Irène Fuerison facts for kids

Irène Fuerison (born January 8, 1875, died June 26, 1931) was a talented Belgian composer. She created many beautiful pieces of music, especially songs for voice and piano.

Irène Fuerison's Life Story

Irène Van Santen was born in Ghent, a city in Belgium. Her father, August Van Santen, was a tradesman. Her mother, Florine Lepla, was a contralto singer who had studied at the Ghent conservatoire. Florine even performed in public!

Irène learned to play the piano, and she might have learned to sing too. In 1893, she married a lawyer named Joseph Fuerison. She then took his last name, becoming Irène Fuerison. They had one daughter, Madeleine, in 1899.

The Fuerison family lived in a large house in Ghent. They spoke French, even though they also knew Flemish. They stayed in Ghent during the First World War.

In 1921, Irène's husband passed away after having a stroke. She had also been having trouble with her eyesight for several years.

Irène Fuerison died at her home in Ghent in 1931. She left money to create a special award. This award, called the Irène Fuerison-prize, helps young Belgian composers who show great promise. It has been given out every two years since 1934.

Her Amazing Music

Irène Fuerison wrote over 70 songs for voice and piano. But she also composed other types of music! She wrote pieces for solo piano, for small groups of instruments (called chamber music), and even for a full orchestra. She also created one music theatre work. Most of her vocal music was in French.

She composed music during three main periods of her life:

• Her earliest works were nine songs written in 1908 and 1909.
• She was most active during the First World War and until her husband's death in 1921. This was a very busy time for her music.
• She started composing again in 1923-1924 and then again in 1926.

Over time, her musical style changed. She started to move away from traditional musical structures. By 1926, she even stopped using key signatures in her music! Her style is often described as impressionistic or post-romantic. This means her music created moods and feelings, similar to impressionist paintings. It was not atonal, which means it still had a sense of a main key, even if it was less clear.