After successful performances in Paramaribo in 1906, “Het pand der goden” fell into oblivion. As a musician and writer, Johannes Nicolaas Helstone is an important figure in Surinamese cultural history. The Concertgebouw Orchestra is pleased to bring this cultural heritage back into the spotlight.
The work tells a mythical story with elements from Christianity and other religions. The hero Olindo finds out that he has an older sister, who was taken by the gods after her birth to punish his father. Olindo undertakes a dangerous journey to the temple of the gods…. Will he succeed in retrieving Athlolinda?
Johannes Nicolaas Helstone was born at the Hernhutter mission station Berg en Dal on the Suriname River. The talented Helstone was trained as a teacher, but increasingly applied himself to music. He was given the opportunity to study at the Leipzig conservatory; he graduated there in 1894 and achieved success as an organist, pianist and composer. He performed in Berlin, Paris and Vienna.
Instead of continuing his international career, however, Helstone chose to return to his native country to help further develop Surinamese culture. He taught, was organist of the Lutheran church and founder of The Hernhutter Committee, wrote essays and studied Sranantongo, the most widely spoken language in Suriname, for which he designed a grammar. Not for nothing was a monument to him erected in Paramaribo in 1948.
The Concertgebouw Orchestra likes to take a fresh look at music history to enrich its repertoire. In addition to the well-known standard repertoire, many unknown and forgotten works deserve to be performed and heard. The performance of “Het pand der goden” is not an isolated event. Music by Helstone and other Surinamese composers were also played on October 1, 2023 in the chamber music series Bijlmer Klassiek of the Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Bijlmer Parktheater, and in the future the orchestra will pay even more attention to music by composers from (or with a background in) the former colonial territories.
The performances come about in part thanks to the Helstone Fund, founded by Astrid Helstone and Diederik Burgersdijk. It aims to perform and publicize the work of Helstone, his students and other composers from former Dutch colonial territories. Accordingly, the Concertgebouw Orchestra will pay more attention there in the coming years.
Composers in the crosshairs of our attention