About me
Albert Clement is Professor of Musicology (Utrecht University). He studied Musicology (Utrecht University; MA 1987 with highest estimation), Organ (Brabant Conservatoire, Tilburg; Teacher’s and Soloist’s Diplomas Organ, 1986 and 1988), Theology (Leiden University) and received his Doctorate (Ph.D. diss. on J.S. Bach) from Utrecht University (1989, again with highest estimation).
Awards: Province of Zeeland’s Prize for Encouragement in Arts and Sciences; “Fellow” and “Akademiehoogleraar” of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
He was deeply involved in setting up Utrecht University’s International Honours College in Middelburg in the years 2003-2004, initiated by Prof. Dr. Hans Adriaansens, and consequently served as its head of Arts & Humanities for a number of years (and again from 2019 onwards). He published widely on the history of music from the 15th to the 20th centuries, notably on Bach and Mendelssohn Bartholdy, and supervises a large international circle of PhD students.
Chronology
- 1991-1996: Fellow of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (as the first musicologist in the Netherlands): Research fellow at Utrecht University
- 1996-2004: Associate Professor at Utrecht University (Senior Qualifications in both Teaching and Research in 2001)
- 2004 – present: Professor at Utrecht University.
His first full Professorship was recommended by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (“Akademieleerstoelhouder”); its main focus was: Music of the Baroque.
His present Full Professorship at Utrecht University includes teaching at University College Roosevelt and has a broad focus: Musical Culture.
Fields of expertise
Keen interest in academic and practical aspects of music, and in interdisciplinary approaches in particular. Expertise as reflected in courses taught include: Music History, Performance Practice, Acoustics, Organology, Music Theory, Sacred Music, Bible & Arts.
(Co-)Organization of a number of international activities, including conferences by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Zeeland Society of Sciences, the Huizinga Institute, as well as the International Bach Symposium Utrecht 2000, the International symposium Recent Research in Baroque Music (Middelburg: Roosevelt, 2005), The Origins of the Telescope (Middelburg: Roosevelt, 2008), and the International Josquin Symposium (Middelburg: Roosevelt, 2009), as well as a large number of Summer Courses between 2005 and 2010.
As an internationally recognized specialist in the field of Baroque music, particularly in the field of interdisciplinary Bach‑research, he is (and has been) the supervisor of a number of Ph.D. students, of which Tassilo Erhardt’s Ph.D. thesis (Utrecht 2005, with honors) was awarded with the so-called Studieprijs of the Stichting Praemium Erasmianum.
Being of the opinion that presenting the results of research within international academic circles as well as coming into personal contact with colleagues from abroad is very important, the supervising of Ph.D. students has also led to the presentation of a substantial number of papers at national and international scholarly conferences in continental Europe as well as in Scandinavia, Great Britain (e.g. Oxford, Cambridge, Leeds, Manchester), and the USA (e.g. Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.).
In addition to the supervision of his own Ph.D. candidates, he has been advising a Ph.D. student from Russia (research theme: Baroque influences in the organ music of Mendelssohn and contemporaries) and a Post-doc from Hungary (research theme: Studies of early Dutch and German Sources concerning the Baroque Affectenlehre). Of the many M.A. dissertations he has been supervising in Utrecht, approximately 50% graduated with honors, and two were awarded the M.A. Thesis Prize of the Utrecht Faculty of Arts. Coaching Ph.D. and M.A. students also led to the publication by these students of original research in several national and international scholarly journals.
Ph.D. supervision
As co-promoter:
- Dr. Thijs Kramer, Zahlenfiguren im Werk Johann Sebastian Bachs. Date of defence:10 October 2000.
- Prof. Dr. Anne Leahy (†), Text-Music Relationships in the ‘Leipzig’ Chorales of Johann Sebastian Bach. Date of defence: 28 November 2002.
- Prof. Dr. Isabella van Elferen, Von Laura zum himmlischen Bräutigam. Der petrarkische Diskurs in Dichtung und Musik des deutschen Barock. Date of defence: 26 September 2003.
As promoter:
- Prof. Dr. Tassilo Erhardt, “A Most Excellent Subject”. Händels Messiah im Licht von Charles Jennens’ theologischer Bibliothek. Date of defence: 21 March 2005 [with highest distinction].
- Dr. Rutger Graaf van Randwijck, LLM, Music in Context. Four Case Studies (co-promotor: Dr. Paul van Emmerik). Date of defence: 17 June 2008.
- Dr. ir. Ralph Henssen, Trompetters en tamboers in de Zeeuwse zeevaart ten tijde van de Republiek. Date of defence: 16 May 2011.
- Dr. Marcel Zwitser, Göttliche Liebes=Flamme. De lutherse leer van de Heilige Geest en haar invloed op Johann Sebastian Bach. Date of defence: 23 November 2012.
- Dr. Bart van Buitenen, Orgelcultuur in een Deltagebied. Vijf Casestudies. Date of defence: 22 November 2013.
- Dr. Rémy Syrier, De orgelmakers Joseph en Adam Binvignat. Maastrichtse orgelbouw in de nadagen van het ancien régime en in het begin van de moderne tijd. Date of defence: 3 September 2014.
- Dr. Steffen Voss, Studien zur Kirchenmusik und weltlichen Vokalmusik im Hamburg der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts. Date of defence: 3 November 2014.
