The Dutch organist and composer Pieter William Kee was born in Zaandam, Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 on August 30, 1927. He studied organ, piano and composition at the Amsterdam Conservatory, obtaining the Prix d'Excellence, and won first prize at the annual Haarlem International Improvisation Competition three times in succession (1953 to 1955). This was the start of a worldwide career as a concert organist.

He taught at the Music Lyceum and Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 from 1954 until 1988, and at the Haarlem International Summer Academy for Organists. He was organist of the Hagerbeer-Schnitger organ in St. Laurens church in Alkmaar from 1952 to 1987, and city organist of the world famous Müller organ at St. Bavo church in Haarlem from 1956 until 1989.

His improvisation skills are renowned (see Additional Compositions below). His compositions now include the "Haarlem Concerto", which received its first performance by Thomas Trotter

Thomas Trotter

Thomas Trotter is a British concert organist. He is Birmingham City Organist and organist of St. Margaret's, Westminster and visiting Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music, London....

 in March 2006.

His numerous recordings, several of which received awards, include a series of CDs on the Chandos label, covering the repertoire from Sweelinck to Messiaen, recorded on important European historical instruments.

In 1988, with Olivier Messiaen he received an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal College of Organists.

Compositions

The list below is selective. Publishers include Bärenreiter-Verlag (BA), Donemus(D), Harmonia (H), Hinrichsen/Peters (HP) and Boeijenga Music Publications (BO).

Recent compositions (see further below for details) include:

• Organ – Three Organ Pieces
• Organ with other instruments – Performance
• Carillon - Kampanella

Organ

• Triptych on Psalm 86 (1960) (HP)
• Two Organ Pieces (1962) (HP)

Fantasia on "Wachet Auf"

Passion Choral

• Four Pieces for Manuals (1966) (BA 8265)

Praeludium

Ciacona

Choral "Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir" on Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir

Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir

Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir , BWV 38, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig in 1724 in his second annual cycle for the twenty-first Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 19 October 1724...

(Philip Sawyer at St. Laurenskerk, Rotterdam)

Epilog

• Intrada for two organs on "Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag" (BO)
• Gedenck-Clanck 76 - Ode to Valerius based on 3 Dutch songs (1976) (H)
• Bios - in seven movements (1995) (BA 7651)
• The Organ - inspired by paintings of Pieter Saenredam
  Pieter Jansz Saenredam
  Pieter Jansz. Saenredam was a painter of the Dutch Golden Age, known for his distinctive paintings of whitewashed church interiors.-Biography:...
  
   (2000) (BA 9365)
• Three Organ Pieces (BA 9393)

Seventy Chords – (2008) (originally published in "Essays in Honor of Ewald Kooiman" (BO))

Cervus (Psalm 42) - for organ (or harmonium) (2006) see score

Voluntary on HSAE (2009)

Organ with other instruments

• Music and Space - for two organs, three trumpets and two trombones (1969) (D)
• Confrontation - for church organ and three street organs (1979)
• Network - for main organ plus small organ or electronic keyboard, alto saxophone and soprano recorder (1996) (BA 7421)
• Festival Spirit - for main organ and four positiv or box organs, commissioned for performance by jury members of the St. Albans International Organ Festival competition, UK (2001)
• Bios II - for organ, solo violin and percussion (2002)
• Haarlem Concerto - for organ and orchestra (symphonic wind ensemble, an alto and tenor saxophone, double basses, percussion and harmonium) (2006) (D)
• Performance - for alto saxophone and organ (2009) (BA 9392). (A version for twelve saxophones and organ is available by contacting Bärenreiter or the composer.)

Additional Compositions

• The World - a mini oratorio using a text of Henry Vaughan for mixed choir, four vocal soloists (SATB) and ad libitum continuo instrument (1999) (BA 7587)
• Heaven - an echo fantasy using a text of George Herbert for unaccompanied mixed choir and two echo sopranos (2000)
• Frans Hals
  Frans Hals
  Frans Hals was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He is notable for his loose painterly brushwork, and helped introduce this lively style of painting into Dutch art. Hals was also instrumental in the evolution of 17th century group portraiture.-Biography:Hals was born in 1580 or 1581, in Antwerp...
  
   Suite for carillon (1990) (D)

Luidstuk (Ringing Piece)

Sarabande voor Judith Leyster

Judith Leyster

Judith Jans Leyster was a Dutch Golden Age painter. She was one of three significant women artists in Dutch Golden Age painting; the other two, Rachel Ruysch and Maria van Oosterwijk, were specialized painters of flower still-lifes, while Leyster painted genre works, a few portraits, and a...

