Hendrik Franciscus Andriessen (17 September 1892 – 12 April 1981) was a Dutch composer and organist. He is remembered most of all for his improvisation at the organ and for the renewal of Catholic liturgical music in the Netherlands. Andriessen composed in a musical idiom that revealed strong French influences. He was the brother of pianist and composer Willem Andriessen and the father of the composers Jurriaan Andriessen and Louis Andriessen and of the flautist Heleen Andriessen.
Life and career
Andriessen was born in Haarlem, the son of Gezina Johanna (Vester), a painter, and Nicolaas Hendrik Andriessen, a church organist.[1] He studied composition with Bernard Zweers and organ with Jean-Baptiste de Pauw [nl] at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. As the organist at St. Catherine's Cathedral, Utrecht, he became well known for his improvisation abilities.[2] From 1926 to 1954, he lectured in composition and music theory at the Amsterdam Conservatory while also teaching at the Institute for Catholic Church Music in Utrecht between 1930 and 1949. He was the director of the Utrecht Conservatory from 1937 to 1949.
During World War II, Andriessen refused to join the "Cultural House" (Kultuurkamer) and was thus barred from public functions by the Nazi occupiers. The only musical activities he was allowed were to give lessons and to accompany church services. He was held hostage in Kamp Sint-Michielsgestel by German occupiers from 13 July until 18 December 1942, when he was released.[2]
In 1949, he was appointed director of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, a post he held until 1957. Prior to this appointment he began there as professor of composition where amongst his several composition students at the Royal Conservatory Rudi Martinus van Dijk was included. Between 1954 and 1962, he was appointed an Extraordinary Professor of Musicology at the Catholic University of Nijmegen.
Sonata 'Da Pacem, Domine' (1913), Previously lost, the manuscript was found in 2021 by American organist Gregory D'Agostino and Dutch historian Jort Fokkens.
Sonata da chiesa (1927)
Passacaglia (1929)
Theme with Variations (1949)
In dulci jubilo (1961)
Interlude (1957)
Interludium (1968)
Intermezzi: 24 pieces in two books (1935 and 1943–46)
Intermezzo (1950)
Meditation on the Hymn "O Lord with Wondrous Mystery" (1960)
O filii et filiae (1961)
O sacred head (1962)
Offertorium (1962)
Prelude and Fugue in D minor
Preghiera (1962)
Quattro studi per organo (1953)
Sinfonia (1939)
Suite (1968)
Veni Creator Spiritus (1961)
Piano
Sonata (1934)
Pavane (1937)
Passepied (1942)
Menuet (1944)
Sérénade (1950)
Opera
Philomela (1948–1949), in 3 acts; libretto by Jan Engelman
De Spiegel uit Venetië (The Mirror from Venice; Der Spiegel von Venedig) (1963–1964), chamber opera in 1 act; libretto by Hélène Nolthenius [nl]
Oratorio
L'histoire de l'enfant de Dieu, libretto by Pierre Kemp, for soprano, tenor, choir and orchestra (1920)
Choir
Sonnet de Pierre Ronsard (1917)
Missa in honorem Sacratissimi Cordis, with organ (1919)
Missa in festo assumptionis with organ (1925)
Missa sponsa Christi with organ (1928)
Missa Simplex, a cappella (1928)
De veertien stonden with organ & strings (1928)
Missa diatonica (1935)
Magnificat, with organ (1936)
Missa Christus Rex (1938)
Te Deum, with organ (1943)
Laudes vespertinae with organ (1944)
Missa solemnis, with organ (1946)
Ommagio a Marenzio (1965)
Te Deum, with orchestra (1968)
Lieder
Magna res est amor, with organ (1919, orchestrated 1919)
Fiat domine, with organ (1920, orchestrated 1930)
Miroir de peine (set of five songs on texts by French poet Henri Ghéon, 1875–1944) (1923, orchestrated 1933)
Schell, Mark David. 1995. "A Performer's Guide to Representative Solo Organ Works of Hendrik Andriessen". D.M.A. diss. Louisville: The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
