Willy Burkhard
Encyclopedia
Willy Burkhard was a Swiss
composer
.
Willy Burkhard was an extremely influential composer of the 20th century. Burkhard was born in Evilard
, Canton of Bern, Switzerland
, which is the second largest canton
in all of Switzerland
.
He attended and graduated from a teachers’ training college called the Muristalden and went on to study with E. Graf in Berne. His studies led him even further in his travels including Leipzig
to study piano with Robert Teichmüller
and composition with Sigfrid Karg-Elert
. After Leipzig
he moved on to Munich
to study with Walter Courvoisier and later to Paris
to work with Max d’Ollone.
It wasn’t until 1924 that he began teaching composition, theory and the piano in Berne. He was appointed to the conservatory there in 1928. He conducted several choirs and small orchestras there. In 1933 due to health reasons, he was compelled to live for several years in Montana and Davos for his own good. He settled in Zürich in 1942 and taught composition and music theory at the conservatory there. In 1950 he received a prize from the Schweizerischer Tonkünstlerverein or the Swiss Association of Musicians.
Although Burkhard’s main interest was to compose for the voice, he is most commonly known mainly to have renovated church music. After his illness, the kindness and compassion that he received from his friends and loved ones led him to become deeply humbled and turn to religion. He wrote a large number of cantatas based on spiritual and biblical texts. Some of the reasons that he was partial to biblical texts were due to its simple yet interpretive language and its metrical forms.
Burkhard was one of the most original and diverse composers of his generation; he wrote operas, oratorios
, sonatas, suites, serenade
s, cantatas, concertos, organ music, orchestral charts, and chamber
music as well. Burkhard believed that it was the composers mission to go out on a limb to create and discover new modes of expression by combining the old ones, but never following already set musical fashions. The trick was to create a new unique sound that resounded as one solid stylistic sound as that reflected some of what the composer’s personality entailed. He would teach his students exactly this and never steer them away from their original findings.
Accompanied Choral
Unaccompanied choral
Orchestral
Chamber and instrumental
Solo vocal
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
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...
.
Willy Burkhard was an extremely influential composer of the 20th century. Burkhard was born in Evilard
Evilard
Evilard is a municipality in the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The German name of the bilingual municipality is Leubringen.-Geography:...
, Canton of Bern, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, which is the second largest canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
in all of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
He attended and graduated from a teachers’ training college called the Muristalden and went on to study with E. Graf in Berne. His studies led him even further in his travels including Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
to study piano with Robert Teichmüller
Robert Teichmüller
Robert Teichmüller was a German concert pianist and music educator.He studied piano and music theory with Carl Reinecke at the Leipzig Conservatory where he later became a faculty member in 1897, promoted to professor in 1908. He became one of the most influential piano teachers of his time...
and composition with Sigfrid Karg-Elert
Sigfrid Karg-Elert
Sigfrid Karg-Elert was a German composer of considerable fame in the early twentieth century, best known for his compositions for organ and harmonium.-Biography:...
. After Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
he moved on to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
to study with Walter Courvoisier and later to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to work with Max d’Ollone.
It wasn’t until 1924 that he began teaching composition, theory and the piano in Berne. He was appointed to the conservatory there in 1928. He conducted several choirs and small orchestras there. In 1933 due to health reasons, he was compelled to live for several years in Montana and Davos for his own good. He settled in Zürich in 1942 and taught composition and music theory at the conservatory there. In 1950 he received a prize from the Schweizerischer Tonkünstlerverein or the Swiss Association of Musicians.
Although Burkhard’s main interest was to compose for the voice, he is most commonly known mainly to have renovated church music. After his illness, the kindness and compassion that he received from his friends and loved ones led him to become deeply humbled and turn to religion. He wrote a large number of cantatas based on spiritual and biblical texts. Some of the reasons that he was partial to biblical texts were due to its simple yet interpretive language and its metrical forms.
Burkhard was one of the most original and diverse composers of his generation; he wrote operas, oratorios
Oratórios
Oratórios is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the mesoregion of Zona da Mata and to the microregion of Ponte Nova.-See also:* List of municipalities in Minas Gerais...
