Gerard von Brucken Fock (1859-1935)

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  • Gerard von Brucken Fock as a painter
  • With his wife Marie J. Pompe van Meerdervoort
  • At the piano his wife Marie J. Pompe van Meerdervoort
  • Gerard von Brucken Fock
  • First page of Gerard von Brucken Fock's unperformed opera JOZAL (1910-1912)

‘There is quite enough among his artistic legacy that merits him a place among the most prominent Dutch composers of his day. These are treasures, shipwrecked on the coast of a turbulent life, music that testifies of a unique talent that gave none lesser than Grieg a reason to dub Von Brucken Fock ‘the Dutch Chopin’.’ (Jos de Klerk, ‘Eeeuwherdenking’, Haarlems Dagblad, 12 december 1959)

‘As a composer he was influenced by Brahms and also by Liszt. His orchestral works are impressions of nature, and, as a painter, he was also an impressionist. His music shows great measure of control and mastery, along with much fantasy and a sense of a highbrow style. The Norwegian Edvard Grieg was so enchanted by his piano works that he labelled him ‘the Dutch Chopin’. Grieg on Von Brucken Fock’s scores: ‘Very talented, nothing is without meaning. His works have something in common with the spirit of those of Chopin, yet they are completely Von Brucken Fock.’ (Hans Krol in Heemstediana, Literatuur en beeldende kunst(enaars), October 2012)

‘I believe that one cannot value Von Brucken Fock the painter without the composer, nor the composer without the painter. His hazy seascapes and impressionist landscapes should be listened to as if they were symphonies made from light and colour, rather than realistic reproductions of nature.’ (H.P. Baard, then director of the Frans Hals Museum at his introductory speech for an exhibition of Von Brucken Fock’s paintings in museum Het Huis Van Looy, Haarlem.)

 
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‘Geert’s life was filled with troubles, sadness and struggle. He has suffered greatly, yet conquered everything by means of his tremendous inner strength.’ (Marie J. Pompe van Meerdervoort-Von Brucken Fock, spouse of Gerard von Brucken Fock after his death.)

Among Dutch composers, Gerard von Brucken Fock presumably has the most extravagant and romantic life story. In a certain way one could uphold that almost nothing that he strived for was achieved during his life in the way he had initially imagined it. Even a direct attempt to get rid of his enormous financial wealth in order to live an honourable working men’s life failed. The Gerard von Brucken Fock foundation has meanwhile helped to get some of his music recorded onto a few limited edition cd’s, which are rare reflections of his artistry in terms of chamber music, mostly elegant, descriptive pieces for piano and a few songs. Of the highlight of his career, his large-scale opera in three acts Jozal, (1910-1912) nothing is known, since the score never left his drawer. Study revealed that this was one of the most extreme and touching operas ever composed (and not just in Holland). The reason for this is not to be seen in the usual lovelorn romantic plot, but rather in the fact that Jozal was a rigid attempt to write an autobiographical opera that testified of the composer’s own high moral values and his understanding that he was bound to fail in achieving it. The work has two ‘love duets’, both parting duets in which Jozal explains to his beloved Asdé that his love for God and his duty to mankind (the working class, slaves of her father) surpasses his personal emotions, including his love for her: they have to part, exactly as – in vain – he tried to part from his real wife at one point in order to ‘save their eternal love’. Needless to say that the theosophical, Marxist-religious libretto of his own making that he set to music between early 1911 and January 14, 1912, was utterly unpracticable. However, today the perception of opera has changed; experiment is rife and outrageous libretti prevail over the romantic cliché. A 1912 score combining Wagner with Alban Berg and free atonality is bound to fascinate, at least music wise. While we do not believe a scenic performance of Jozal is remotely possible today, this is totally different for a concert performance. Fortunately, the manuscript survived in the archives of the Nederlands Muziek Instituut. 401DutchOperas salvaged it and prepared performing editions of highlights that were performed in 401Concerts 3 on May 29 2016, in the Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo. These highlights include Jozal’s calling to the cause of the poor in Act I ‘Ja, ik neem het en laat het niet meer los’ and the central parting duet in Act II between Jozal and Asdé ‘ Asdé / Jozal!’ Below there is an introduction to the Van Gogh among Dutch composers, who, besides being a composer and a painter, was also a critic for De Groene with a sharp pen. Tickets for the concert are available through the ticketlink.

