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The Dutch pianist and choral conductor, Felix de Nobel, was the son of Pieter de Nobel, glass etcher, later music teacher, and Elisabeth Andréa. As a boy, he received music education from Hendrik Andriessen. After he had attended the HBS in Haarlem, he continued his music studies in 1925 at the Amsterdam Conservatory, under the direction of Sem Dresden. The Viennese pedagogue Martha Authengruber gave him piano training there. It was his plan to become a solo pianist, but already in his conservatory days, he experienced that he had special talents to accompany vocal soloists.
In 1930, Felix de Nobel started his musical career. Although he was still acting as a soloist in the early days, chamber music and accompanying vocalists strongly appealed to him. He soon became part of the Concertgebouw Quintet and of the Amsterdam Chamber Music Society (Amsterdamsen Kamermuziekgezelschap). From 1930 on, he gave Lieder recitals with the mezzo-sprano Hans Gruijs for eight years, with whom he performed a lot of modern music. In addition, he formed a duo with the folk song singer Harry van Oss from the beginning of his conservatory days until 1946. Because of his musical accompaniment and his excellent knowledge of the Lieder lyrics, he was often asked to accompany famous Dutch and foreign singers on the piano. As a teacher, he trained accompanist pianists at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Den Haag for many years and from 1955 as head teacher at the Amsterdams Conservatorium.
By coincidence, Felix de Nobel became the conductor of the protestant amateur choir Credo Canto in Zandvoort. Since the choir members were prepared to perform all possible works, he gained much experience as a choral conductor. With more educated voices he then founded the Aerdenhoutsch Vrouwenkoor, with which he achieved good results. He also directed the Vocaal Kwartet, which performed ensemble movements from oratorios and operas as well as national anthem arrangements. In 1937 the VARA decided, on the initiative of Eli Bomli and Rutger Schoute, a series of cantatas by J.S. Bach. Felix de Nobel was instructed to bring together a group of singers for this occasion. When the VARA ended the J.S. Bach broadcasts, which had attracted the attention of the listeners, after a season, De Nobel and his choir members decided to continue independently. They then specialized in the a-cappella singing, because De Nobel had received great interest in this form of singing, which was rediscovered by Daniel de Lange and Anton Averkamp. Especially the performance, in the twenties, of the Haarlemsche Motet- en Madrigaalvereeniging (Haarlem Motet and Madrigal Society) directed by Sem Dresden strongly inspired him.
On 9 January 1939 the first performance of Felix de Nobel's Nederlands Kamerkoor took place in Haarlem. Within a short time the ensemble, thanks to its excellent qualities, enjoyed a growing interest. Among the skilled vocalists was Dora Schrama, with whom De Nobel married in 1942. After the difficult war years it did not take long for the choir to gain international fame. A concert tour through several Belgian cities in 1946 ushered in a long series of foreign tours. Among other things, it performed in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and South Africa. In addition, they made six concert tours through Canada and the USA. Of course, they often also performed in the Netherlands, where they visited even the smallest places in the countryside. The choir has provided numerous radio broadcasts, while later gave many youth concerts. Gramophone recordings have also been made. From the outset, the repertoire included works from the heyday of vocal polyphony (16th and 17th centuries). Compositions by, among others, Orlando di Lasso, Monteverdi, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Heinrich Schütz and Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck were performed continuously. Works by ended the J.S. Bach and 20th-century masters were also on the repertoire. The choir also co-operated in opera and oratorio performances. Several well-known Dutch, but also foreign composers, including Frank Martin and Francis Poulenc - both of whom were De Nobel's good friends - have commissioned works for the Nederlands K+amerkoor. De Nobel himself has written several choral arrangements of folk and Christmas songs in various languages, some of which have appeared in print. From 1953, the choir received a government subsidy, allowing De Nobel to offer its employees a fixed income.
On September 1, 1972, Felix de Nobel handed over his baton to Hans van den Hombergh, due to age. He also retired as general director of the Nederlandse Koorstichting (Dutch Choir Foundation,) a position he held since 1965. However, he remained attached to this foundation as artistic advisor. After his departure as a conductor, in 1973 he made two long plays with the choir, containing an anthology from the repertoire of the past decades. Felix de Nobel, who was considered to be a musical idealist, was already fully recognized for his artistic achievements during his lifetime. He married with Dina Adriana Knegtmans on July 29, 1929; after divorce on June 21, 1940, he ) married Dorothea Catharina Schrama on January 29, 1942. No children were born from both marriages.
Several gramophone records were published by Felix de Nobel and the Nederlands Kamerkoor, including a series of recordings published in 1961-1969 by the Donemus Foundation, with music by Dutch composers: 'Memories of Francis Poulenc', in Mens en Melodie 18 (1963) 70 -72. |
