For more than a century, the Loncke family has made a substantial and unselfish contribution to the development of music in Guyana. For more than a century, this family has been engaged in music education, performance, and composition. Before Francis Percival Loncke, L.R.S.M., L.T.C.L (1900-1966), there was John Loncke, his father, a teacher and “international tenor singer”, who performed in Europe. Among John Loncke’s regular singing partners in France was the acclaimed opera singer Madame Patti Brown.

Francis Percival Loncke was the first Guyanese to receive a British Council scholarship and the first to be awarded the L.R.S.M in violin. He was choirmaster and assistant organist at the Roman Catholic Cathedral. He was headmaster at Queenstown R. C. School and was endearingly known as “Teacher Lonckie.” In the 1940s he took on responsibilities for the Princesville Orchestra. Mrs. Ivy Nelbertha Loncke (née Archer), L.R.S.M., L.T.C.L., an accomplished pianist and music teacher was a founder-member of the Guyana Music Teachers’ Association in 1948.

All of the Loncke children have made contributions to music in Guyana. Ivy Agatha Loncke, B.A.Hons., Dip.Ed., L.R.S.M., the eldest, taught English at Queens College and was a member of the Alliance Francaise, and the Princesville Orchestra.

Yvonne Cecily Loncke, B.A., Postgraduate Diploma in Anthropology (Oxon.), has served as Chief of the Craft Production and Design Unit, Ministry of Economic Development. She is a music teacher, a member of the Guyana Teachers’ Association, Secretary of the Princesville Orchestra, and Secretary of the Pan African Movement (Guyana Branch).

John Victor Loncke, B.Eng.(Mc Gill), L.R.S.M. (Violin), has served as Chief Mines Inspector, GGMC; Senior Lecturer, Division of Mining Engineering in the Faculty of Technology(University of Guyana); and Concert Master of the Princesville Orchestra. John is also a member of the Guyana Association of Professional Engineers. He has held several violin recitals throughout the Caribbean and in Pyong Yang, North Korea.

Patricia Loncke, M.Phil; L.R.S.M., L.T.C.L., has composed more than 100 works for piano, violin, orchestra and voice. She served as an executive member of the Guyana Music Teachers’ Association and was Junior President of the Group Valentine. Patricia, a pianist, was also a member of the Alliance Francaise, the Barbados Symphonia, and the Princesville Orchestra.

In 2002, Dr. Joycelynne Loncke added a new dimension to that tradition when she co-edited with Herman Snijders One Hundred Years of Classical Music in the Guianas: Selected Pieces for Pianoforte.

The book and the accompanying CD of classical music by composers from Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana are testimony to the creativity of a people who have been connected by geography and European colonialism. The CD compilation also demonstrates how the human spirit can soar to express human ambition, aspiration, and possibilities. What is very special about the featured pianoforte compositions performed by Dr. Loncke on the accompanying CD is their unapologetic linkages with the landscape and folk heritages of the Guianas. The landscape is clearly Amazonian. The folk heritages are Amerindian, European, African, and Indian. According to Dr. Loncke, “the selections ... permit a grasp of the general tendencies that have been evident in the music of the Guianas over the past century.”

Let us consider the Guyanese composers whose works are celebrated-Phillip Pilgrim, Valerie Rodway, Billy Pilgrim, Joyce Ferdinand-Sunders, Hugh Sam, Patricia Loncke, and Brother Pascal Jordan. The CD commences with two compositions by the late Phillip Pilgrim (1917-1944)-Minuet and Waltz. Pilgrim, who died too young, is celebrated most for his major work The Legend of Kaiteur. His body of work demonstrates European influences, especially that of “the British composers of the first half of the twentieth century,” and pays homage to Guyana’s nature, music and culture. Minuet and Waltz represent the European folk dance traditions. Pilgrim’s compositions, imbued with a tropical flavour, reflect the play of sunlight on the verdant foliage of the Guianas.

Valerie Rodway (1919-1970), is clearly one of Guyana’s favourite composers and is best known for her national songs, which include O Beautiful Guyana. Her piano composition Kanaïma is performed by Dr. Loncke. The name of the piece pays homage to Guyana’s Amerindian heritage and folklore. Kanaima has a special place in the pantheon of Great Spirits. Kanaima is brave and bold, correcting wrongs and protecting his people. Kanaima is dramatic and these attributes are evident in Rodway’s composition. The left hand creates and maintains a dramatic tension while the right hand creates the peace sometimes associated with Guyana’s riverain landscape.

The Guyanese landscape encourages reflection and aspiration. One Hundred Years of Classical Music in the Guianas includes four compositions by Billy Pilgrim (1920)-Promenade, La Entrada, Relfections-s-s-s-s, and Romanza. Dr. Loncke’s performance of Relfections-s-s-s-s and La Entrada evokes a lyricism associated with life in Georgetown-quiet walks in the Promenade Gardens, gentle breezes, and the sweet perfume of evening blooms. Relfections-s-s-s-s is contemplative and La Entrada is bolder, suggesting decision and direction. They are both lyrical, capturing a moment in genteel Guyanese life.