Text: René Seghers
Sources: Onze Musici, Nijgh & Van Ditmar, Rotterdam, 1898; J.H. Letzer, ‘Muzikaal Nederland 1850-1919’, Bio Bibliografisch Woordenboek, J. L. Beijers, Utrecht, 1913; Gerard von Brucken Fock, Jozal, manuscript score, 1914 (Nederlands Muziek Instituut); Gerard von Brucken Fock, ‘Levensherinneringen’, 1934 (Zeeuwse Bibliotheek, Middelburg); Wouter Paap, ‘Gerard H.G. von Brucken Fock. Componist en schilder’, Mens en Melodie, maart 1953; H.I.C. Dozy-de Stoppelaar, G.H.G. von Brucken Fock. Een mens van twee werelden, 1859-1935’, Zeist 1959; Jos de Klerk, ‘Eeeuwherdenking’, Haarlems Dagblad, 12 december 1959; Jan ten Bokum, ‘Gerard von Brucken Fock’, Het Honderd Componisten Boek, Haarlem, 1997; Margaret Krill, ‘Gerard von Brucken Fock De Nederlandse Chopin’ Accoord, okt/nov 2009; Hans Krol in Heemstediana, Literatuur en beeldende kunst(enaars), October 2012; A.A. Clement, 'Fock, Gerardus Hubertus Galenus (1859-1935)', Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland, 2013; Archief Gerard von Brucken Fock Foundation in Public Library Middelburg.
Photos: Gerard von Brucken Fock archives NMI/OBA Middelburg
Partners:
Nederlands Muziek Instituut, Kröller-Müller Museum
Tickets 401Concerts 3 for sale via ticketlink.

GvbFockTerHooge390Gerard Hubertus Galenus von Brucken Fock (28 December 1859 -15 August 1935) was born on the estate Ter Hooge in Koudekerke near Middelburg as the son of a family that came from Frisian nobility. His father Henri Dignus Fock, Lord of Ter Hooge, changed his name in 1863 into Von Brucken Fock. His mother Johanna Caland was regent of the Middelburg city orphanage. From his four children, two became established composers, apart from Gerard also his two years older brother Emile von Brucken Fock, still famous for his 1894 opera Seleneia, from which 401Concerts 1 brought the central love duet and moonlight music in 2015 (available as download). Emile played the violin, an other brother cello, and thus Gerard was given an alt viola, so that together with the violin teacher a string quartet could be formed. In these days he also took his first lessons in drawing and painting with Jan Frederik Schütz, renowned painter of seascapes and river views.

Unbendable

Other than his brothers Gerard was unbendable and stubborn. Because of this his parents sent him to a boarding school in Kampen in 1871. On their way there the Von Brucken Focks stayed over in the Amsterdam Amstel Hotel where Gerard played a bit on the piano. A lady complimented his father with his playing, upon which Von Brucken Fock senior replied her that Gerard’s playing was nothing compared to what his elder brother Emile was capable of. In his own memoires Gerard recalls how this remark hit his eleven years old soul. Throughout the rest of his life he would be fighting the shadows of a deeply rooted inferiority complex.

First compositions

His time in Kampen did not help much in removing his stubbornness. Of any regular education of sorts could not be spoken either, because he lacked focus for just one thing, something which would stick with him throughout life. That he nonetheless became a remarkable piano player was largely due to his exceptional talent. Perhaps also the lack of any need to learn something made him less motivated to study. He failed for his college (H.B.S.) exams. A subsequent attempt to follow his brother Emile to the military academy of Breda failed at the entrance test. At that time Emile was already showing remarkable progress in composing and now Gerard also wanted to venture on that path. He took lessons from Marinus van ‘t Kruys, organ player in Middelburg, and also from the Vlissingen based musician Bekker and from A. de Jong. At the age of 17, even before he left to Utrecht in 1877 where he became a pupil of Richard Hol, he already had composed piano compositions and achieved the publication of a song cycle under the name Gerard Brück.

