Niel van der Watt
Encyclopedia
Niel van der Watt is a South African composer
. Well known for his choral compositions, he has also established himself as a leading composer of chamber music
.
) in South Africa. After matriculating in 1980 he studied at the University of Pretoria
, where he attained the BA Ed(Mus), BMus(Hons) cum laude and an MMus in Composition.
In 1997 he completed his Doctorate in Musicology
at the University of South Africa
with a doctoral dissertation on the life and works of the British
composer Gerald Finzi
.
, he joined the staff of Pretoria Boys High School
, a prominent South African public school, where he is currently head of the Music Department and conductor of both the orchestra and Dixie Band. While he is a full-time teacher, he dedicates much of his time to composition. Van der Watt has also arranged a significant amount of traditional African music for choir as well as setting leading Afrikaans poetry to music, including the works of Antjie Krog
and N.P. van Wyk Louw.
and Fauré
, his mastery of harmony
and counterpoint
reveals a deep understanding of and reverence for the great master Johann Sebastian Bach
. This, offset by a keen appreciation for jazz
, rock
and traditional African music, has made his oeuvre especially distinctive. A key work illustrating this is the De-Commercialised American Christ's Mass (1995), which employs variations on popular Christmas carols to form a witty yet reverent incarnation of the Roman Catholic Low Mass.
Ai, meisie, meisie; SAB
Alleen; girls chorus
As good as new; orchestra; SATB
Religious Choral Works
A De-commercialised American Christ’s Mass (1995)
i) Kyrie: Amazing Grace
ii) Gloria: Do you hear what I hear?
iii) Sanctus: White Christmas
iv) Benedictus: Santa Claus is Coming To Town
v) Agnus Dei: Little Altar Boy
Traditional Choral Works
African Dawn (1997)
i) Boroko; girls chorus
ii) Ka Mehla; girls chorus
iii) Thobela morena; girls chorus
Works for Soloists (Vocal)
Benediction; voice and piano (1989)
Bitterbessie dagbreek; voice and piano
Die son sal weer skyn; voice and piano
Dinah Lee (1999); voice, piano, alto saxophone and double bass
Dis my plek (1985); voice and piano
Drup drup druppeltjies (1980); voice and piano;
Dust of snow (1997); voice and piano
Fides veritas labor (1990); voice and piano
Instrumental Works
Trio pour mam’selle leger e’stier; orchestra, flute, clarinet, piano
African Dawn (1997); orchestra
African Reflection (1994); orchestra
Afrika kerslied (1996); alto saxophone and piano
Aquarelle (1984); piano
Boabab (1988); orchestra
Con'Scertino (1992/1994); viola and piano
In June 1995 African songbook for mixed choir was published. It was written in co-operation with the composer Johann van der Sandt
.
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...
. Well known for his choral compositions, he has also established himself as a leading composer of 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...
.
Education
Born into a family of teachers, Niel attended high school in Pietersburg (now PolokwanePolokwane
Polokwane, meaning "Place of Safety",is a city in the Polokwane Local Municipality and the capital of the Limpopo province, South Africa. It is also often referred to by its former name, Pietersburg. Polokwane is a major urban centre, the biggest and most important north of Gauteng. The population...
) in South Africa. After matriculating in 1980 he studied at the University of Pretoria
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria is a multi campus public research university located in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa...
, where he attained the BA Ed(Mus), BMus(Hons) cum laude and an MMus in Composition.
In 1997 he completed his Doctorate in Musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
at the University of South Africa
University of South Africa
The University of South Africa is a distance education university, with headquarters in Pretoria, South Africa. With approximately 300 000 enrolled students, it qualifies as one of the world's mega universities.-History:...
with a doctoral dissertation on the life and works of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
composer Gerald Finzi
Gerald Finzi
Gerald Raphael Finzi was a British composer. Finzi is best known as a song-writer, but also wrote in other genres...
.
Career
After his military service in the old South African Defence ForceSouth African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force was the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. The former Union Defence Force was renamed to the South African Defence Force in the Defence Act of 1957...
