Die agtergrond van Hubert du Plessis se Afrikaanse liedere (2)

Abstract

The South African composer Hubert du Plessis, who celebrated his 80th anniversary during 2002, has composed 77 art songs on Afrikaans, Dutch, English, French and German texts. In the first article on the genesis of his 35 Afrikaans songs, the origins of the four early settings of his own poems were discussed. The composer met the poet I.D. du Plessis before he set eight of his poems for the cycle Vreemde Liefde (Strange Love). Du Plessis studied Leipoldt's "Slampamperliedjies" ("Loitering songs") at school and later set four of these poems to music. It was only after the setting of two poems by Elisabeth Eybers that he met her. The present article focuses on settings of texts by Totius, Ernst van Heerden, Eugene Marais, Boerneef and Hennie Aucamp, as well as one Biblical text. Du Plessis met van Heerden, Boerneef and Aucamp and described in an interview his views on the different writers as personalities and poets. Du Plessis is very proud of his only song setting of a Totius poem. Due to the length of van Heerden's poem "Suidoos", Du Plessis had to omit a stanza, which was not appreciated by the poet. Du Plessis regards his song on Marais's "Winternag" (Winter night) as one of his "loveliest settings". Despite being an agnostic, Du Plessis set to music the story of Saul, David and Jonathan. The composer did not know Boerneef well but speaks about him with great admiration. Aucamp found Du Plessis to be very acute reader of his poems.