1843–1910 · Belgium · Classical
Florimond Van Duyse (1843–1910) was a Belgian lawyer, composer and musicologist from Ghent. His music teacher at the Ghent Conservatory was Karel Miry; he wrote operas and gathered folk songs from the Dutch, Flemish and Walloon traditions. On this site his music is represented by choral works.
Florimond Van Duyse was born in Ghent on 4 August 1843. He attended school at Veurne and then the Atheneum in Ghent. After that he studied law at the State University of Ghent and in 1867 received the degree of Doctor of Law.
Alongside law he studied music. His teacher at the Ghent Conservatory was Karel Miry. In 1859 Van Duyse won First Prize in Harmony there, and in 1862 First Prize in Counterpoint.
Van Duyse also wrote for the stage. His opera Teniers te Grimbergen was first performed in Ghent in 1860. The libretto was written by his father, Prudens van Duyse.
Another of his operas, Rosalinde, was premiered in Antwerp in 1864. Its libretto was by Karel Versnaeyen.
In 1869 Van Duyse became an advocate before the appeals court in Ghent. From 1876 he served as prosecutor at a military court whose remit was Antwerp, Mons and Ghent.
In court he argued that Dutch should be used in the proceedings, and in 1888 he gave the military court its first plea in Dutch.
Van Duyse gathered folk songs from the Dutch, Flemish and Walloon traditions and issued several volumes of them. One book, Het eenstemmig Fransch en Nederlandsch wereldlijk lied in de Belgische gewesten came out in 1896, and another, De melodie van het Nederlandsche lied en hare rytmische vormen, in 1902.
In addition he compiled a songbook, Het Nederlandsch liederboek, for the Willemsfonds, and another, Dit is een suverlick boecksken, for the Davidsfonds.
Van Duyse died in Ghent on 18 May 1910.
Van Duyse was a composer, musicologist and collector of songs. His works include the operas Teniers te Grimbergen (Ghent, 1860) and Rosalinde (Antwerp, 1864), as well as several volumes of Dutch, Flemish and Walloon folk songs.
The site has five of his choral works. A gentle place to begin is Het daghet in den Oosten for mixed choir (SATB), at the Intermediate level. The other four, Er was een maegdetje zuiver en net, Het wasser te nacht also soete nacht, Willen wy 't haesken jagen door de hei? and Here Halewijn sanc een liedekijn, are marked Intermediate+.