With Hol in Utrecht he studied harmony from 1877 to 1879, and he also completed his piano studies. His compositions from these days all remained in the phase of drafts. He continued his studies in Berlin, first with Friedrich Kiel. The latter lesson did not suit Gerard’s character though, and he continued with Woldemar Bargiel. Back in the Nederlands he was drawn to Amsterdam and resided on chambers in the Kalverstraat, where he lived a student's merry life. This joyous episode ended in a depression when Gerard became disillusioned with the emptiness of his lifestyle. He lacked a purpose in life and this only changed on the day that he bought… a bible! Religious notion was alien to him since it was not instilled in him as a child. He now moved again, this time to Dresden, where he continued his former passion for drawing and painting. Another depression made him escape to Prague, where he was cured by the sound of a folk tune. After a time in Vienna where the fin de siècle nostalgia got the better of him, he found piece of mind at the German Wadden-isle of Borkum, from where he published travelogues in Algemeen Handelsblad, the start of his career in journalism.

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Gerard von Brucken Fock: ‘Sonate voor Piano en Alt' (1885/1887)[Sample medley]
Edith van Moergastel (viola), Marianne Boer (piano)
(2011 CD Document DOC 1101 Gerard von Brucken Fock • Chamber Music | Requiem)

From Paris to Amsterdam

After a short period with his mother (his father had meanwhile passed away) Gerard continued his search for the meaning of life in Paris where his Opus 1, ‘Valses pour piano’, was printed. It proved a time full of inspiration, in which he also composed his third opus, the ‘Spanish Dances’. At the age of twenty-five and with a number of options in his baggage Gerard returned to Middelburg, where he got engaged with Lady Marie J. Pompe van Meerdervoort (1864-1960), daughter of a member of the Parliament. She inspired him to a series of compositions and drawings and within four months, in 1885, the two were married. For two years they resided in Middelburg where Gerard had much success as a solo pianist in works by Liszt. Being a virtuoso in Zeeland proved to be of a completely different order though than being a virtuoso in Paris; even Baden-Baden proved too challenging.

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Gerard von Brucken Fock: 'Moments Musicaux' II, No. 5 (1891)
Rien Balkenende (piano)
(2008 CD ZEF-1614 'Laag water aan de Schelde')

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Gerard von Brucken Fock: Prélude ‘Laag water aan de Schelde’ (1892)
Edith van Moergastel (viola), Marianne Boer (piano)
(2011 CD Document DOC 1101 Gerard von Brucken Fock • Chamber Music | Requiem)

From 1888 until 1891 we find the couple in Amsterdam, where Gerard continued his journalistic career with De Amsterdammer (the original name of the current Groene Amsterdammer) where he was feared for his critical pen. He proved a fierce anti-Wagnerian (as opposed to his brother Emile, whose 1894 opera Seleneia made him the great propagator of Wagner in the Netherlands). From 1889 onwards, he also manifested himself as conductor of the church choir of the Remonstrant parish. This was a relatively quiet and fruitful period in his life which ended abruptly after reading Tolstoy and Ibsen, whose books once again made him doubt the morals that he was building his life upon.

Soldier of the Salvation Army

Tolstoy made Gerard realize that true nobility was only earned with hard labour, and Ibsen made him realize that marriage inevitably results in the loss of love between the original lovers. Gerard thus concluded that the only way to salvage the love between him and his wife was to divorce. His lawyer wisely recommended him to first try it out by living separately for a while (he recommended ‘seven years’). The experiment ended much earlier though, since Gerard could not stand being alone. Tolstoy’s influence proved a bit harder to part with though. Gerard came to the conclusion that he needed to be poor to succeed in life, since clearly he had never filled his potential because there was no need for him to do anything. He ordered his banker to give away all his possessions and the couple left for Leipzig, where Gerard tried to live from an income as a piano teacher. His wife, lady Pompe van Meerdevoort, was employed as a seamstress in a sewing plant. This experiment was once again short-lived and the couple returned to the Netherlands, thinking they were flat broke and utterly poor. However, their banker knew Gerard’s inclinations all too well and had not yet ‘effectuated’ the order to part with Von Brucken Fock’s belongings and money. All remained as it was before, although Gerard did another attempt at succeeding as a labourer, this time as a worker on the fields in Kruiningen. Following that he joined the Salvation Army in Paris where he became active packing things, selling pamphlets and playing the salvation songs on the barrel organ from Paris to Switzerland, accompanied at the guitar by Lady Pompe van Meerdevoort. From 1892 to 1895 he produced only Salvation Army songs as a composer, after which his passion for the army became less intense. The illness of his wife resulted in their leave to the bathing town of Royan, where he once again started composing serious things. He also started to study theology and founded an ‘Alleluia’-union, in his own words ‘an army without a military dictature’.

