Willy Burkhard

Willy Burkhard (1900 - 1955) was a Swiss composer.

Willy Burkhard was an extremely influential composer of the 20th century. Burkhard was born on April 17, 1990 in canton of Berne, Switzerland, which is the second largest canton in all of Switzerland.

He attended and graduated from a teachers’ training college called the Muristalden and went on to study with E. Graf in Berne. His studies led him even further in his travels including Leipzig to study piano with Robert Teichmüller and composition with Sigfrid Karg-Elert. After Leipzig he moved on to Munich to study with Walter Courvoisier and later to Paris to work with Max d’Ollone. [Grove Music]

It wasn’t until1924 that he began teaching composition, theory and the piano in Berne. He was appointed to the conservatory there in 1928. He conducted several choirs and small orchestras there. In 1933 due to health reasons, he was compelled to live for several years in Montana and Davos for his own good. He settled in Zürich in 1942 and taught composition and music theory at the conservatory there. In 1950 he received a prize from the Schweizerischer Tonkünstlerverein or the Swiss Association of Musicians.

Although Burkhard’s main interest was to compose for the voice, he is most commonly known mainly to have renovated church music. After his illness, the kindness and compassion that he received from his friends and loved ones led him to become deeply humbled and turn to religion. He wrote a large number of cantatas based on spiritual and biblical texts. Some of the reasons that he was partial to biblical texts were due to its simple yet interpretive language and its metrical forms. [JSTOR]

Burkhard was one of the most original and diverse composers of his generation; he wrote operas, oratorios, sonatas, suites, serenades, cantatas, concertos, organ music, orchestral charts, and chamber music as well. Burkhard believed that it was the composers mission to go out on a limb to create and discover new modes of expression by combining the old ones, but never following already set musical fashions. The trick was to create a new unique sound that resounded as one solid stylistic sound as that reflected some of what the composer’s personality entailed. He would teach his students exactly this and never steer them away from their original findings.

elected works

Dramatic

*Im Zeichen des Kreuzes, incid music, 1938–9
*Laupenspiel, op.56, radio score, 1939
*Oedipus rex, op.72 (incid music, Sophocles), speaking choruses, wind, timp, 1944
*Die schwarze Spinne (op, 2, R. Faesi, G. Boner after J. Gotthelf), op.80, 1948, rev. 1954

Accompanied Choral

*"Choral duets", op.22/1 (C. Morgenstern), male chorus, tpt, trbns, op.22/2 (C.F. Meyer), chorus, vn, fl, 1926–8
*"Till Ulenspiegel", cant., op.24, T, B, male chorus, orch, 1929
*"Vorfrühling" (cant., Morgenstern), op.27, chorus, str, 1930
*"Te Deum", op.33, chorus 2vv, tpt, trbn, timp, org, 1931
*S"pruchkantate", op.38 (J. von Eichendorff), male chorus, str, 1933
*"Musikalische Übung", op.39 (Ps xii, trans. M. Luther), chorus, org, 1934
*"Das Gesicht Jesajas", orat, op.41, 1v, chorus, org, orch, 1933–5
*"Die Versuchung Jesu", cant., op.44, A/B, unison vv ad lib, org, 1936
*"Ps xcii"i, op.49, unison vv, org, 1937
*"Genug ist genug" (cant., Meyer), op.53, chorus, 2 tpt, timp, str, 1938–9
*"Lob der Musik", cant., op.54, solo vv, chorus, orch, c1939
*"Cantate Domino", op.61/2, S, chorus, str, timp, 1940
*"Heimatliche Kantate" (G. Keller), op.61/3, Mez/Bar, unison vv ad lib, orch, 1940
*"Kreuzvolk der Schweiz" (Meyer), op.61/4, chorus, org, 1941
*"Das Jahr" (orat, H. Hiltbrunner), op.62, solo vv, chorus, orch, 1942
*"Christi Leidensverkündigung", cant., op.65, T, small chorus, org, 1942
*Cantique de notre terre (J.P. Zimmermann), op.67, solo vv, chorus, orch, 1943
*"Mass", op.85, S, B, chorus, orch, 1951
*"Psalmen-Kantate", op.90, S, chorus, org, chbr orch, 1952
*"Ps clxviii", op.96, unison vv, insts, 1954

Unaccompanied choral

*"2 Choruses", op.2, 1923
*"Cant. (Bible)", op.3, T, chorus, 1923
*"Motets", op.10, boys’ and male chorus, 1925
*"8 Sprüche aus dem ‘Cherubinischen Wandersmann’", 2 sets op.17/1, 2 (Silesius), 1927
*"Ezzolied", op.19, motet, 1927; 5 Gesänge (R. Dehmel), op.26, 1930
*"24 Melodien aus den Hassler’schen Choralgesängen", op.30, 4vv, 1931
*"Das deutsche Sanctus", 2 unison choruses, 1932
*"Neue Kraft (suite, Bible etc.)", op.34, 1932
*"4 Choruses", op.35, male chorus, 1936
*"Der Tod", chorus 4vv, 1933
*"Vermahnlied", 2–4vv, 1934
*"Bärnerlüt", male chorus 4vv, 1935
*"2 Gesänge", chorus 4vv, 1936
*"Choruses", op.47, male chorus, 1936
*"Die Verkündigung Mariä", motet, op.51, 1938
*"5 Choräle", chorus, 1939
*"Sommerzeit", op.61/1, 1940
*"9 folksong" arrs. and chorus, female chorus, 1942
*"2 Choruses: Mon âme, bénis l’éternel, Oui, glorifiez l’éternel", 1942
*"Kleiner Psalter", op.82, 1949; Frühlingsglaube (Keller), male chorus, 1950
*"Wer das längere Lebensteil wünscht", male chorus 4vv, 1950
*"2 Gesänge", 2vv, 1952
*"Die Sintflut", cant., op.97, chorus 8vv, 1954