, sonatas, suites, serenade
Serenade
In music, a serenade is a musical composition, and/or performance, in someone's honor. Serenades are typically calm, light music.The word Serenade is derived from the Italian word sereno, which means calm....
s, cantatas, concertos, organ music, orchestral charts, and chamber
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...
music as well. Burkhard believed that it was the composers mission to go out on a limb to create and discover new modes of expression by combining the old ones, but never following already set musical fashions. The trick was to create a new unique sound that resounded as one solid stylistic sound as that reflected some of what the composer’s personality entailed. He would teach his students exactly this and never steer them away from their original findings.
Selected works
Dramatic- Im Zeichen des Kreuzes, incid music, 1938–9
- Laupenspiel, op.56, radio score, 1939
- Oedipus rex, op.72 (incid music, SophoclesSophoclesSophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...
), speaking choruses, wind, timp, 1944 - Die schwarze Spinne (op, 2, R. Faesi, G. Boner after J. Gotthelf), op.80, 1948, rev. 1954
Accompanied Choral
- Choral duets, op.22/1 (C. Morgenstern), male chorus, tpt, trbns, op.22/2 (C.F. Meyer), chorus, vn, fl, 1926–8
- Till Ulenspiegel, cant., op.24, T, B, male chorus, orch, 1929
- Vorfrühling (cant., Morgenstern), op.27, chorus, str, 1930
- Te Deum, op.33, chorus 2vv, tpt, trbn, timp, org, 1931
- Spruchkantate, op.38 (J. von Eichendorff), male chorus, str, 1933
- Musikalische Übung, op.39 (Ps xii, trans. M. Luther), chorus, org, 1934
- Das Gesicht Jesajas, orat, op.41, 1v, chorus, org, orch, 1933–5
- Die Versuchung Jesu, cant., op.44, A/B, unison vv ad lib, org, 1936
- Ps xciii, op.49, unison vv, org, 1937
- Genug ist genug (cant., Meyer), op.53, chorus, 2 tpt, timp, str, 1938–9
- Lob der Musik, cant., op.54, solo vv, chorus, orch, c1939
- Cantate Domino, op.61/2, S, chorus, str, timp, 1940
- Heimatliche Kantate (G. Keller), op.61/3, Mez/Bar, unison vv ad lib, orch, 1940
- Kreuzvolk der Schweiz (Meyer), op.61/4, chorus, org, 1941
- Das Jahr (orat, H. Hiltbrunner), op.62, solo vv, chorus, orch, 1942
- Christi Leidensverkündigung, cant., op.65, T, small chorus, org, 1942
- Cantique de notre terre (J.P. Zimmermann), op.67, solo vv, chorus, orch, 1943
- Mass, op.85, S, B, chorus, orch, 1951
- Psalmen-Kantate, op.90, S, chorus, org, chbr orch, 1952
- Ps clxviii, op.96, unison vv, insts, 1954
Unaccompanied choral
- 2 Choruses, op.2, 1923
- Cant. (Bible), op.3, T, chorus, 1923
- Motets, op.10, boys’ and male chorus, 1925
- 8 Sprüche aus dem ‘Cherubinischen Wandersmann’, 2 sets op.17/1, 2 (Silesius), 1927
- Ezzolied, op.19, motet, 1927; 5 Gesänge (R. Dehmel), op.26, 1930
- 24 Melodien aus den Hassler’schen Choralgesängen, op.30, 4vv, 1931
- Das deutsche Sanctus, 2 unison choruses, 1932
- Neue Kraft (suite, Bible etc.), op.34, 1932
- 4 Choruses, op.35, male chorus, 1936
- Der Tod, chorus 4vv, 1933
- Vermahnlied, 2–4vv, 1934
- Bärnerlüt, male chorus 4vv, 1935
- 2 Gesänge, chorus 4vv, 1936
- Choruses, op.47, male chorus, 1936
- Die Verkündigung Mariä, motet, op.51, 1938
- 5 Choräle, chorus, 1939
- Sommerzeit, op.61/1, 1940
- 9 folksong arrs. and chorus, female chorus, 1942