Joyce Ferdinand-Saunder’s (1923) Janie Gal celebrates the folk song Janey/Janie Gal. Janey Gal is a folk song about youth, vigour, and responses to raging hormones. It is the pleading of youth: “Come leh we go backdam, Janey gal, come leh we go backdam.” Ferdinand-Suander’s composition and Dr. Loncke’s rendition are dramatic. This piece begins with an almost plaintive wail of the young man that grows into pleadings and negotiations and concludes with what appears to be confident rejection. We get the impression of a Janey “who li’l but nimble” and whose “wais’ ... fine lak a timble.” This composition illustrates the transformation of European classical forms under the influence of “classical” African rhythms. Ferdinand-Saunder’s Janie Gal is a celebration of African Guyanese folk creativity and demonstrates its universal musicality.

The celebration of Guyana’s folk song heritage continues with Hugh Sam’s (1934) Fantasia on Three Guyanese Folk Songs. This delightful composition, which brings the hinterland alive, integrates three of Guyana’s most popular folk songs-Sitira Gal, Timber Man, and Itanimi into a seamless tapestry. Sitira Gal explores the bamboo dams of the coastal region, and Timber Man and Itanimi take us into the awesome rawness of the jungle. You can hear the fear associated with shooting the rapids in Itanimi and feel the strength and power of the Timber Man. The composition concludes with a return to the coastland and the loving arms of Sitira and the bamboo dam

Several compositions in One Hundred Years of Classical Music in the Guianas are by Patricia Adora Theresa Loncke (1945-1983)—Journey Across the Berbice River, Bajan Girl, Tropiques No.2 A l’Ombre des Palmiers, Tropiques No.3 Boeufs dans un Pré Boueux, Tropiques No 4 Serenade du Coq Creole, Tropiques No. 6 Rentrée. The Tropiques are performed by Dr. Joycelynne Loncke on the CD 100 Years of Classical Music in the Guianas: Selected Pianoforte Pieces by Joycelynne Loncke, Piano. Like the other composers presented in the book, Patricia Loncke, who also died too young, was influenced by the environment and drew upon folk idioms in her work.

All of these Guyanese composers started their musical education in Guyana. Brother Pascal Jordan (Order of Saint Benedict) started his music education with his mother, Mrs. Edna Jordan née Elcock, and completed it at the Institut Liturgique in Paris. Brother Pascal Jordan is one the leading composers of liturgical music in the Americas. He has also composed “a formidable array of compositions for solo voice, choir, organ, instrumental ensemble and piano.” His Fête Champêtre: Gathering for the Dances is performed by Dr. Loncke. Again, like the other composers profiled in the book, Brother Pascal Jordan is influenced by the environment. He currently resides at the Benedictine Monastery in Bartica, where no doubt, he is influenced by the mighty rivers and hinterland of Guyana.

The only Guyanese composer of classical music mentioned in the book but not presented on the CD is Clement Nichols (1896-1962). Nichols’s musical career was in the British Guiana Militia Band and later with the Police Force Band. Nichols is remembered for his marches, especially Dear Demerara. He was instrumental in developing collaborative relationships with military musicians in Surinam and is remembered there for his composition Paramaribo Stadium March. He also composed music for the piano. He was awarded a 2003 Wordsworth McAndrew Award.

The featured composers from Surinam and French Guiana include Nicodemus Johannes Helstone, Samuel Lubin, Maximilien Saba, Dario Saveedra, Cornelium Anjis, George Pindard, Lodewijk Lichtfeld, Johan Dahlberg, Edward James Vervuurt, and Herman Christoffel Snijders, the co-editor of One Hundred Years of Classical Music in the Guianas.

In addition to being a performer, Dr. Joycelynne Loncke is also a composer. Her composition At the Koker is also published in the book. She is also an active researcher and heads the Development Research Unit for Music at the University of Guyana. With the publication of One Hundred Years of Classical Music in the Guianas and the CD 100 Years of Classical Music in the Guianas: Selected Pianoforte Pieces by Joycelynne Loncke, Piano, Dr. Loncke has continued a family tradition. The publication underscores the fact Guyanese people have the capacity to create music across all genres. We are not mere copycats but can draw upon our environment and our heritage to enrich all of mankind.

A version of this feature was originally published in Guyana Folk (August 2003) for Guyana Folk Festival 2003. For copies of Guyana Folk and the CD-Is We Ting contact www.guyfolkfest.org

Sources:

Arthur and Elma Seymour. Dictionary of Guyanese Biography. Georgetown, Guyana: Arthur and Elma Seymour, 1985.

“Profiles: Mr. Francis Percival Loncke & Mrs. Ivy N. Loncke née Archer” in Guyana Music Teachers’ Association 50th Anniversary Souvenir Brochure. Mildred Lowe. Editor. 186 Waterloo Street, Georgetown, Guyana: Guyana Music Teachers’ Association, 1998.

Herman Snijders and Joycleynne Loncke. One years of Classical Music in the Guianas: Selected Pieces for Pianoforte. Guyana: Development Research Unit, University of Guyana, 2002

E-mail correspondence with Dr. Joycelynne Loncke, October 22, 2003.