Die Suid-Afrikaanse komponis Gideon Fagan (1904-1980) het tussen 1922 en 1926
aan die Royal College of Music (RCM) in Londen studeer. So het Fagan sy ouer broer
Johannes (1898-1920) nagevolg wat in 1920 selfmoord gepleeg terwyl hy ’n student
aan die RCM was. Wanneer sy broer se tragiese dood in ag geneem word, kan afgelei
word dat die begin van die 17-jarige Gideon se studie emosioneel ’n uiters moeilike
ervaring was. Gideon Fagan het in ’n bekende komponis ontwikkel en was die eerste
Suid-Afrikaansgebore dirigent wat internasionale erkenning verwerf het. Die dood
van sy broer Johannes was nie tevergeefs nie: Dit vind neerslag in die hersiening van
werke van Johannes en in die toonsetting van die lied Klein Sonneskyn.
The South African composer Gideon Fagan (1904-1980) studied at the Royal College
of Music (RCM) in London between 1922 and 1926. Fagan followed in the footsteps
of his elder brother Johannes (1898-1920) who had committed suicide in 1920 while
a student at the RCM. Considering his brother’s tragic death, beginning his studies
must have been emotionally extremely difficult for the 17-year-old Gideon. Gideon
Fagan became a well-known composer and the first South African born conductor who
gained international recognition. The death of his brother Johannes was not in vain:
It is reflected in Gideon’s revision of some of Johannes’s works and in the setting of
the song Klein Sonneskyn.
