Joep Franssens has been played on NTS in shows including Keaton Henson, featured first on 8 November 2016. Songs played include Harmony Of The Spheres, Part 1 and Magnificat.

Biography

Joep Franssens studied composition with Louis Andriessen at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. In 1982 he continued his studies with Klaas de Vries at the Rotterdam Conservatory, where, in 1988, he concluded his study period with the Composition Prize.

He received commissions from, among others, the Rotterdam Art Foundation, the Eduard van Beinum Foundation, Concert- en congresgebouw de Doelen, national radio stations AVRO and NCRV, and the SNS Reaal Fund. Well-known conductors like Yakov Kreizberg, Tõnu Kaljuste, Lucas Foss, and Gerd Albrecht perform his works with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. Franssens is considered as representing ‘New Spirituality’ in new music in the Netherlands, the international movement of which Arvo Pärt and Gya Kancheli have drawn much international attention. In 1999 Franssens composed Magnificat, commissioned by the Festival of Spiritual Music, premiered in the Concertgebouw at the festival’s opening concert. The national TV station NPS made a documentary The Third Ear, in which the spiritual movement was discussed.

The choral music of Joep Franssens has been performed by the Swedish Radio Choir, the BBC Singers, the Latvian National State Choir, the Finnish Radio Chamber Choir and the Netherlands Chamber Choir, who in 2000 - led by the Estonian conductor Tõnu Kaljuste - took it on tours through Sweden, Germany, the Czech Republic and Hungary, followed by a long tour in 2001/02 through Estonia and the USA. In October 2002, two works by Franssens were featured at the Festival Rotterdam Music: Roaring Rotterdam and Winter Child, by respectively the Rotterdam Philharmonic and the pianist Bas Verheijden. Also, the pianist Ralph van Raat - who was Philip Morris Prize winner 2003 - and the Amstel Saxophone Quartet, took his music on tour to Japan in the autumn of 2002. The first movement of the cycle Harmony of the Sphereshas been selected for the ISCM days in Maribor (Slovenia) in September 2003, performed by the BBC Singers conducted by Stephen Betteridge. In may 2004 Franssens was invited by The International Sacharov Festival to attend two Russian premieres of his work, Sanctus for orchestra and Intimation of Spring for piano solo , as well to give masterclasses. On the occasion of the 40th Jubilee of the concert- en congresgebouw de Doelen in Rotterdam Franssens wrote in 2006 Bridge of Dawn, premiered by the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Steven Sloane.

Publications

In the ASCA Yearbook 1999 the Dutch musicologist Rokus de Groot wrote: 'Affirmation and Restraint: Relationships between concepts of spirituality and music in the work of Joep Franssens and Daan Manneke'. Furthermore: various publicity in magazines, newspapers, documentaries.

Compact Discs

On the Donemus' label Composers' Voice the following works have been released: Echo's, Phasing and Sanctus, performed by the Netherlands Ballet Orchestra, conductor Thierry Fischer (CV 65) and Dwaallicht, Taking the Waters and Winter Child (CV 84). The Chamber Choir of The Netherlands has recorded with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste the cycle Harmony of the Spheres (CV 133). The Amstel Saxophone Quartet released The straight Line (Erasmus Music & Media WVH 269). In 2008 on the Etcetera label (ktc 1321) works for choir and /or orchestra were released: Roaring Rotterdam, Harmony of the Spheres (first movement) and Magnificat , performed by Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Choir and Netherlands Chamber Choir. Franssens' music is published at Donemus Amsterdam.