, he joined the staff of Pretoria Boys High School
Pretoria Boys High School
Pretoria Boys High School, also known as Boys High or PBHS, is a public, fee charging, English medium high school for boys located in Brooklyn, Pretoria, in the Gauteng province of South Africa....
, a prominent South African public school, where he is currently head of the Music Department and conductor of both the orchestra and Dixie Band. While he is a full-time teacher, he dedicates much of his time to composition. Van der Watt has also arranged a significant amount of traditional African music for choir as well as setting leading Afrikaans poetry to music, including the works of Antjie Krog
Antjie Krog
Antjie Krog, born October 23, 1952 in Kroonstad, Orange Free State, South Africa, is a prominent South African poet, academic and writer. In 2004 she joined the Arts faculty of the University of the Western Cape.- Early life :...
and N.P. van Wyk Louw.
Influences
While van der Watt's early works show the influence of late romanticists like RachmaninoffSergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
and Fauré
Faure
Faure or Fauré is a French family name and may refer to:People:* Edgar Faure, French politician* Élie Faure, French art historian and essayist* Émile Alphonse Faure, lead battery pioneer* Cédric Fauré, French football striker...
, his mastery of harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
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,...
reveals a deep understanding of and reverence for the great master Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
. This, offset by a keen appreciation for jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and traditional African music, has made his oeuvre especially distinctive. A key work illustrating this is the De-Commercialised American Christ's Mass (1995), which employs variations on popular Christmas carols to form a witty yet reverent incarnation of the Roman Catholic Low Mass.
Trivia
- Van der Watt originally joined the staff of Pretoria Boys High School as an English teacher.
- Although he is a Protestant, he has composed a large amount of Roman Catholic liturgical music, including two MassesMass (music)The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
and a RequiemRequiemA Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
. - He is an avid fan of the Beatles, Billy JoelBilly JoelWilliam Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
and ABBAABBAABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
as far as popular music is concerned and is known for his dislike of Beethoven. - In 2008 he wanted to prove to Pretoria Boys High SchoolPretoria Boys High SchoolPretoria Boys High School, also known as Boys High or PBHS, is a public, fee charging, English medium high school for boys located in Brooklyn, Pretoria, in the Gauteng province of South Africa....
's Symphony orchestra that he did not dislike Beethoven at all and arranged Beethoven's 2nd movement of the Pathethique Sonata for the orchestra. - His works have been performed in places as far flung as RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, RéunionRéunionRéunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
and 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...
. - He considers himself to be a poly-stylist.
Select List of Works
Secular Choral WorksAi, meisie, meisie; SAB
Alleen; girls chorus
As good as new; orchestra; SATB
Religious Choral Works
A De-commercialised American Christ’s Mass (1995)
i) Kyrie: Amazing Grace
ii) Gloria: Do you hear what I hear?
iii) Sanctus: White Christmas
iv) Benedictus: Santa Claus is Coming To Town
v) Agnus Dei: Little Altar Boy
Traditional Choral Works
African Dawn (1997)
i) Boroko; girls chorus
ii) Ka Mehla; girls chorus
iii) Thobela morena; girls chorus
Works for Soloists (Vocal)
Benediction; voice and piano (1989)
Bitterbessie dagbreek; voice and piano
Die son sal weer skyn; voice and piano
Dinah Lee (1999); voice, piano, alto saxophone and double bass
Dis my plek (1985); voice and piano
Drup drup druppeltjies (1980); voice and piano;
Dust of snow (1997); voice and piano
Fides veritas labor (1990); voice and piano
Instrumental Works
Trio pour mam’selle leger e’stier; orchestra, flute, clarinet, piano
African Dawn (1997); orchestra
African Reflection (1994); orchestra
Afrika kerslied (1996); alto saxophone and piano
Aquarelle (1984); piano
Boabab (1988); orchestra
Con'Scertino (1992/1994); viola and piano
In June 1995 African songbook for mixed choir was published. It was written in co-operation with the composer Johann van der Sandt
Johann van der Sandt
Johann van der Sandt was born in the Free State Province of South Africa, He studied at the University of Pretoria where he obtained his B.Mus , B...
.