Back in Walcheren and from there to Amsterdam another period with the Salvation Army materialized, during which he was sent to the coal mines in Charleroi. Jos de Klerk observes that his life then reveals some remarkable parallels with that of Vincent van Gogh and the experiments of Frederik van Eeden. During this period, he composed his best-known piano work, the ‘24 Etudes’ that charmed Grieg so much and that he enjoyed performing them himself. At this point in his biography Lady Pompe van Meerdervoort notices a painfully significant detail regarding his continuous flights into the church (in Charleroi he conducted a choir of the Free Community) was in part caused by his inferiority complex regarding the works of the much more famous Alphons Diepenbrock and his older brother Emile, whose stronger personality ensured him a surplus of attention: ‘That hampered him throughout his life.’

Jozal

It is during this fruitful period that Gerard von Brucken Fock started working on the theosophical-autobiographical opera in three acts Jozal, a work that kept him occupied from 1910 until January 14 1912 (excerpts can be heard in the video trailer here presented of 401Concerts 3). While his large scale oratorio ‘The Return of Jesus Christ’, another work that occupied him for several years, was eventually performed in 1908 by Anton Tieri, hardly a sign of his true life’s work, Jozal, could be traced by 2016. This is not surprising given that Jozal ever left his drawer, and yet the work is golden engraved in the 401DutchOperas anthology, because it is a remarkable work in more than one way. The combination of a theosophical and autobiographical (in a metaphoric sense) opera is wholly unique for 1912. Next we do not know Gerard von Brucken Fock as a dramatic composer, but rather as a composer of impressionist subjects in a pre-impressionist, romantic style after Chopin to Liszt. None of that is there in Jozal. The rigid subject asked for strict compository solutions, and in Jozal we find traces of Wagner’s powerplay as much as experimental free tonality that suggests he must have heard Alban Berg while in Vienna. In any case this technique is then unique in the Netherlands, and even on an international scale very early, casting an entirely different light on Von Brucken Fock as a composer. It will not be very hard to see the composer in Jozal's two ‘love duets’ where he renounces his love in order to follow a higher calling to God and the service of mankind. These duets are not so much heartbreaking because of the romanticism involved, but rather because they describe the mentioned attempt to part from his wife. Worse even: his failure to renounce the temptations of the flesh lead to Jozal’s infamous end, where he is cast aside as a dog, torn apart by the people he tried to save – another prelude to his own sense of being a failed individual. 401DutchOperas shall perform the second act duet as part of 401Concerts 3 on 29 May 2016 in the Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, along with Jozal’s act I solo ‘Ja ik neem het en laat het niet meer los’, in which he answers to the call of God to take up his sword and become God’s champion. For these world premières a performance edition for piano-voice was constructed from the manuscript score in which as much of the orchestra was kept as possible. Pieter Dhoore plays piano, tenor Denzil Delaere sings Jozal and soprano Jolien De Gendt sings Asdé. At the culmination point of the duet the moon breaks through the clouds, bathing the surroundings in a mysterious silvery light (in the concert violin player Ann Vancoillie performs the moonlight breaking through the clouds). Asdé then tries one last time to convince Jozal of the beauty of God’s plan and all that is:

Asdé

Zie om je heen, Jozal, zie de schoonheid om je heen!  | Look around Jozal
Kan de wereld zo slecht zijn, als je meent? | Can the World be as bad as you say?
Moet het niet alles medewerken tot de plannen van Hem die zoiets geschapen heeft? | isn’t it all a part of God’s plan?
Moeten wij het niet van hem verwachten? Geloovig vertrouwend op Hem hopen? | Should we not trust in it?
O Jozal! laten wij het overgeven aan Hem door wie de wereld bestaat. | O Jozal, let us leave things in the hands of the creator.

