Abstract:
The Dutch born organist, conductor, music pedagogue, church musician and
composer, Willem Mathlener left a rich inheritance in the field of organ music in
South Africa. He was born in 1909 in Delft in the Netherlands and distinguished
himself as an organist and conductor in the thirties and forties of the previous
century. He answered the calling of the Nederduitsch Reformed Church in South
Africa to improve the standard of church music by immigrating to South Africa in
1948 at the age of 39. He settled in Vereeniging as a music teacher and organist
from where he started to introduce his ideas about church music to the Nederduitsch
Reformed Church and others. This led to the establishment of the Council for Church
Music in 1951. Three years later the Church Music School in Krugersdorp was
founded. This institution developed to such an extent that the Conservatoire for
Music, Pretoria was established in 1960, the institution that Mathlener was mostly
associated with. He implemented his beliefs about musical training which was the
result of his own training at a European Conservatoire at both these institutions.
As the secretary of the Council for Church Music he had a profound influence on the
development and promotion of church music in South Africa. He assisted in the
compilation of the Psalm and Hymn book of 1978 by supplying a large number of
harmonisations for Hymns in this volume. As an organ advisor he designed about
200 organs.
Mathlener’s talent as a composer developed naturally through his capacity as church
musician and pedagogue. He composed organ music that can be used
supplementary to the organist’s task as accompanist. His piano music fills the need
for short study pieces for piano tuition. Since the majority of Mathlener’s compositions do not exceed 30 bars he can be
considered to be a miniaturist. His choral arrangements show for the most part a
diatonic tonality and a contrapuntal texture which blends in with the style of music for
liturgical use. A Psalm or Hymn melody forms mainly the basis for his organ music.
Mathlener’s large compositional output which comprises 223 choral harmonisations,
175 works for organ, 53 works for piano and 12 vocal works created the need for a
system to arrange his compositions in an orderly fashion. Some of his compositions
were published in volumes and others are single unpublished works. The catalogue
attempts to arrange Mathlener’s compositions in a logical way thus forming a
comprehensive picture of the oeuvre of this composer as well as providing a useful
reference tool for organists and other interested people.
