Craens, Alain

Alain Craens – I.(n) M.(emoriam) for string quartet

(Kapellen, 14 May 1957)

reflection on the Requiem (Introitus) of Johannes Ockeghem (2015)

Alain Craens studied oboe, English horn, chamber music, harmony, analysis and composition at the Royal Flemish Conservatoire of Antwerp. His teachers included the eminent composers August Verbesselt (1919-2012) and Willem Kersters (1929-1998). With composer Rafaël D’Haene (1943), he earned diplomas in counterpoint and fugue at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. Between 1978 and 1998, he taught oboe, chamber music and harmony at various music schools. He has also been a teacher and, since 2001, artistic director at the Antwerp Conservatoire. As an oboist, he was associated for many years with the Flemish Chamber Opera and the Flemish Chamber Orchestra. He is also a much sought-after jury member at music competitions.
Craens is a prolific composer who writes for the major Flemish musicians, ensembles and orchestras, always making it a point to build bridges with the public. He has won several prizes and much of his work has been recorded on CD.

Craens wrote this string quartet at the request of the Spiegel String Quartet to commemorate the victims of the First World War. Craens found the material for I.(n) M.(emoriam) in the Introitus of the famous Requiem by Johannes Ockeghem (c. 1410-1497), the first surviving polyphonic mass for the dead. From this stylistically varied work, Craens distils melismas and harmonic twists around which he weaves his own tonal language. Starting from an ancient mass for the dead, he creates a timeless and expressive in memoriam for war victims.
The quartet was first performed on 5 March 2016 by the Spiegel String Quartet at 252 CC in Ekeren (near Antwerp).

Duration: 12 minutes.

Jan Dewilde
(translation: Jasmien Dewilde)

This score was published in collaboration with the Study Centre for Flemish Music (www.svm.be).

Full Flemish preface  > HERE