosa tenerella" (1680) for voice, viola d'amore or viola and harpsichord or piano (1899)
- Charles-Marie WidorCharles-Marie WidorCharles-Marie Jean Albert Widor was a French organist, composer and teacher.-Life:Widor was born in Lyon, to a family of organ builders, and initially studied music there with his father, François-Charles Widor, titular organist of Saint-François-de-Sales from 1838 to 1889...
(1844–1937)
- Charles-Marie Widor
- Andante from the Organ Symphony No.8, Op.42 No.4 (1887) for viola d'amore or viola and piano (1895?)
Dedications
- René de Boisdeffre (1838–1906) – Rêverie for viola d'amore (or violin, or viola, or cello) and string orchestra with harp or piano, Op.55 (1890?)
- Louis Théodore GouvyLouis Théodore GouvyLouis Théodore Gouvy was a French composer.- Biography :Gouvy was born into a French speaking family in the Alsatian village of Goffontaine, in the Sarre, a region on the France-Prussia border...
(1819–1898) – Sérénade vénitienne in E minor for viola and piano (1875)
Discography
- The Art of Viola d'Amore – Louis van Waefelghem: Romance for viola d'amore and harp; Pierre-Henri Xuereb (viola d'amore), Fabrice Pierre (harp); Classic Talent DOM 2910 58 (2001)