Orchestral

*"Vn Conc. no.1", op.7, 1925
*"Suite aus der Musik zu einem Weihnachtsmärchen", op.12, 1926
*"Sym.", op.21, 1926–8
*"Ulenspiegel-Variationen", op.37 [prelude to op.24] , 1932
*"Fantasy", op.40, str, 1934
*"Kleine Serenade", op.42, str, 1935
*"Conc.", op.50, str, 1939
*"Hymnus", op.57, 1939
*"Concertino", op.60, vc, str, 1940
*"Vn Conc. no.2", op.69, 1943; Sym., 1 movt, op.73, 1944
*"Conc., op.74", org, str, brass, 1945
*Konzertstück, op.75, org, orch, 1945
*Canzona, op.76, 2 fl, low str, 1945
*"Kleine konzertante Suite", op.79, 1946
*"Piccola sinfonia giocosa", op.81, small orch, 1949
*"Fantasia mattutina", op.83, 1949; Toccata, op.86, 1951
*"Sonata da camera", op.89, str, perc, 1952
*"Va Conc.", op.93, 1953
*"Concertino", op.94, 2 fl, hpd, str, 1954
*"Divertimento", op.95, str, 1954

Chamber and instrumental

*"Fantasie", op.1, pf, 1922
*"Variationen über ein Volkslied", op.8, pf, 1925
*"Inventionen", op.14, pf, 1926
*"Str Trio", op.13, 1 movt, 1926
*"Kleine zweistimmige Suite", op.14a [arr. op.14] , 11 insts, 1926
*"3 Preludes and Fugues", op.16, pf, 1927; 2 Trio Sonatas, op.18, org, 1927; Kleine Serenade, op.15, vn, va, 1927; Stinis Puppe Theresli, pf, 1928; Str Qt no.1, op.23, 1929; Variations on a *"Minuet by Haydn", op.29, pf, 1930
*"Variations on Chorale settings by Hassler", op.28, org, 1930
*"Kleine Stücke", op.31, pf, 1931
*"Fantasie", op.32, org, 1931
*"Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten", partita, org, 1932
*"Grosser Gott wir loben dich", partita, org, 1932
*"Praeludium und Fuge", E, org, 1932
*"Was die Hirten alles erlebten", pf, 1935
*"Pf Trio", op.43, 1936
*"Sonatina", op.45, vn, pf, 1936
*"Suite", op.48, 2 vn, 1937
*"8 kleine Klavierstücke", 1938
*"Sonatina", op.52, org, 1938
*"Fantasy and Chorale ‘Ein’ feste Burg’", op.58, org, 1939
*"Sonata", op.59, va, 1939
*"Etude concertante", vc, pf, 1940
*"Sonatina", pf, 1940
*"Weichnachtssonatine", op.71/1, pf, 1940
*"Sonata", op.66, pf, 1943
*"Str Qt no.2", op.68, 1943
*"Suite en miniature", op.71/2, vn, pf, 1944
*"Serenade", op.71/3, fl, gui, c1945
*"Serenade", op.77, fl, cl, bn, hn, vn, va, db, hp, 1945
*"4 intermezzi", op.77a, hp, 1945
*"Sonata", op.78, vn, pf, 1946
*"Canzona", op.76a, 2 fl/fl, ob, pf/org, 1947
*"Sonata", op.87, vc, pf, 1952
*"Lyrische Musik", op.88, fl, va, vc, pf, c1952
*"Choral-Triptychon", op.91, org, 1953
*"Serenade", op.92, fl, cl, 1953
*"Suite", op.98, fl, 1955
*"6 Preludes", op.99, pf, 1955
*"Romanze", hn, pf

Solo vocal

*"7 Songs", op.4, 1v, pf, 1924–5
*"6 Songs", op.5, 1v, pf, 1923–5
*"4 Nachtlieder", op.6, 1v, pf, 1924
*"Frage", op.9, song cycle, 1v, pf, 1925
*"3 Duets", op.11 (F. Hebbel), 2S, vn, 1926
*"2 Rilke Cycles", op.20/1, B, chbr orch, op.20/2, S, chbr orch, 1927
*"10 Songs", op.25, 1v, pf, 1930
*"Herbst (cant., Morgenstern)", op.36, S, pf trio, 1932
*"Das ewige Brausen (K.L. Hamsun)", op.46, B, orch, 1936
*"Der Sonntag (cant., Gotthelf)", op.63, Mez/Bar, pf trio, 1942
*"Magnificat", op.64, S, org, 1942, arr. as op.64a, S, str, 1942
*"9 Songs", op.70 (Morgenstern), 1v, pf, 1943
*"Und als der Tag der Pfingsten erfüllt war", op.84, A/B, org, 1951
*"Psalmenmusik", S, orch, 1953

References