Jozal

et is alles valsch! Ik kan die schoonheid niet langer verdragen | All is false. I can’t bear it any longer
O die wreedheid in de natuur! | The cruelty of nature
Die ongevoeligheid | The heartlessness
Koud zien de sterren neer op der menschen worstelen, |The stars are looking down on us with coldness
zij bewegen zich onveranderlijk in hunne banen | They never move an inch from their paths
Alles gaat precies zijn zelfden gang, | All continues as ever before
Of de wereld lijdt of juicht, Lacht of schreit! … | All the suffering or rejoicing of the World doesn’t matter to them
Terwijl daar onschuldigen smachten | While the innocent suffer
In hun kerker schijnt de maan vriendelijk aan den hemel, | in their cells, the moon shines brightly in Heaven
Terwijl hier het gruwelijk onrecht den scepter voert. | while down here injustice prevails
[with irony]
Rimpelt het water van het meer zich daar vreedzaam in het Zuidenwindje | See the wind rustling in the peaceful lake yonder
Zingen vogeltjes lief en melodieus in de takken | hear the birds’ melodious song
Is dat niet harteloos van God, | isn’t that heartless of God,
Is dat niet gemeen? | isn’t that cruel?
Ik zou zoón wereld in elkaar trappen als ik hem was! | Were I Him, I’d crush that World!

401COnc3Logo390The recording of our third 401DutchOperas concert in the Kröller-Müller Museum is downloadable via 401Concerts 3. Apart from highlights from Gerard von Brucken Fock's Jozal it also includes highlights from Cornelis Dopper's De blinde van Casteel Cuillé, Willem Landré's De roos van Dekama, Daniël de Lange's Lioba, Julius Röntgen's Agnete en De lachende Cavalier, Jan van Gilse's Helga von Stavern, Jan Brandts Buys’ De kleermakers van Marken (Die Schneider von Schönau) and Richard Hageman's Caponsacchi.

Painter

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  • 'Het Spaarne in Haarlem', oil painting by Gerard von Brucken Fock
  • Kanaal met platbodem (Kunstmakelaardij Metzemaekers)
  • 'Clouds fantasy above the West-Scheldt' oil painting by Gerard von Brucken Fock
  • 'Winter landscape with houses'by Gerard von Brucken Fock (Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem)
  • 'River view with ships' by Gerard von Brucken Fock (Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem)

Meanwhile Gerard had started oil painting in the woods and dunes of Aerdenhout, where he had bought a house. There he befriended Cornelis Spoor, Marius Bauer and Oscar Mendlik. As an artist Von Brucken Fock had a predilection for dunes and seascapes, trees and city views in impressionist style. The Summers of 1901, 1902 and 1904 were spent in Domburg with Jan Toorop and Otto van Rees. Von Brucken Fock befriended also Isaac Israëls and Breitner, yet as a painter he felt himself most linked to Toorop, Thorn Pricker and Roland Holst. His work can be placed within the realm of the school of The Hague, with those paintings that materialized between 1910 and 1920 counting as his most important ones. Regardless, restlessness remained Von Brucken Fock’s hallmark and periods of great productivity would be followed by periods of religious reflection and evangelistic activities. He resided in Berlin, travelled with Julius Röntgen  to Denmark, wrote his ‘Symfonie in bes’ in Brussels and exhibited his paintings in St. Lukas, Amsterdam. Von Brucken Fock: ‘My debut there was very successful. Later exhibitions fared less well.'

Back in Aerdenhout he also started writing again. In 1912 he moved to Paris (where he completed Jozal) and in 1913 to Laren, where he dedicated himself to a book on the imminent manifestation of God’s Kingdom on Earth (he completed the book but withdrew it from publication while it was already being pressed). In Laren he started another Symphony. By 1917 he felt the lure of the coast again and he moved to Katwijk, where he completed this Symphony.

