Henry Weyts: Flora's Holiday (Gavotte) @PSearPianist

Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

Phillip Sear plays a 1917 piece by the prolific Belgian composer and choral conductor Henry (or Henri) Weyts (1868–1934).
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"Born in Tirlemont and later active in Schaerbeek, Weyts was renowned for his leadership of several choirs, notably "Le Prolétaire" in Molenbeek and "L'Écho du Peuple" in Brussels, and made significant contributions to the musical life of his region. His compositional output included vocal melodies, marches for brass bands, cantatas, and piano sketches. Some of these works achieved popularity in the United States, reflecting his broader international appeal. Notably, his "Ode à la Forêt" was selected as the set piece for an international competition in Amsterdam in 1934.

In recognition of his artistic influence and his ability to capture the struggles, labour, and joys of the people, the municipality of Schaerbeek erected a monument in his honour in Parc Josaphat in 1935. This memorial, created by the sculptor G. De Leener, features a bronze medallion portrait and an allegorical bas-relief, inscribed with the phrase: "Nul n'a mieux traduit la souffrance, le labeur, la joie du peuple" ("None has better expressed the suffering, the labour, the joy of the people"). Weyts' legacy endures through his choral and instrumental works, which remain of interest to performers and historians of Belgian music." (Perplexity AI, July 11th 2025).

The cover art suggests that the piece refers to Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, closely associated with the blossoming of plants, fertility, and the renewal of life. Her festival, the Floralia, was celebrated in late April and early May with flowers, drinking, and games, reflecting the Romans’ joy in the return of growth and warmth.

Thumbnail image created with Picsart ( tinyl.co/4WqE ).
#belgium #flora #springmusic #gavotte
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Played by Phillip Sear
psear.co.uk (Email: piano4@psear.33mail.com
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$Harvey Löhr: The House in the Wood (Das Waldhaus), Op.23 No.12 #12 from Grimm Fairy Tales (Silhouettes), Op.23 (1904) Phillip Sear plays a piece from a set of 25 by the English composer of German descent (Richard) Harvey Löhr (1856–1927). Born in Leicester, Löhr was the youngest son of the German-born organist and conductor George Augustus Löhr (1821–1897), who had settled in England and became a significant figure in the musical life of the East Midlands. The family background provided a distinctly German orientation to Harvey Löhrs early musical formation. He received his advanced training at the Royal Academy of Music, studying under William Henry Holmes, Ebenezer Prout, and Sir Arthur Sullivan. He twice won the prestigious Charles Lucas Medal, in 1877 and 1878, attesting to early distinction as a student composer. He subsequently held the post of organist at St Jamess Church, Marylebone, a position that sustained his connection to Londons musical life throughout his professional career. Löhr died in Hastings, and his manuscripts are preserved at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Löhrs piano music occupies a modest but characteristic corner of the late-Victorian keyboard repertoire, oriented towards the lyric miniature and the genre piece rather than the large-scale sonata. A Shakespeare Cycle, Op.19 (1898), a set of twelve pieces published by Schott & Co., represents his most ambitious contribution to the genre, drawing on literary imagery in a manner consistent with the characteristic piece tradition of the period. Other collections include Garden Idylls, Op.25 (1910), an album of twelve lyric pieces, and When We Were Children, Op.26 (1913), six character pieces also issued by Schott, suggesting a secondary market in pedagogical and domestic salon repertoire. Lighter pieces such as Ariel (1889) and Scenes from Fairyland, Op.21 (1901) reinforce an imaginative, illustrative approach to keyboard writing. The piano music forms only a fraction of Löhrs considerable catalogue, which includes five symphonies, two piano concertos, two string quartets, a piano quintet, a piano quartet (Op.15), and a piano trio (Op.22), alongside the operas A Border Raid (1883) and Kenilworth (1906). His choral output embraces the oratorio The Queen of Sheba, Op.20 (1900) and several anthems and part-songs, complemented by a large body of solo song. Though Löhr attracted little sustained critical attention in the twentieth century, his enduring legacy is institutional: a scholarship bearing his name was established at the Royal Academy of Music for British-born composers between the ages of fourteen and twenty-four, a fund that has supported subsequent generations of student composers, among them Craig Armstrong.” (Perplexity AI, 21 June 2026). Das Waldhaus (The House in the Wood, KHM 169) is a Grimm fairy tale classified as ATU 431, The House in the Forest. A poor woodcutter sends each of his three daughters into the forest with his dinner, but the elder two lose their way and come upon a hut inhabited by an old man, a hen, a cock, and a brindled cow. Although the man offers them shelter, the sisters behave selfishly, preparing food only for themselves and ignoring the hungry animals; during the night the old man opens a trapdoor and sends each of them down into the cellar. The youngest daughter, by contrast, speaks kindly to the animals and feeds them as well as the old man, and so earns a safe night’s rest; when she wakes, she finds that the hut has become a splendid palace. The old man is revealed to be an enchanted king’s son, condemned by an evil fairy to remain in the form of an old man until a woman appeared who was genuinely kind to both people and animals. He marries the youngest daughter, summons her parents to the wedding, and makes her selfish sisters serve a charcoal-burner until they learn compassion. Like many Grimm tales, the story presents kindness not as mere politeness but as a decisive moral test, with generosity bringing transformation and selfishness leading to humiliation and hard-earned reform. (Perplexity AI, 15 August 2026). Thumbnail image created with Picsart ( https://tinyl.co/4WqE ). #britishmusic #brothersgrimm #woodland Played by Phillip Sear http://www.psear.co.uk (Email: piano4@psear.33mail.com WhatsApp: http://wa.me/441444483794 ) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pianogems ****See all my latest videos here: https://tinyurl.com/phillip210 ****$

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