Paul Gilson

Paul Gilson (Brussels, June 15, 1865 - Brussels, April 3, 1942) was a Belgian musician and composer.

Biography

In 1866, his family moved from Brussels to Ruisbroek in the Belgian province of Brabant. There he studied theory with the organist and choir director Auguste Cantillon, and began writing works for orchestra and choir. His first official training came from 1887-1889 under François-Auguste Gevaert in composition and under Charles Duyck in harmony and counterpoint at the Brussels Conservatory, and in 1889, he was awarded the Belgian "Prix de Rome" for a cantata, "Sinaï". In 1899 he became professor of composition at the Brussels Conservatory; he won the same post at Antwerp in 1904 but quit both after becoming inspector of music education in 1909, a post he would keep until 1930. While he was a very prolific composer, his output decreased after 1905, after which Gilson wrote increasingly about music, in theory, criticism, and composition.

In 1925, a group of Gilson's students who called themselves "Les synthétistes" (including René Bernier, Francis de Bourguignon, Théo de Joncker, Marcel Poot, Maurice Schoemaker, Jules Strens and Robert Otlet) first formed, declaring allegiance to Gilson's ideas about music. Along with Poot and Schoemaker, he founded "La revue Belge musicale" in 1924; he was the chief editor until it folded in 1939. He also wrote pamphlets for Belgian radio.

Gilson was somewhat conservative in his musical outlook. Some of his work is indebted to Wagnerian harmony, and his books on harmony and instrumentation also bear this out. Gilson corresponded regularly with Russian composers Cesar Cui and Mitrofan Beliaiev.

Works

For Orchestra

* 1890 "Alla Marcia" rhapsody for string orchestra
* 1890 "Rhapsodie à la marcia"
* 1892 "La Mer" 4 Symphonic sketches
*# Lever de soleil
*# Chants et Danses de Matelots
*# Crépuscule
*# Tempête
* 1892–1893 "Melodies Ecossaises" for string orchestra
*# The Flowers Of The Forest
*# Sweet May Morning
*# Jig And Song
* 1900 "Ouverture Symphonique Nr. 1"
* "Alvar"
* 1903 "Ouverture Symphonique Nr. 2"
* 1904 "Ouverture Symphonique No. 3"
* 1929 "Parafrazen op Vlaamse Volksliederen"
* "Sailors Dance"

Works for wind orchestra

* 1902 "Concerto pour Saxophone n°1"
* 1903 "Variation symphonique" for Blechbläser
* 1892/1925 "La Mer" 4 Symphonic Sketches for wind orchestra transcribed by Arthur Prevost
*# Lever de soleil
*# Chants et Danses de Matelots
*# Crépuscule
*# Tempête
* 1930 "Tornacum"
* 1930 "Grande Marche du Centenaire"
* 1948 "Moeder" for speaker and fanfare-orchestra
* "Binché"
* "Brabant - marche militaire"
* "Danse geurrière" from the ballet "La Captive"
* "Deuxième Rhapsodie"
* "Deuxième Valse Symphonique"
* "Encore un! allegro"
* "Epithalame"
* "Fantaisie"
* "Gavotte Monsignore"
* "Hommage à Weber"
* "Interlude Solennel"
* "L'Heureux Voyage"
* "Le Rétour au Pays: Prière avant le départ"
* "Marche commémorative"
* "Marche Cortège"
* "Marche Panégyrique"
* "Merxem - Allegro Militaire"
* "Montréal - Allegro de concert"
* "Ouverture »Eleusines«"
* "Patrouille Albanaise"
* "Poème Symphonique en Forme d'Ouverture"
* "Polka fataiseste"
* "Rhapsodie Laudative"
* "Rhapsodie Hawaîenne"
* "Richard III" Ouverture
* "Terugkeer naar het vaderland"
* "Triumph Marsch"
* "Variations"
* "Valse symphonique nr. 1"
* "Valse symphonique nr. 2"
* "Vestris - Danse mimique"
* "Quarantenaire – Marche Solennelle"

Stage Works

* 1890 "Le Démon" Dramatic cantata on a text by Lermontov in 2 acts for soloists, choir and orchestra
* 1892 "Francesca da Rimini" Dramatic oratorio based on a text by Dante for soloists, choir and orchestra
* 1895 "Gens de mer (Zeevolk)" Lyric drama in 2 acts
* 1896–1900 "La Captive" Ballet in 2 acts
* 1903 "Princesse rayon de soleil (Prinses Zonneschijn)" légende féerique 4 acts
* 1910 "Les Aventuriers (Rooversliefde)" Musical drama in 1 act
* 1910–1921 "Les Deux Bossus" Ballett-Pantomime in 1 Act
* 1940 "Elijah" Music for a play by Cyriel Verschaeve
* "Daphne" Ballett

Other works

* 1889–1890 "Six Mélodies"
* 1902 "Petite Suite Rustique" for piano
* 1934 "Le Mas d'Icare" for a film by Carlo Queeckers for string orchestra
* 1934–1936 "Romantische werkjes"
* 1940 "Aria di Timpani con 6 Variazioni"
* "Suite Nocturne" for piano
* "Six Chansons Ecossaises" based on a text by Leconte de Lisle

Books and writings

* 1913 "Le Tutti orchestral"
* 1923 "Traité de lecture musicale"
* 1923 "Traité d'harmonie" (3 Bände)
* 1926 "Traité de musique militaire"
* "Solfège - Cours complet de la lecture musical a 9 Volumes"
* 1942 "Notes de musique et souvenirs" (memoirs)
* 1955 Arthur Meulemans: "Paul Gilson" (1865-1942)