programme notes: Henderickx & Eroica

Energy and refinement combined

Gert François, professor of percussion at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and head of the timpani section at the Brussels Philharmonic, has performed and recorded many of Henderickx’s compositions. The two musicians met in the early 1980s during their studies at a masterclass by the French drummer Dante Agostini in Antwerp. That was the beginning of a warm friendship and reciprocal interest in each other’s work.

Along the way, François and Henderickx made plans to perform together. François thus wrote Raga I for percussion and two pianos in 1995, and a few years later a version with orchestra. In addition, he also appeared as one of the two soloists in Confrontations, and in 2011 performed the première of Groove! with the Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero. Not long after the première, Henderickx and François came up with the idea of writing a work for timpani: ‘During Reggae Geel, our annual guilty pleasure, somewhere among the trees of the dubstep forest, we speculated about how we could give further shape to that idea. We wanted to offer an alternative to the current solo literature for timpani, which – with the exception of Le Sacre du Printemps by Stravinsky – made little room for the lyricism and subtlety of the instrument. The majority of compositions are showpieces that give vent mainly to the tribal aspect and the volume. Our starting point soon became clear: the music should convey both the ritual energy and the inner poetry of the timpani.’

While François received a completed score for Raga I, in later works he was given more freedom of choice: ‘Forr Groove!, Wim gave me a score with various possibilities in matters of technique – he did not shy away from the challenge. I was able in that case to indicate what was and wasn’t feasible as a player. Sometimes we came into conflict with each other, since he had a certain musical idea in his head that for me was practically speaking unplayable. He encouraged me to work harder (laughs). But because we had such a close friendship, we were able to share our views with each other in complete freedom.’

From sketch to creation

At the beginning of the creation process of the Timpani Concerto, Henderickx tested things out with François, even though he thoroughly was familiar with the instrument. After Henderickx’s death, Diederik Glorieux, who had worked closely with him for 17 years as his assistant, took over the baton:

‘I relied on verbal agreements that Wim and I had made with each other. I shared this with Diederik, and with the input of Bea, who was Wim’s wife and business assistant and was more familiar than anyone with the typical musical structures of his earlier works, we created an overarching framework. Next, he presented me with passages and I gave him feedback, and so on. He also provided entire blocks in which I can improvise and add my own interpretation of the work.’

Henderickx drew inspiration for his compositions in religion and nature, among other things. The Timpani Concerto thus followed the structure of a Mass, and the five movements are named for the natural elements: Water, Earth, Fire, Air and Ether. His predilection for non-Western cultures and music is also strongly reflected: ‘Wim’s last works were profoundly inspired by Middle Eastern mysticism. You can hear that, for example, in Revelations and his opera De Bekeerlinge [The Convert]. In the Timpani Concerto, for example, he developed a new type of musical notation for the classical quintuplets and septuplets, giving the work a more meditative character. In the interludes with choir, he introduced the daf and the tombak, two Middle Eastern instruments that he himself played. The daf is a sort of frame drum made with a round wooden frame over which a thin animal skin is stretched. It is used among other things in Sufi music in Turkey, played often for hours at a time. The tombak is shaped like a like an hourglass – somewhat like a djembe – and is held under the arm. The two instruments require a very different performance technique and idiom that I have to make my own. Not only do they add a new colour to the sound but also inspire me to adapt this new technique to the timpani. In this way, I create a link between traditional instruments and the modern orchestra timpani.

text based on a conversation with Gert François, recorded by Aurélie Walschaert

Sympony No. 3 'Eroica'

Beethoven's Third Symphony, the 'Eroica,' stands as one of the most influential early responses by a composer to extramusical stimuli, here responding to Napoleon Bonaparte. Initially, like many of his contemporaries, Beethoven believed Napoleon to be the saviour of Europe, if not all humanity. This belief resonates throughout the 'Eroica.' However, like the intellectuals of his time, Beethoven's admiration turned to disgust when Napoleon crowned himself emperor. It is said that Beethoven tore the title page of his symphony, replacing 'Buonaparte' with 'Sinfonia Eroica, composta per festeggiare il sovvenire di un grand Uomo' – 'Heroic Symphony, composed to celebrate the memory of a great man.'

With the thunderous E-flat major chords that open the symphony, Beethoven catapults music history into a new era, paving the way for the Romantic 19th century—for himself and for composers like Schubert, Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Liszt, Brahms, Bruckner, and others. The 'Eroica' features the usual four movements, but its innovations are unmistakable. The first movement is notable for its extreme variation in motivic-thematic development, and the thematic unity across the movements represents a significant innovation. After the funeral march in the second movement and a vigorous third-movement scherzo, the symphony culminates in a majestic finale. All thematic material in the symphony is derived from the theme of this grand final movement, as evidenced by Beethoven's sketches. He had previously used this melody in his music for the ballet Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus and showcases it in a tangle of variations – a growing organic form that creates an unshakeable structure, securing its enduring place in history.

Judith van Eeckhout