Johan van der Meer (conductor)
Johan van der Meer (born 26 November 1913 in North Horn, NL, † April 24, 2011 in Achim ) was a Dutch conductor and a pioneer in the field of historical performance practice.
Life
Van der Meer have been working since the early 1970s, one for an authentic approach to baroque music. This original instruments, a dramatic declamation of the text in the sense of musical rhetoric and moderate, not too fast tempos played a role. Among his recordings are the vocal works by composers such as Heinrich Schütz, Josquin Desprez, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck and George Frideric Handel, but especially to name Johann Sebastian Bach. Performances after - baroque works such as motets and hard and commemorative awards by Johannes Brahms remained the exception and were met with criticism, as van der Meer interpreted it very baroque style.
In 1945 he founded at the suggestion of Gerardus van der Leeuw semi-professional choir Groningse Bachvereniging, which he headed until January 1984. While the choir sang music in the first 25 years of periods from the 15th to the 20th century and various style periods, he concentrated himself from 1970 to Baroque music in historical performance practice. Van der Meer Nikolaus Harnoncourt had introduced in the Netherlands in 1970. The solid orchestral companion of Groningse Bachvereniging, the Noordelijk Philharmonic Orchestra, did not seem to stand for a performance of Bach's Magnificat available. Van der Meer could instead Harnoncourt Concentus Musicus Wien win with his, whom he had recently met with the Bremen days of Ancient Music.
With the Groningse Bachvereniging he led in 1973, Bach's St. Matthew Passion for the first time in an authentic way in the Netherlands. For this purpose he had invited several Dutch and Flemish musicians. In this ambitious project, the soloists Marius van Altena sang (Evangelist ), Max van Egmond ( Christ ), three boy soloists of the Tölz Boys' Choir, René Jacobs ( Altus ), Harry Geraerts and Michiel ten Houte de Lange (tenor ) and Frits van Erven Doren and Harry van der Kamp ( bass). At the organ worked with Ton Koopman and Bob van Asperen. To avoid possible damage to reputation of Groningse Bachverenigung, found the performances take place in Sappemeer and Schiedam. However, the concert was a success in 1973, which strengthened the reputation of van der Meer, and constituted an important milestone in the Dutch early-music movement.
Johan van der Meer was considered by his outlook is deeply convinced extremely critical and incompatible with resistors. At the same time he was by his enthusiasm long time catalyst for collaboration of great artists, including Gustav Leonhardt Leonhardt - Consort with his, Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Peter Kooij and Sigiswald with Kuijken La Petite Bande included.
The bassist Rein de Vries joined in 1984 as a conductor in the footsteps of van der Meer. Into old age, continued Johan van der Meer committed to the historical performance practice. In recent years, he withdrew more and more from public life. He spent his last years in Bremen, where he died on Easter Sunday 2011 at the age of 97 years.