Pierre Leonard Leopold Benoit

Background

He was born in Harelbeke, Flanders, Belgium in 1834.

Education

He was taught music at an early age by his father and the village organist. In 1851 Benoit entered the Brussels Conservatoire, where he remained till 1855.

Career

Benoit was appointed conductor of the Park Theatre in Brussels in 1856, following which his cantata Le Meurtre d'Abel and his opera Le Village dans les montagnes were first performed. A government grant permitted him to travel to Germany, where he continued to study and compose. While there BenoîtBenoit sent back to Brussels an essay, L'École de musique flamande et son avenir, which showed that his dominant interest was still the promotion of a genuine Flemish musical movement. In 1861 he went to Paris where his opera Le Roi des Aulnes had been accepted by the Théâtre Lyrique. The opera was not produced, but Benoît for a time served as conductor of the Bouffes Parisiens. In April 1864 he presented at Antwerp a Quadrilogue Religieuse, which consisted of his Cantate de NoëlNoel (1860), Messe Solennelle (1862), a Te Deum, and a Requiem (1863). In 1867 a Flemish school of music was established at Antwerp, with Benoît as its director. In 1899 this school became the Royal Flemish Conservatory, with BenoîtBenoit still at its head. Benoît's music aimed to embody the Flemish spirit and included operas, oratorios, cantatas, and symphonies. He died at Antwerp on March 8, 1901.

Achievements

• Benoit's most important compositions include the Flemish oratorios De Schelde (The river Scheldt) and Lucifer (which met complete failure when it was staged in London in 1888), the operas Het Dorp in 't Gebergte (The village in the mountains) and Isa, and the Drama Christi, a huge body of songs, choruses, small cantatas and motets. Benoit also wrote a great number of essays on musical matters.