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Albert Smijers

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Albert Smijers
Born
Albertus Antonius Smijers

19 July 1888
Raamsdonksveer, Netherlands
Died15 May 1957(1957-05-15) (aged 68)
Huis ter Heide, Netherlands
EducationUniversity of Vienna (PhD)
OccupationMusicologist

Albertus Antonius Smijers (19 July 1888 – 15 May 1957),[1][2] was a Dutch musicologist who served as Professor of Musicology at the University of Utrecht. As one of the first Dutch musicologists to receive a doctorate, he chaired several organisations such as the International Musicological Society. Smijers was also a noted authority on Josquin des Pres; he published 44 volumes of Werken van Josquin des Prez from 1941 until his death, while another 11 volumes were published posthumously by his students.

Early life

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Albertus Antonius Smijers was born in Raamsdonksveer, Geertruidenberg, North Brabant to a primary school head teacher and his wife. The oldest son in a "very religious" Catholic family, he had three brothers and two sisters.[3] He studied church music in Klosterneuburg in Lower Austria[2] and was ordained as a Catholic priest on 1 June 1912.[4] He later studied medieval music at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and was supervised by Guido Adler at the University of Vienna,[5] where he wrote a dissertation on Carolus Luython titled Karl Luython als Motettenkomponist (English: Karl Luython as a Composer of Motets). He graduated in 1917 and became one of the first Dutch musicologists to receive a doctorate.[2][4]

Career

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In 1921, he published the first volume of Werken van Josquin des Prez, which was closely modelled on Ottaviano Petrucci's publications, and would eventually comprise 55 volumes.[6] Until 1929, Smijers taught at a Catholic seminary in Amsterdam. In 1930, he was appointed Professor of Musicology at the University of Utrecht.[2][7] He worked on the Werken until his death, producing 44 volumes on his own.[8] It was completed in 1969 by two of his students—Myroslaw Antonowycz [nl] and Willem Elders.[9][10][11] Among his other students were Jacques Chailley;[12] Arend Koole [nl];[13] Eduard Reeser [nl];[14] and Marius Flothuis.[15] Apart from Josquin, Smijers also wrote on Jacob Obrecht and Johannes Ockeghem,[2] as well as the general history of music in the Netherlands.[16]

Smijers held positions in numerous musical and musicological institutions. He was president of the Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis (Royal Society for Music History of The Netherlands) from 1934 until his death, succeeding his mentor Anton Averkamp [nl].[4] From 1952 until 1955, Smijers served as president of the International Musicological Society,[17] having been a member of its directorate since its inception in 1927.[18] He was also president of both the Internationale Verein für katholische Kirchenmusik (International Association for Catholic Church Music) and the Nederlands Instituut voor Kerkmuziek [nl] (Dutch Institute for Church Music).[19]

Death

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Having been ill since the start of the year, Smijer died on 15 May 1957,[20] in Huis ter Heide, Netherlands.[21] Hungarian-American musicologist Paul Henry Lang hailed Smijers as "that tower of international musical scholarship",[22] whereas Dutch musicologist Petra van Langen claimed that "under the leadership of Albert Smijers, Dutch musicology achieved a prominent position in the world, especially in Renaissance music."[19]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Hamel 1957, p. 583.
  2. ^ a b c d e Kuhn 2001, p. 3372.
  3. ^ van Langen 2019, p. 115.
  4. ^ a b c van Langen 2018, p. 152.
  5. ^ Lenaerts 1957, p. 49.
  6. ^ Fulcher 2013, p. 375.
  7. ^ Kunst 1958, p. 65.
  8. ^ van Langen 2019, pp. 117–118.
  9. ^ Judd 2000, p. 288.
  10. ^ Elders 2018, p. 6.
  11. ^ Elders 2021, p. 11.
  12. ^ Kuhn 2001, p. 612.
  13. ^ Kuhn 2001, p. 1933.
  14. ^ Kuhn 2001, p. 2947.
  15. ^ van der Klis 2000, p. 132.
  16. ^ van Langen 2019, p. 118.
  17. ^ Lenaerts 1957, p. 50.
  18. ^ van Langen 2019, p. 119.
  19. ^ a b van Langen 2019, p. 120.
  20. ^ van Langen 2018, p. 161.
  21. ^ Thompson & Slonimsky 1975, p. 2397.
  22. ^ Lang 1963, p. 257.

Works cited

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  • Elders, Willem (2018). "Sweelinck — Obrecht — Josquin, and the Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis". Tijdschrift van de Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis. 68: 5–15. JSTOR 26626631.
  • Elders, Willem (2021). Josquin Des Prez and His Musical Legacy: An Introductory Guide. Leuven University Press. ISBN 9789462702851.
  • van der Klis, Jolande (2000). The Essential Guide to Dutch Music: 100 Composers and Their Work. Amsterdam University Press. ISBN 9789053564608.
  • Fulcher, Jane F. (2013). The Oxford Handbook of the New Cultural History of Music. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199354092.
  • Hamel, Fred (1957). Musica (in German). Vol. 11. Bärenreiter-Verlag.
  • Judd, Cristle Collins (2000). Reading Renaissance Music Theory: Hearing with the Eyes. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521771443.
  • Kuhn, Laura (2001). Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780028655253.
  • Kunst, Jaap (1958). "Albert Smijers". Journal of the International Folk Music Council. 10 (1): 65. doi:10.1017/S0950792200020135.
  • Lang, Paul Henry (1963). "Johann Josef Fux Als Opernkomponist". The Musical Quarterly. 49 (2): 254–257. doi:10.1093/mq/XLIX.2.254.
  • Lenaerts, Rene (1957). "In Memoriam Albert Smijers". Acta Musicologica (in French). 29 (2/3): 49–51. JSTOR 931419.
  • Thompson, Oscar; Slonimsky, Nicolas (1975). International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians. Dodd, Mead & Co. ISBN 9780396070054.
  • van Langen, Petra (2018). "Anton Averkamp and Albert Smijers: Two Catholic Presidents". Tijdschrift van de Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis. 68: 148–162. JSTOR 26626637.
  • van Langen, Petra (2019). "Albert Smijers, the First Dutch Professor of Musicology" (PDF). Vremennik Zubovskogo Instituta. 27 (4): 114–121.
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