March 2011 - World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles

composition was entirely and exclusively
based on popular song themes. Mind that
the majority of the selected songs are of
African origin rather than of Portuguese
origin. Absil had found a volume of Brazilian
folk songs in the library of the Royal Brussels
Conservatory of Music. He went to the
embassy of Brazil in Brussels in order to
make further investigations and discovered a
lot of material he could use, such as popular
Brazilian tunes, children’s songs and religious
hymns. The five songs processed in this
rhapsody are successively an African lament
“Xango”, two children’s songs “Coco dende
trapia” (the coconut is about to fall) and
“Fotorototo”, a warrior chant “Cabocha
bonita”, a religious hymn “Saō Pedro”,
referring to the arrival of Portuguese
Christian missionaries, and finally another
African lament “Anilka” which reminds the
presence of black laborers on the Brazilian
soil. The transcription was premiered by the
Royal Symphonic Band of the Belgian
Guides, conducted by Yvon Ducène, at a
homage concert paying a tribute to the 80
year old composer on April 12, 1973.
Besides the Rhapsodie Brésilienne, also
Rites and Danses Bulgares were on the
program. Absil had attended the final
rehearsal and Yvon Ducène had presented
the composer with the band’s honorary
medal.
FANTAISIE CAPRICE (Opus 152)
In 1970/1971, Absil wrote Fantaisie –
Caprice opus 152 for alto saxophone 25 and
orchestra and dedicated it to François
Daneels 26 . In 1973 he made a version for
Symphonic Band for the Guides Band. The
title refers to the boundless imagination
Saxophonist Elie Apper, soloist at the
première performance of “Fantasie Caprice”
on January 25, 1974
which guided the composer while writing
this one part composition. It starts with the
presentation of the chromatic theme; then
an “Andante Mysterioso” leads to an
“Allegretto”, both characterized by several
rhythmical changes. The andante comes
back and is now followed by a ‘Vivo’ giving
plenty of opportunities to display the thrilling
technical qualities of both the instrument
and the soloist. The latter can plainly
demonstrate his virtuosity in the traditional
cadenza and the “Finale, Vivo”. This
transcription is commonly regarded as Absil’s
very last composition. It goes without saying
that it was premiered by the Royal
Symphonic Band of the Belgian Guides,
Yvon Ducène conducting, in the radio
concert hall of the Belgian Broadcasting
Company on January 25, 1974.The soloist
was Elie Apper 27 . (Published by Lemoine,
Paris)
Transcriptions by others
In order to complete this survey, we also
mention some transcriptions made by
military band conductors with Absil’s
approval.
LITTLE SUITE (Opus 20)
In 1935 Jean Absil composed his Petite
Suite opus 20 (Little Suite) for small
orchestra. That very same year it was
transcribed for Wind Band by Martial Dury 28 ,
a musician of the Guides Band. In this threepart
“Little Suite” the composer evokes the
children’s world. In three little portraits, he
depicts scenes from the daily life of the
children: 1) “marche” is an evocation of a
merry children’s song; 2) “conte” suggests
a fairy tale in a mysterious wood, and
3) “carrousel” describes a merry-go-round
at a fun fair. (Published by Bosworth,
London).
Martial Dury also orchestrated Prélude
tragique et Funèbre à la Mémoire du
Bourgmestre Schmidt for Symphonic Band.
Absil had composed this dirge as a tribute to
Louis Schmidt, mayor of the Brussels municipality
Etterbeek since 1933, condemned by
the Germans as a member of a resistance
movement. He died in captivity in Breslau in
1944.
TWO SUITES FROM “DONKEYSKIN”
(Peau d’Âne)
In 1938 Absil composed “Peau d’Âne”,
Féerie lyrique (Donkey Skin, a lyrical fairy
scene) as stage music for Henri Géhon’s 29
play “Féeries” based on Charles Perrault’s
fairy tale “Peau d’Âne” (Donkeyskin). By the
time Absil had written the music, intended
for a small theatre at the (now famous) Rue
des Bouchers in Brussels, the theatre had
already closed down. Yet the music was
premiered on the air by the I.N.R. Radio
Orchestra, conducted by Jean Kumps, on
October 31, 1938. Though the play was
never performed in Belgium, it was indeed in
Rome and even in New York under the
auspices of the ‘International Society for
Contemporary Music’. 14 years later, in
1952, Absil turned part of this music into an
orchestral suite consisting of four parts:
“Cortège”, “Valse”, “Pavane’ and “Allegro
giocoso”. Simon Poulain 30 made a
transcription for Symphonic Band entitled
Suite d’orchestre extraite de Peau d’Âne,
later known as ”First Suite from Peau
d’Âne”. Sometime later, Absil wrote another
suite with themes from the same stage music
and called it “Trois Airs de Ballet”. Once
more, Simon Poulain made a transcription
for Symphonic Band entitled Trois airs de
ballet extraits de Peau d’Âne consequently
named “Second Suite from Peau d’Âne”.
HOMAGE TO SCHUMANN
In 1946, Absil wrote Hommage à Schumann
(opus 67) for piano, consisting of
three parts: Marche – Impromptu –
Mouvement perpétuel. Franz Wangermée 31 ,
the then conductor of the Guides Band,
orchestrated the piece for Symphonic Band
and conducted the premiere performance by
the Symphonic Band of the Belgian Guides
at a bandstand concert in the Royal Park
Brussels during the summer of 1946.
Finally we should mention a transcription
of the Scherzo from the 1 s t Symphony by
the military bandmaster Alphonse Courtain
(1880–1960) – published by Scherzando.
Excepted when stated otherwise, all
mentioned compositions are “in care of
CeBeDeM” Brussels 32 .
Discography:
Rites: Royal Symphonic Band of the
Belgian Guides (Norbert Nozy), CD RGIP
87056,
Roumaniana: Royal Symphonic Band of
the Belgian Guides (Norbert Nozy), CD RGIP
87047,
Roumaniana: Royal Military Band, The
Netherlands (Pierre Kuypers) CD KMK 002.
Rhapsodie Brésilienne, Rhapsodie
Flamande, Fantaisie-Caprice, Rites &
Danses Bulgares: Royal Symphonic Band of
the Belgian Guides (Norbert Nozy) CD RGIP
87096.
Roumaniana & Rites: Royal Symphonic
Band of the Belgian Guides (Norbert Nozy)
WWM (World Wind Music) 500.117
WASBE World 25