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Gerard von Brucken Fock: 'Les cigales' (tekst: Emmanuel Delbousquet) (1917)
Bernadette ter Heyne (mezzo-sopraan), Rien Balkenende (piano)
(2008 CD ZEF-1614 'Laag water aan de Schelde')

In 1920 the couple then moved to an average house in Heemstede, which would prove the basis for the travels during the remaining fifteen years of Von Brucken Fock’s life. It was there that in 1933 he completed his ‘Requiem’, a work that he had initiated as early as 1880. Along with the ‘24 Etudes’ and Jozal the ‘Requiem’ is one of his most important works. It was premiered on December 20 1934 with the Christelijke Oratorium Verenging Haarlem under George Robert, with Jo Vincent, Annie Woud, Jacques van Kempen and Max Kloos as soloists. After the war it was again performed in Goes 1954, in the presence of his widow, as part of a commemoration of the Spring Flood that had occured there earlier, killing many people. The last performances were in i1960 (by the Heemsteedse Christelijke Oratorium Vereniging) and in 1978 (with Nelly van der Spek, Jannetje Blok, Joke de Vin, Wouter Goedhart, Max van Egmond, the Groot Omroepkoor and the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest under Hans Vonk). The latter performance was transferred to the 1911 double-cd Chamber Music | Requiem dedicated entirely to Gerard von Brucken Fock (CD Document).

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Gerard von Brucken Fock:‘Berceuse d'amorique’, ‘A quoi bon entendre’, ‘L'idéal’ (Medley)
Irene Maessen (sopraan), Marianne Boer (piano))
(2011 CD Document DOC 1101 Gerard von Brucken Fock • Chamber Music | Requiem)

Die Welt abhanden gekommen

‘On his deathbed I frequently visited him and he tremendously enjoyed it when I brought him large bouquets of flowers from my garden. Those brought a smile on his dying face, his eyes would light up and he would say: ‘O, how beautiful!’.’ (Oscar Mendlik )

Although troubled by sickness (in 1933 he had suffered a heart attack) that prevented him even from attending the premiere of his ‘Requiem’, Von Brucken Fock’s last years brought at least the comfort for having the recognition that he had missed so much during his earlier years: Mengelberg performed his works, Holland’s most famous soprano of the day, Berthe Seroen, propagated his songs, and Henriëtte Bosmans played his piano compositions.

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Gerard von Brucken Fock: 'Cello sonate' (1884/1934) [I-II-III sample medley]
Larissa Groeneveld (cello), Frank van de Laar (piano)
(2015 CD Stichting Gutman Records CD 154 'Dämmerung'• Zemlinsky | Von Brucken Fock | Dohnányi)

Shortly before he died he was made honorary member of the Maatschappij tot Bevordering der Toonkunst (Society promoting Tonal Arts), although, wrote De Klerk: ‘It didn’t matter to him anymore Gerard von Brucken Fock was ‘Die Welt abhanden gekommen’.'

Gerard von Brucken Fock died on August 15 1935 as a – in his own perception  – misjudged artist. His last words to his wife were, ‘Can you not follow me?’ Their marriage remained childless.

Epilogue

In 1959 Mrs. H. I. C. Dozy-de Stoppelaar published a very lively monography on Gerard von Brucken Fock, partly based on his memoirs and for the other part on the recollections of his 95-years-old widow, M. J. von Brucken Fock-Pompe. Von Brucken Fock’s recollections, writes Jos de Klerk in Haarlems Dagblad of 12 December 1959, can be interpreted as a public confession in the light of his imminent death:

‘This honest and fearless reflections on the impulses of life and time are characteristic for his existence as an artist and a human being. His creativity could be stronger from it, even though this also implied that there would be times that it was wholly absent because he would be distracted by impressions and novel discoveries and interests. His wife, who followed him throughout his mood swings and extreme proposals as a veritable guardian angel, had to confess in the end that: ‘He was always one step ahead of me. When I finally understood what he wanted he would always say: ‘O, I’m already past that now.’ His life was restless and fractured. When overlooking it at the end he sighed: ‘O what a life of failure and insecurities was mine.’

This may have been true in part during his life, yet by 1952 the eminent composer Hendrik Andriessen already wrote of Gerard von Brucken Fock that his native country had forgotten an important composer in him. Periodicals and handbooks on composers from the pre-war era also placed Gerard above his brother Emile. In 1959 the first significant revival emerged in the wake of the publication of De Stoppelaar’s monograph (including a fascinating 45-RPM recording with Gerard’s composition interpreted by soprano Paulien Pilaar and pianist Tineke de Smidt). Smaller and larger commemorations followed, especially in the Province of Zeeland. In October 1982 there was an exhibition of his paintings in Heemstede. In his 130st and 150th birth years, 1989 and 2009, Von Brucken Fock was remembered in Zeeland with exhibitions and performances of his music with the help of the Gerard von Brucken Fock Foundation, which was founded following the last will of the composer. The belated world premiere of his Cellosonate by Larissa Groeneveld and Frank van de Laar was duly noted in 2009.

