Herberigs, Robert

Herberigs, Robert, Belgian composer and novelist; b. Ghent, June 19, 1886; d. Oudenaarde, Sept. 20, 1974. He studied voice at the Ghent Cons. In 1908 he made his operatic debut as a baritone at the Flemish Opera in Antwerp, but then abandoned his operatic aspirations to study composition. In 1909 he won the Belgian Grand Prix with his cantata La Legènde de St. Hubert, and subsequently composed prolifically. He also publ, several novels. His compositions followed along Romantic lines.

Works

dramatic:Le Mariage de Rosine, comic opera (1919; Ghent, Feb. 13, 1925); L’Amour médecin, comic opera (1920); Lam Godsspel or Jeu de l´Agneau Mystique, open- air play (1948); Antoine et Cleopatra, radio play (1949); Le Château des comtes de Gand, light and sound play (1960).ORCH.: 2 piano concertos (1932, 1952); Sinfonia breve (1947); Organ Concerto (1957); numerous symphonie poems and suites, including Cyrano de Bergerac (1912), Le Chant d’Hiawatha (1921), Vlaan-deren, O Welig Huts (1949), Rapsodia alla Zingara (1952), La Petite Sirène (1955), 4 saisons (1956), 4 odes a Botticelli (1958), Hamlet (1962), Roméo et Juliette (1963), and Reinaut et Armida (1967). chamber: String Quartet (1921); Poème for Piano Trio (1923); Violin Sonata (1932); Concert champêtre for Wind Quintet (1938); Piano Quartet (1939); Suite Miniature and Sonatine for Flute and String Trio (both 1954). piano: 21 sonatas and sonatinas (1941–5); other pieces. VOCAL: La Legènde de St. Hubert (1909) and other cantatas; Te Deum laudamus (1912); masses; song cycles and solo songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire