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BE/212934/PU/GOEYVAERTS Archief Karel Goeyvaerts (Archief)
Information on identification |
| Ref. code: | BE/212934/PU/GOEYVAERTS |
| Siglum: | GOEYVAERTS |
| Title: | Archief Karel Goeyvaerts |
| Archival type: | archief |
| Level: | Archief |
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Information on content and structure |
| Content: | Introductory Comments
Mark Delaere, 29 July 2001
The Artistic Legacy of Karel Goeyvaerts was established by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in 1996. This collection comprises all the composer's manuscripts, including both compositional sketches and the provisional and definitive versions of his work. Commentaries, texts and lectures, together with letters written and received may also be found in this collection. Published editions of Goeyvaerts' work are available from CeBeDeM, Aarlenstraat 75, 1040 Brussels.
The collection is housed at the University Archives of KU Leuven (Mgr. Ladeuzeplein 21 - bus 5594, 3000 Leuven). It is open to all those from Belgium and abroad who wish to study it. The opening hours and regulations are in keeping with those of the University Archives.
The collection is maintained by the New Music Research Centre K. Goeyvaerts, a non-profit-making organisation chaired by Prof. Dr. H. Vanden Berghe (Emeritus Vice-President of KU Leuven), delegated supervisor Prof. Dr. M. Delaere (Professor of Musicology, KU Leuven), secretary Mr. P. Andriessen (Former Director, Radio 3 of the Flemish Radio and Television) and treasurer Prof. Dr. J. Roegiers (Archivist, KU Leuven).
The basis for this catalogue was laid by D. Verstraete and the present writer. The finishing touches and layout were done by E. Simoens. The English translation and the adaptation for e-publication on the internet were done by S. Bull and J. Christiaens.
The Karel Goeyvaerts Collection in the Archives of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Introduction and Catalogue
Mark Delaere and Diederik Verstraete
Since the heyday of Netherlandish polyphony in the 15th and 16th centuries, the international impact of Flemish composers has been rather limited. It was not until after the Second World War that a composer from the region once again occupied a historically important position in the international music world. For the first time in centuries, this honour fell to the Flemish composer, Karel Goeyvaerts (1923-1993). Leading composers of contemporary music have repeatedly emphasized the inspiring effect his works possess. In recent interviews, composers from such different backgrounds as Pierre Boulez, Helmut Lachenmann, Henri Pousseur, Dieter Schnebel or Elliot Carter have all reiterated the fascination that Goeyvaerts' music of the 1950s held for a whole generation of avant garde composers. In Karlheinz Stockhausen's case, this crucial influence has been documented in some sixty letters written during this period. On the other hand, musicologists have dwelt rather too exclusively on the heroic period from Goeyvaerts' life and work, generally neglecting the compositions he wrote after 1957. A number of initiatives have attempted to correct this oversight. In this connection, the Musicology Department of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven has embarked on a research project on this composer's complete works. An important aspect of this work was the acquisition by KU Leuven of Goeyvaerts' artistic legacy, which offers musicologists from far and wide the opportunity to consult and study the complete source material in one place (the archives of the Central University Library). The objective is to contribute to a better understanding and a greater appreciation of the important artistic inheritance left to us by Goeyvaerts. In this article, a profile of the composer will first be sketched, followed by a short description of the collection and of the context within which this collection functions, and ending with a catalogue of the manuscripts.
Karel Goeyvaerts: a Profile
Karel Goeyvaerts was born in Antwerp in 1923. From 1943 to 1947, he studied piano, harmony, counterpoint, fugue, composition and music history at the Koninklijk Vlaams Muziekconservatorium in Antwerp. He subsequently studied until 1950 at the Conservatoire National in Paris, where he took composition with Darius Milhaud and analysis with Olivier Messiaen, and where he also mastered the 'Ondes Martenot' under the guidance of the instrument's inventor, Maurice Martenot. It was Messiaen in particular who had a great influence on the young Goeyvaerts. The Sonata for 2 piano's, composed in 1950-51, can be seen as a synthesis of certain of Messiaen's ideas and Webern's application of dodecaphonic music, which Goeyvaerts had analysed in minute detail. His Second Violin Concerto (completed 12 January 1951) and his Number 1. Sonata for two piano's (winter 1950-51) clearly are transitional works in which the composer strives for absolute structural purity, without actually attaining it. In the first case, the serial intentions founder on the demands of the genre: a serial concerto is a recipe for difficulties. In the second case, the traditional writing style of movements 1 and 4 clash with the serial purity of the middle movements. Contrary to general opinion, then, the first integral serial composition in music history is not this work, but rather Number 2 for thirteen instruments, written only in August-September 1951. All these works had a profound influence on the whole young generation of avant-gardists, and in particular on Karlheinz Stockausen. This last fact may be clearly seen in the many personal and musical links between the two composers, their extensive correspondence, and compositions by Stockhausen that almost literally take on board Goeyvaerts' central ideas (for example, Kreuzspiel). In 1953, Goeyvaerts and Stockhausen, together with several other composers, were again the leaders in creating the first music produced by electronic generators (in the studios of the WDR in Cologne). In 1957, Goeyvaerts withdrew temporarily from musical life, although he continued to compose. In 1970, the Belgian Radio and Television (BRT) appointed him producer at the Instituut voor Psycho-acoustica en Electronische Muziek (IPEM) in Ghent. After several years, he became the producer in charge of New Music for Radio 3 (the classical programme) in Brussels. In June, 1985 he was elected chairman of the International Composers Tribune, a prestigious and active organisation under UNESCO's International Music Council. As a composer, Goeyvaerts did not continue to pursue the integral serial music or electronic music he had initiated, but went on to successive periods of writing experimental, aleatoric and repetitive music. In Aquarius, the large-scale opera project on which he worked over the last ten years of his life, he adopted a compositional style which, through the richness of its sound and the importance of its (tonal) melodic and harmonic elements, aims for direct emotional communication with the listener. Goeyvaerts was only able to experience this life work in his head: he died suddenly on 3 Februari 1993, just a few months before the work's premiere in December of that year. In 1992, he was named the first occupant of the KBC Chair for New Music in the Department of Musicology at the K.U.Leuven. He came to Leuven every week to lecture final years' students in music since 1945. Not only through his immense knowledge, but also through his rich musical experience and personal wisdom, Goeyvaerts managed to make a deep impression on his students in those precious few months. The composition Alba per Alban, which he was writing under the auspices of the KBC Chair, was not completed.
The Karel Goeyvaerts Collection at the University Archives of KU Leuven
Not only because of Goeyvaerts' major historical significance on the European musical scene since 1950, but also because of the composer's personal connection with the university at the end of his life, it comes perhaps as no surprise that the KU Leuven has shown an interest in the artistic legacy of this composer. An agreement was reached with Goeyvaerts' widow, whereby the manuscripts, composition sketches, correspondence and other documents relating to his work have been incorporated into the University Archives at the Central University Library. As a result, musicologists, musicians and composers both from Belgium and abroad have the opportunity to consult and study this source material under ideal conditions. With this undertaking, the KU Leuven is performing a double task: on the one hand, the professional conservation of this collection (a reliable guarantee, considering the other materials held by the library, including the correspondence of Erasmus), and on the other, making the collection openly available for research. In connection with the latter, the catalogue here published is an important resource. A first version of this catalogue was compiled at the Goeyvaerts residence in October-November 1993. This was the first phase of a research project examining the composer's music. At the same time, the compilation of this intitial catalogue prepared the transfer of the material to the KU Leuven. After the documents were brought to a dedicated room in the archives, they were put into the order that would serve as the basis for the definitive catalogue which is here published in abridged form.
Except for a few compositions, the complete source material has been included in this Goeyvaerts collection. A composition manuscript, the definitive manuscript (the 'fair copy') and - where available - preparatory sketches are included for practically all the works. Moreover, the collection also includes the elucidations that Goeyvaerts himself wrote to accompany his compositions, as well as other documents (correspondence, annotations in books and scores, galley proofs of scores and parts, theoretical texts, etc) which are relevant to his development as a composer. The composition manuscripts, unique sources for solving problems of textual criticism or musical analysis, are of course the most important documents. That said, the importance of the contextual information should not be underestimated, as these two examples alone suggest: the notes that Goeyvaerts made in scores during his analysis lessons with Messiaen shed considerable light on Goeyvaerts' own (early) work, and the correspondence with the Flemish artist, Ludwig Vandevelde, is the only source that provides definitive answers concering the composer's ideas about the staging of his opera, Aquarius (see the article below by D. Verstraete).
This collection will by no means disappear among the mass of documents of the University Archives. Numerous initiatives have been undertaken in order to ensure that it will be continuously worked on, studied, and brought to the attention of a wider public-in a word 'activated'. Among these initiatives are
– the research project entitled 'The Music of K. Goeyvaerts' (1993-96), financed by the Research Council of the KU Leuven. This project is to be rounded off by the publication of the first scholarly monograph of Goeyvaerts' complete oeuvre. The collection is being intensively analysed to this end. A number of separate studies have already been published in international periodicals and books (see bibliography).
– the research project entitled 'Het vormprobleem in de recente kamermuziek van Goeyvaerts (1979-93)' (The problem of form in the recent chamber music of Goeyvaerts), financed by the Nationale Bank. This project runs in tandem with the project entitled 'The Music of K. Goeyvaerts'. Special attention is here paid to studying the specific problems of the chamber music works of the Aquarius cluster.
– the founding of the non-profit-making 'New Music Research Centre K. Goeyvaerts', under the chairmanship of Prof. H. Vanden Berghe, the goal of which is to manage and make available the Goeyvaerts Collection (the establishment of regulations) and undertake initiatives for the advancement of contemporary music in general and Goeyvaerts' music in particular.
– the publication of an issue of the Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Muziekwetenschap (191 pp.) devoted entirely to Goeyvaerts (see bibliography).
– the establishment of the KBC Chair (since 1992). Goeyvaerts was the first holder of this position, which comprises mandates for both education (lectures to final years' undergraduates) and composition (a commissioned work). After Goeyvaerts' death, the position was taken over by Henri Pousseur, who has in turn been succeeded by Michael Finissy. From 2001 onwards, this chair was occupied by Louis Andriessen without the support of KBC.
– the organising of concerts and festivals with a special focus on Goeyvaerts' music: The Flanders Festival Flemish Brabant (including a memorable performance of Goeyvaerts' Mass by Collegium Vocale and Champ d'Action in October 1995), Nieuwe Stemmen (New Voices) festival (1991, 1993, 1997 devoted entirely to Goeyvaerts), Kul-t-uur.
– and the following initiatives, which may also bee seen in this context: the publication of this catalogue; the exhibition 'Muzikale schatten uit de universiteitsbibliotheek' (Musical treasures from the University Library), accompanied by the similarly-titled CD, which includes songs by Goeyvaerts; and the performance of these songs during the concert for the patronal festival of the KU Leuven (2 February 1996). |
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Information on related materials |
| Related publications: | http://www.matrix-new-music.be/ |
| Bibliography: | M. Delaere (ed.), The artistic legacy of K. Goeyvaerts. A collection of essays, thematic issue of Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Muziekwetenschap, 48, 1994 |
| M. Delaere, Namen werden hier zu Menschen. Zur Frühgeschichte der Darmstädter Ferienkurse. Zwei unveröffentlichte Briefe von K. Goeyvaerts, in MusikTexte. Zeitschrift für neue Musik, 54, 1994, p. 29-30 |
| M. Delaere, Sonate voor 2 piano's van K. Goeyvaerts, in Muziek en Woord, May 1994, p. 41-42 |
| W. Vervloet, Transformatietechnieken in een repetitief werk: een analyse van Karel Goeyvaerts' "Pas à Pas", in Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Muziekwetenschap, thematic issue ed. M. Delaere, The Artistic Legacy of Karel Goeyvaerts, 48, 1994, p. 119-132 |
