Callaerts, Joseph

° Antwerpen, 11/08/1830 — † Antwerpen, 3/03/1901

Biografie

Lees in het Nederlands

Jan Dewilde (translation: Jo Sneppe)

The earliest musical training of Joseph Callaerts dates from his days as a choir boy at Our Lady's Cathedral in Antwerp and as a pupil of the Antwerp composer and musicologist Eduard Gregoir, who himself was also a pianist and organist. The composer Henri Simon introduced him to harmony and counterpoint. He continued his studies at the Brussels Conservatory, where in 1856 he obtained a first prize for organ with Jacques Lemmens. In the mean time he had already been an organ player at the Jesuits in Antwerp since 1850. Then in May 1853 he had first become the adjunct and two years later the head organist of the Antwerp Cathedral, in fact even before obtaining his organ degree. Furthermore in 1863 he succeeded Jan Frans Volckerick as the town carillonneur.

In 1867 he was appointed as an organ teacher at Benoit's Antwerp School of Music, a position which he would later combine with the practical harmony course. Among his most famous organ students are Jan Blockx, Emile Wambach, Karel Gras, Willem De Latin and Lodewijk Mortelmans.

For many years he participated as an organist in the concerts of the Antwerp 'Société de Musique', where he interpreted the organ part in the Matthäus Passion as well as in Benoits De Oorlog (The War). As an organ expert he was frequently asked for advice and of course he was greatly involved in the construction of the Schijven organ between 1889 and 1891 in the Antwerp Cathedral.

Apart from the compositions he evidently wrote for organ, Callaerts also wrote religious pieces, cantatas, choral work, songs, chamber music, orchestral works (among them an organ concerto), as well as the opera Le retour imprévu created in 1889 in the Antwerp 'Théâtre Royal'. Some of his organ compositions found a publisher abroad and his Symphonie à grand orchestre, as well as his Piano trio were given an award by the 'Académie Royale de Belgique'.

Archief Bibliotheek Conservatorium Antwerpen

Audio en video

Toccata

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Messe, op. 4

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Grande fantaisie de concert, op. 5

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Bibliografie

Anderen over deze componist

Baeck-Schilders, H.: Callaerts, Jacobus Josephus, in: Nationaal bibliografisch woordenboek, Brussel, dl. 12, 1987, kol. 229-233.
Baeck-Schilders, H.: Joseph Callaerts (1830-1901): een protagonist van de 19de-eeuwse Belgische orgelschool, in: Orgelkunst, jrg. 22, nr. 3, september 1999, p. 131-171.
Bastiaens, L.: Belgische orgelmuziek uit de 19de eeuw Bibliotheek Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen, in: Orgelkunst, jrg. 29, nr. 1, maart-april-mei 2006, p. 30-33.
De Schrijver, K.: Callaerts, Jacques, J., in: Bibliografie der Belgische toonkunstenaars sedert 1800, Leuven, 1958, p. 28.
D’Hooghe, K.: Concerti voor orgel en orkest, kamerorkest, of diverse ensembles, in: Orgelkunst, jrg. 27, nr. 4, december 2004, p. 232-242.
Gregoir, E.: Callaerts (Joseph), in: Galerie biographique des artistes-musiciens belges du XVIIIme et du XIXme siècle, Brussel, 1862, p. 29-30.
Gregoir, E.: Callaerts (Joseph), in: Les artistes-musiciens belges au XVIIIme et au XIXme siècle, Brussel, 1885, p. 82-83.
Gregoir, E.: Callaerts (Joseph), in: L’art musical en Belgique sous les règnes de Léopold Ier et de Léopold II, Brussel, 1879, p. 204.
Haazen, J.: Rond de zingende toren, Antwerpen, 1979, p. 87.
Hanssens, S.: Orgelmuziek in Vlaanderen tussen 1900 en 1940, in: Orgelkunst, jrg. 31, nr. 1, maart-april-mei 2008, p. 18-38.
Levaux, T.: Callaerts, Jozef, in: Dictionnaire des compositeurs de Belgique de Moyen Âge à nos jours, Ohain-Lasne, 2006, p. 105.
N.N.: Beiaardiers te Antwerpen, in: Bondsnieuws, nr. 34, oktober 1965, p. 17.
Robijns, J. en Zijlstra, M.: Callaerts, Jozef, in: Algemene Muziek Encyclopedie, dl. 2, Haarlem, 1980, p. 99.
Roquet, F.: Callaerts, Jacobus Josephus (‘Jozef’), in: Lexicon Vlaamse componisten geboren na 1800, Roeselare, 2007, p. 101-102.
Verdin, J.: Joseph Callaerts, in: Handbuch Orgelmusik (Komponisten - Werke - Interpretation), 2e uitgave, Kassel, 2010, p. 251-252.

Werklijst

Andante sostenuto - opus 17

voor cello of viool en piano
Gavotte - opus 20

voor cello en piano
Karakteristiek stuk voor violen

voor strijkers
Menuetto (1887)

voor strijkers
Morceau de concert

voor cello en piano
Prière

voor viool en piano
Romanza

voor fluit
Sonate

voor viool en piano
Stuk voor 2 bugels, bariton en tuba in si b

voor twee bugels, bariton en tuba in si b
Trio in la klein - opus 16 (1882)

voor viool, cello en piano