- 2 Choruses: Mon âme, bénis l’éternel, Oui, glorifiez l’éternel, 1942
- Kleiner Psalter, op.82, 1949; Frühlingsglaube (Keller), male chorus, 1950
- Wer das längere Lebensteil wünscht, male chorus 4vv, 1950
- 2 Gesänge, 2vv, 1952
- Die Sintflut, cant., op.97, chorus 8vv, 1954
Orchestral
- Vn Conc. no.1, op.7, 1925
- Suite aus der Musik zu einem Weihnachtsmärchen, op.12, 1926
- Sym., op.21, 1926–8
- Ulenspiegel-Variationen, op.37 [prelude to op.24], 1932
- Fantasy, op.40, str, 1934
- Kleine Serenade, op.42, str, 1935
- Conc., op.50, str, 1939
- Hymnus, op.57, 1939
- Concertino, op.60, vc, str, 1940
- Vn Conc. no.2, op.69, 1943; Sym., 1 movt, op.73, 1944
- Conc., op.74, org, str, brass, 1945
- Konzertstück, op.75, org, orch, 1945
- Canzona, op.76, 2 fl, low str, 1945
- Kleine konzertante Suite, op.79, 1946
- Piccola sinfonia giocosa, op.81, small orch, 1949
- Fantasia mattutina, op.83, 1949; Toccata, op.86, 1951
- Sonata da camera, op.89, str, perc, 1952
- Va Conc., op.93, 1953
- Concertino, op.94, 2 fl, hpd, str, 1954
- Divertimento, op.95, str, 1954
Chamber and instrumental
- Fantasie, op.1, pf, 1922
- Variationen über ein Volkslied, op.8, pf, 1925
- Inventionen, op.14, pf, 1926
- Str Trio, op.13, 1 movt, 1926
- Kleine zweistimmige Suite, op.14a [arr. op.14], 11 insts, 1926
- 3 Preludes and Fugues, op.16, pf, 1927; 2 Trio Sonatas, op.18, org, 1927; Kleine Serenade, op.15, vn, va, 1927; Stinis Puppe Theresli, pf, 1928; Str Qt no.1, op.23, 1929; Variations on a *Minuet by Haydn, op.29, pf, 1930
- Variations on Chorale settings by Hassler, op.28, org, 1930
- Kleine Stücke, op.31, pf, 1931
- Fantasie, op.32, org, 1931
- Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten, partita, org, 1932
- Grosser Gott wir loben dich, partita, org, 1932
- Praeludium und Fuge, E, org, 1932
- Was die Hirten alles erlebten, pf, 1935
- Pf Trio, op.43, 1936
- Sonatina, op.45, vn, pf, 1936
- Suite, op.48, 2 vn, 1937
- 8 kleine Klavierstücke, 1938
- Sonatina, op.52, org, 1938
- Fantasy and Chorale ‘Ein feste Burg’, op.58, org, 1939
- Sonata, op.59, va, 1939
- Etude concertante, vc, pf, 1940
- Sonatina, pf, 1940
- Weichnachtssonatine, op.71/1, pf, 1940
- Sonata, op.66, pf, 1943
- Str Qt no.2, op.68, 1943
- Suite en miniature, op.71/2, vn, pf, 1944
- Serenade, op.71/3, fl, gui, c1945
- Serenade, op.77, fl, cl, bn, hn, vn, va, db, hp, 1945
- 4 intermezzi, op.77a, hp, 1945
- Sonata, op.78, vn, pf, 1946
- Canzona, op.76a, 2 fl/fl, ob, pf/org, 1947
- Sonata, op.87, vc, pf, 1952
- Lyrische Musik, op.88, fl, va, vc, pf, c1952
- Choral-Triptychon, op.91, org, 1953
- Serenade, op.92, fl, cl, 1953
- Suite, op.98, fl, 1955
- 6 Preludes, op.99, pf, 1955
- Romanze, hn, pf
Solo vocal
- 7 Songs, op.4, 1v, pf, 1924–5
- 6 Songs, op.5, 1v, pf, 1923–5
- 4 Nachtlieder, op.6, 1v, pf, 1924
- Frage, op.9, song cycle, 1v, pf, 1925
- 3 Duets, op.11 (F. Hebbel), 2S, vn, 1926
- 2 Rilke Cycles, op.20/1, B, chbr orch, op.20/2, S, chbr orch, 1927
- 10 Songs, op.25, 1v, pf, 1930
- Herbst (cant., Morgenstern), op.36, S, pf trio, 1932
- Das ewige Brausen (K.L. Hamsun), op.46, B, orch, 1936
- Der Sonntag (cant., Gotthelf), op.63, Mez/Bar, pf trio, 1942
- Magnificat, op.64, S, org, 1942, arr. as op.64a, S, str, 1942
- 9 Songs, op.70 (Morgenstern), 1v, pf, 1943
- Und als der Tag der Pfingsten erfüllt war, op.84, A/B, org, 1951
- Psalmenmusik, S, orch, 1953