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Van Reysschoot, Désiré

° Gent, 8/11/1831 — † Gent, 25/11/1908

Annelies Focquaert (translation: Jo Sneppe)

Désiré-Louis Van Reysschoot was a scion of the well-known homonymous Ghent painter's family and got his musical initiation from his father, who was a bass player in the theatre. At the age of seven he became a choirboy at St Michael's Church under the direction of Jean Gabriels. He had his first piano lessons with Jean Fynn. In 1841 he was admitted to the Conservatory of Ghent, where he took piano lessons from Jacques Soetaert and studied cello with François De Vigne. From 1843 onwards he followed the 'cours supérieur de piano' of De Somere and in 1845 he was noted in the chamber music class of Joseph Mengal and Jean Andries. Concurrently he attended classes of figured bass taught by Georges Aelsters, band/choirmaster and organist of St Martin's Church, as well as violin classes taught by François Kregerman, Edouard Ingels and Charles Steyaert. Another two years later he took up harmony, counterpoint and fugue lessons from Auguste Gevaert, until the latter left for Italy in May 1849. Subsequently he was taught to play the organ by Christian Girschner, who was (wrongfully) dismissed in Brussels by Fétis and had consequently relocated to Ghent.

During his music studies Van Reysschoot was also enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts, where he took lessons in drawing, became sixth in the competition for the 'grandes figures' in 1847 (class of Joseph Pinnoy), seventh in the competition for the 'petits ornements' in 1848 and third in the competition for 'grands ornements' (class of Jean De Baets) in 1849.

In 1849 Van Reysschoot became repetiteur for the lower-grade piano classes in the Conservatory of Ghent, but already after a year he chucked it in as the position was too insecure, cost him a lot of time and because he could actually give plenty of private lessons (which he had been doing since age fifteen).

As a young boy he had already been attracted by the organ, practising on the old instrument of St Nicolas' Church and regularly substituting for his uncle Auguste Strauven (1814-1892). In 1854 he went for the first time to Paris, where he took private lessons with Lefébure-Wely. In March 1856 Aristide Cavaillé-Coll came to Ghent together with Lefébure-Wely for the inauguration of the new organ of St Nicolas' Church. Van Reysschoot offered his good offices and each day after Vespers the three men were trying out the new organ, Lefébure letting Van Reysschoot try different stops and combinations while he himself was listening at the church floor. Even that same years and also for many years to come Van Reysschoot travelled again to Paris to take master classes with Lefébure.

Also in 1856 Van Reysschoot became organist and piano teacher at St Barbara's High School. (The Jesuits actually were to install a Cavaillé-Coll organ in the church of their residence in the Posteernestraat in 1880.) He was offered in different places to become organist but in 1867 he even rejected the position at St Bavo's Cathedral: when that same year in fact Auguste Strauven was appointed as organist in the Cathedral, Van Reysschoot was finally able to realise his dream of becoming organist of 'his' Cavaillé-Coll organ in St Nicolas' Church. He stayed there until 1901, as appears from the fact that he left his name and function at assorted spots in the organ, along with the starting and final dates of his career as band/choirmaster-organist. He was also solicited for assessing the Schijven organ in the Antwerp Our Lady's Cathedral (1891).

Additionally he also found the time to commit himself as a pianist and board member in quite a number of musical and cultural circles such as Euterpe (from 1848 on), the Willems Society, the Leuven Chamber of Rhetoric 'De Roos' and the Ghent societies 'Les Ouvriers réunis' and 'L’union'. He was also director of the association 'Jong en leerzuchtig' (Young and Eager) and played an important role in the 'Société des Mélomanes', where he became a member in 1850 and assistant director in September 1856. In 1858 he was one of the co-founders of the Beethoven Association and in 1859 became the conductor of the garde civique band. For eighteen years he was also the regular accompanist in the Casino. In 1880 he was appointed as director of the 'Cercle Musical', in 1893 he received the Leopold Order.

He composed songs, sonatas, 9 Noëls, choral work, string trios, sacred choirs, and piano music. From his hand also is the operetta Ni roi, ni reine (Neither King nor Queen), performed in a private salon in Ghent on 26 December 1864 and published in 1894.

Van Reysschoot had a broad vision of the international developments in organ building, indeed from the very start of the firm Cavaillé-Coll already recognising its exceptional worth. Combined with Van Reysschoot's genotypical drawing talents, his impressive activities as piano accompanist and band/choirmaster, his cello and violin diplomas, his chamber music schooling by Mengal, harmony classes with Gevaert and organ training by Girschner as well as Lefébure, you definitely get as a result quite an all-round musician.

Bibliografie

Anderen over deze componist

  • Bergmans, C.: Reysschoot, Désiré-Louis Van, in: Le Conservatoire Royal de Musique de Gand, Gent, 1901, p. 355-360.
  • De Henau, J.: Aristide Cavaillé-Coll in de St.-Niklaaskerk te Gent. De ontstaansgeschiedenis van een orgel. Verhandeling, aangeboden tot het verkrijgen van de graad van Licentiaat in de Musicologie. Leuven, 2002, p. 88-89 (onuitgegeven).
  • Focquaert, A.: Désiré Van Reysschoot [1832>(1902)] : organist van de Gentse Sint-Niklaaskerk, in: SVM-Nieuwsbrief 38, oktober 2005.
  • Focquaert, A.: Désiré Van Reysschoot, bis, in: SVM-Nieuwsbrief 50, oktober 2006.
  • Gregoir, E.: Van Reysschoot (D. L. H.), in: Galerie biographique des artistes-musiciens belges du XVIIIme et du XIXme siècle, Brussel, 1862, p. 183-184.
  • Gregoir, E. : Van Reysschoot (D-L), in: Les artistes-musiciens belges au XVIIIme et au XIXme siècle, Brussel, 1885, p. 446-447.

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