Frans Hals Toccata

• Daaaee for carillon (1999)
• Flight - flute solo (1992) (D)
• Opstreek (Up-bow) - for violin and piano (1997)
• Winds - for reed quintet (2000)
• Kampanella for carillon (2011) - composed for the inauguration of the restored Hemony carillon (17th century) in Kampen, Netherlands (see and hear the premiere).

• Improvisations - none transcribed, but the improvisation in the final of the 1953 Haarlem Organ Improvisation Competition, a Sonata in three movements, is available for listening from the NCRV archives. The contestants were Paul Barras, Anton Heiller
  Anton Heiller
  Anton Heiller was an Austrian organist, harpsichordist, composer, conductor.-Biography:Heiller was born at Vienna. After undergoing his initial church music training with Wilhelm Mück — organist at the Stephansdom Anton Heiller (September 15, 1923 — March 25, 1979) was an Austrian organist,...
  
  , Piet Kee (winner), Matthieu Prange and Karl Richter.

See the Improvisation Themes and instructions, Listen to the themes

Listen to the archived performances: Anton Heiller (includes playing of the themes), Piet Kee and Karl Richter

See the Archive home page

Discography

Earlier recordings, released since 1954, can be found on the Telefunken, HMV, Philips and Guild labels.

Starting in 1989 Piet Kee made a series of eleven recordings for Chandos, including works of Sweelinck, Pachelbel, Bruhns, Buxtehude, Bach, Walther, Mendelssohn, Franck, Alain, Reger, Hindemith, Andriessen and Messiaen on notable European instruments including St. Bavo Haarlem, St. Laurens Alkmaar, Roskilde Cathedral Denmark, Basilika Weingarten, Martini Church Groningen and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Several of these recordings are now available as MP3 downloads.

Writings

• The Secrets of Bach's Passacaglia - Musik und Kirche, 52 (1982) and 53 (1983). Also The Diapason, June, July, August and September 1983.
• Astronomy in Buxtehude's Passacaglia - Ars Organi (1984), Reprinted in Organist's Review, August 2007.
• Number and Symbolism in the Passacaglia and Ciacona - Musik und Kirche, May 1988. Also John Loosemore
  John Loosemore
  John Loosemore was an English builder of pipe organs. He is best known for his organ at Exeter Cathedral in Devon, which he completed in 1665.John Loosemore was born in Barnstaple where he was baptized on August 25, 1616...
  
  Association 1988 (ISBN 1-871179-01-7)
• Haydn's Last Symphony: Input from London? - The Musical Times, vol.147 no.1897 (Winter 2006), pp. 57–62

Recordings of Piet Kee's Compositions

• Tryptich on Psalm 86 - Jos van der Kooy, St. Bavo church, Haarlem, "Orgels in Nederland 2005", box 2, CD no. 8.
• Fantasia on Wachet auf and Choral on Aus tiefer Not - Piet Kee, St. Bavo church, Haarlem, Guild Records LP GRSP 7014, Xenophone CD 885220.
• Gedenck-Clanck 76 - Piet Kee, Sint Laurenskerk Alkmaar, Guild Records LP GRSP 7017, Wisp CD 25962.
• Confrontation - Philips LP 6410 767.
• Frans Hals Suite - Arie Abbenes, Carillon of Domkerk Utrecht, "Dutch Compositions for Carillon", issued by Utrechtse Klokkenspel Vereniging.
• Bell Extravaganza : Ringing Piece from Frans Hals Suite - Adrian Tien, National Carillon Canberra, Move Records MD 3224.
• The Organ - Jos van der Kooy, St. Bavo Haarlem, "New Music for the Müller Organ", Etcetera KTC 1364.
• Cervus (Psalm 42) - Jos van der Kooy, Philharmonie, Haarlem, Tulip Records TURE 185003.
• Intrada for two organs on "Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag" - Bert Lassing and Marco bij de Vaate, Grotekerk, Culemborg.

External links

• NCRV - Dutch Radio Association, providing extensive archive material with searching by composer, organist and instrument.
• Scottish Federation of Organists News, Issue 10, January 2008 - an article entitled "Piet Kee in conversation with Philip Sawyer", which includes details of his recordings and compositions, and also recordings of his compositions. (This article was also published in the May 2008 issue of Organists' Review.)
• Choir & Organ magazine - an interview with Piet Kee in the November/December 2006 issue.
• Het Orgel - Dutch organ magazine with summaries in English and useful links.