| J. Lysens en D. von Volborth-Danys, Karel Goeyvaerts: A Chronological Survey of Works, in Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Muziekwetenschap, thematic issue ed. M. Delaere, The Artistic Legacy of Karel Goeyvaerts, 48, 1994, p. 15-34 |
| D. Verstraete, Staging the Ideal Society. Goeyvaerts’ Conception of the Visual Aspect in ‘Aquarius’, in Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Muziekwetenschap, thematic issue ed. M. Delaere, The Artistic Legacy of Karel Goeyvaerts, 48, 1994, p. 173-192 |
| M. Delaere en J. D'hoe, Structural Aspects of New Tonality in Goeyvaerts' String Quartet "The Seven Seals", in Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Muziekwetenschap, thematic issue ed. M. Delaere, The Artistic Legacy of Karel Goeyvaerts, 48, 1994, p. 133-150 |
| M. Delaere, The Projection in Time and Space of a Basic Idea Generating Structure, in Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Muziekwetenschap, thematic issue ed. M. Delaere, The Artistic Legacy of Karel Goeyvaerts, 48, 1994, p. 11-14 |
| M. Delaere (ed.), Karel Goeyvaerts: Paris-Darmstadt 1947-1955. Excerpt from the Autobiographical Portrait, in Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Muziekwetenschap, thematic issue ed. M. Delaere, The Artistic Legacy of Karel Goeyvaerts, 48, 1994, p. 35-54 |
| M. Delaere, Goeyvaerts-Feldman. Over sacraliteit in een geseculariseerde samenleving, in Muziek en Woord, november 1995, p. 23-26 |
| M. Delaere, A Pioneer of Serial, Electronic and Minimal Music. The Belgian Composer K. Goeyvaerts, in Tempo. A Quarterly Review for New Music, 195, 1996, p. 2-5 |
| M. Delaere en D. Verstraete, Het Goeyvaerts-fonds in de Centrale Bibliotheek K.U.Leuven. Inleiding en Catalogus, in Musica Antiqua, 13, 1, 1996, p. 28-32 |
| M. Delaere, Y. Knockaert en H. Sabbe, Nieuwe Muziek in Vlaanderen, Brugge (Stichting Kunstboek), 1998, 192 pp. |
| M. Delaere, D. Verstraete, E. Simoens, J. Christiaens en S. Bull, Catalogus K. Goeyvaerts-archief, New Music Research Centre K. Goeyvaerts, Universiteitsarchief K.U.Leuven, 1998, 45 pp. (typoscript en website) |
| M. Delaere, Very abstract Music. Karel Goeyvaerts and the Internationalisation of New Music in Flanders, in The Low Countries. Arts and Society in Flanders and the Netherlands. A Yearbook, Rekkem, 1998, p. 294-296 |
| M. Delaere, art. Karel Goeyvaerts, in I. Allihn (ed.), Kammermusikführer, Stuttgart-Kassel, 1998, p. 224-228 |
| M. Delaere, Das Analyseseminar Olivier Messiaens und die Entwicklung der seriellen Musik, in Chr. M. Schmidt e.a., in Musikwissenschaft zwischen Kunst, Ästhetik und Experiment. Festschrift Helga de la Motte-Haber zum 60. Geburtstag, Würzburg, 1998, p. 89-104 |
| M. Delaere, Auf der Suche nach serieller Stimmigkeit. Goeyvaerts' Weg zur Komposition Nr. 2, in O. Finnendahl (ed.), Die Anfänge der seriellen Musik (Kontexte. Beiträge zur zeitgenössischen Musik, 1), Hofheim (Wolke Verlag), 1998, p. 13-36 |
| M. Delaere, J. Lysens en Chr. Wauters, Karel Goeyvaerts' Litany V for Harpsichord and Tape or for Several Harpsichords: an Analysis, in Contemporary Music Review, 19, 4, 2000, p. 117-128 |
| M. Delaere, Karel Goeyvaerts en de nieuwe muziek in België sinds 1950, in L. Grijp e.a., Een muziekgeschiedenis der Nederlanden, Amsterdam University Press, appears in 2001 |
| M. Delaere, art. Karel Goeyvaerts, in S. SADIE (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2de uitg., appears in 2001 |
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Description management |
| Former reference codes: | P 208 |
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| Permission required: | Bewaargever / archiefvormer |
| Physical Usability: | Without restrictions |
| Accessibility: | Public |
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