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Gerard von Brucken Fock: Requiem ‘I-VII sample medley' (1888-1934)
Nelly van der Spek (s), Jannetje Blok (s), Joke de Vin (a), Wouter Goedhart (t), Max van Egmond (bt), Groot Omroepkoor, Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, dirigent Hans Vonk, 1978
(2011 CD Document DOC 1101 Gerard von Brucken Fock • Chamber Music | Requiem)

Since the cd- and internet era the interest grew exponentially. Earlier mentioned cd’s and publications awoke curiosity, Von Brucken Fock became a subject of study. With support from the Foundation there is now even a biography in the making and 401DutchOperas is orienting itself on the production of a critical edition of Jozal including a piano-vocal reduction of it, which will hopefully result in the world premiere of this unique score. In a good production, Jozal will prove to be Von Brucken Fock’s true masterpiece, and the highlights performed during 401Concerts 3 in the Kröller-Müller Museum on May 29 may are the first indication of that.

Download 401Concerts 3 met Jozal

Opera/music theatre

Jozal (opera in three acts, 1910-1912)
De geparfumeerde zakdoek (muzikaal voorspel in een bedrijf, ongedateerd)

Oratorio

De Wederkomst van Christus (The return of Christ) (1908)

Recordings

45-toeren
GvbCDBoek1959
Composities van Gerard von Brucken Fock
Soprano Paulien Pilaar ad pianist Tineke de Smidt
(included with H.I.C. Dozy-de Stoppelaar, G.H.G. von Brucken Fock. Een mens van twee werelden, 1859-1935’, Zeist 1959)



CD
GvbFockCDLAagWater2008
Laag Water aan de Schelde
Music of Gerard von Brucken Fock
(2008 CD Zefir ZEF-9614, Bernadette ter Heyne (ms), Rien Balkenende (piano))
‘Schemerliedje’’; Laag water aan de Schelde’; ‘Stil zijn’; ‘Moments Musicaux No 1, 3, 5’; ‘Berceuse d'Armorique’; ‘Les Cigales’; ‘Humoresque No 1, 7, 8’; ‘Witte wijven dansen om en om’; ‘Hei met de wolken zoo wit’
2009
GvbFockCDDammerungDämmerung, Late 19th Century Sonatas for Cello and Piano
Von Brucken Fock | Von Zemlinsky | Von Dohnányi
‘Sonata for piano and cello in e minor’ (1884, revision 1931)
(2009 CD Gutman Records, Larissa Groeneveld (cello), Frank van de Laar (piano))


2011 Chamber Music | Requiem (2CD Document, 2011)
GvbFOCKCDChamberRequiemCD 1: 12 Klavierstukken Op. 27 (excerpts); Sonate voor Piano en Alt; 5 Moments musicaux Op. 11; Liederen: ‘Berceuse d’Armorique’ (Anatole Le Braz), ‘A quoi bon entendre’ (Victor Hugo), L’Idéal Op. 28 No. 4 (Sully Prudhomme), ‘Les Cigales Op. 28 No. 1’ (Emmanuel Delbousquet), ‘En lisant L’Evangile Op. 28 No. 3’ (Paul Bourget) (Irene Maessen (sopraan), Edith van Moergastel (viool), Marianne Boer (piano)) CD 2: Requiem (1933) (Nelly van der Spek (s), Jannetje Blok (s), Joke de Vin (a), Wouter Goedhart (t), Max van Egmond (bt), Groot Omroepkoor, Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, conductor Hans Vonk, 1978)

Video en audio download
2016
401COnc3Logo150Gerard von Brucken Fock: Jozal (opera in 3 bedrijven)
 ‘Ja ik neem het en laat het niet meer los’ (Acte I monoloog Jozal)
 ‘Jozal / Asdé… heb ik je weer’ … Maanmuziek (Act II duet Asdé-Jozal)
Jolien De Gendt (Asdé), Denzil Delaere (Jozal), Ann Vancoillie (viool), Pieter Dhoore (piano)
401Concerts 3 download, 29 mei 2016, Kröller Müller Museum, Otterlo.