- Dr. Felix Pachlatko, Das Orgelbüchlein von Johann Sebastian Bach. Strukturen und innere Ordnung. Date of defence: 10 November 2014.
- Dr. Gerben Gritter, Christian Müller. Orgelmaker in Amsterdam. Date of defence: 23 December 2014.
- Dr. Balázs Szabó, Interpretationsfragen im Orgelwerk Max Regers im Lichte der von Karl Straube begründeten Tradition. Date of defence: 2 December 2015.
- Dr. Jaap Brouwer, Johan van Meurs. Een studie over een pionierend orgeladviseur (Universiteit Leiden, with Prof. Frans de Ruiter as promotor from Leiden University). Date of defence: 8 June 2016.
- Dr. Luc Rombouts, De oorsprong van de beiaard. Wortels, ontstaan en ontwikkeling tot 1530. Date of defence: 2 November 2016 [with highest distinction].
- Dr. Lies Wiersema, Beelden van de dood in de muziek. Zes casestudies naar veranderende tradities in het Duitse taalgebied gedurende drie eeuwen. Date of defence: 30 November 2016.
- Dr. Julia Dokter, Tactus and Tempo in Organ Music from the German Baroque. A Study of Sources and Scores. Date of defence: 5 December 2016.
- Dr. Rens Bijma, Johann Sebastian Bach en zijn musici in de beide hoofdkerken te Leipzig. Een onderzoek naar hun rol, inzet en opstelling in het algemeen en naar de continuogroep en de daarin participerende instrumenten in het bijzonder. Date of defence: 11 December 2017.
- Dr. Noelle Heber, Treasures in heaven and on earth. Poverty and abundance in the life and sacred cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach. Date of defence: 11 December 2017.
- Dr. Jack Munnecom, De solohoornisten van het Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest 1888-2017. Geschiedenis – tradities – instrumentarium – speelwijze. Date of defence: 11 December 2017.
- Dr. Charlotte O’Neill, Organist and Master of the Choristers. The changing role of the church musician in the nineteenth-century Anglican cathedral – four case studies. Date of defence: 26 September 2018.
- Dr. Leo Lousberg, Microtones according to Augustine. Neumes, semiotics and rhetoric in Romano-Frankish liturgical chant (with Prof. Dr. Stefan Klöckner, Essen, second promotor, and Dr. Marcel Zijlstra, co-promotor). Date of defence: 26 September 2018. [with highest distinction].
- Dr. Rein Verhagen, Quirinus en de andere Van Blankenburgs. Drie generaties musici in de zeventiende en eerste helft van de achttiende eeuw (Theologische Universiteit Kampen, with Prof. Dr. Frank van der Pol as promotor from Kampen and Dr. Jan Luth as co-promotor). Date of defence: 18 October 2019.
- Dr. Daan Lodder, Slipping off the horizon. Spirituality, sights and sounds of landscape in the times of Wolfgang Amadé Mozart and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Four Case Studies. Date of defence: 4 November 2019.
- Dr. Christian Blaha, “Wat in Middelburg kan, dat kan niet”. Jeugd en Muziek Zeeland / Nieuwe Muziek Zeeland. Date of defence: 4 November 2019.
A large circle of international PhD students supervised by Prof. Clement is working on further research at present.
Memberships of professional and scholarly organizations
- 1981-present: Koninklijk Zeeuwsch Genootschap der Wetenschappen (KZGW) [Royal Zeeland Society of Sciences] (Board member 1993-1999)
- 1984-present: Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis (KVNM)
- 1986-present: Neue Bach Gesellschaft
- 1990-1994: Koninklijke Nederlandse Organistenvereniging, Department Zeeland (Chairman)
- 1991-2003: International Society for Theological Bach Research [Internationale Arbeitsgemeinschaft für theologische Bachforschung e.V.] (President 1999-2003)
- 1991-2014: Werkgroep Muziek [Music Department] of the KZGW (Chairman 1991-2003)
- 1993-present: Commissie Orgelconcerten Middelburg (Founder and Chairman)
- 1995-present: Editorial Board member (period 1600-1800) of the Journal of the KVNM
- 2000-present: American Bach Society
- 2004-present: Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde
- 2004-present: Expert of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen [KNAW] / Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 2004-2012: Stichting Vrienden van de Zeeuwse Bibliotheek (chairman)
- 2005: Stichting Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinckprijs (Artistic Comittee member)
- 2006-2012: Stichting Josquin des Prez (Board member)
- 2009-2012: Stichting Promotie Koorcultuur Zuidwest Nederland [Koorplein Zeeland] (Founder and Chairman)
Some publications (out of 300+ in total)
- Albert Clement: “O Jesu, du edle Gabe”. Studien zum Verhältnis von Text und Musik in den Choralpartiten und den Kanonischen Veränderungen von Johann Sebastian Bach (Ph.D. Dissertation, Utrecht 1989) [282 pp.]
- Albert Clement, general editor: Exempla Musica Zelandica. Music series of the Royal Zeeland Society of Sciences (1992-present; VIII Vols. appeared, each with an Introduction in English).
- Albert Clement: “A Case of Liturgical Practice in Johann Sebastian Bach’s Home? – The four Duets BWV 802-805”, Ars et Musica in Liturgia. Essays presented to Casper Honders on His Seventieth Birthday, eds. Frans Brouwer & Robin A. Leaver (Metuchen NJ & London 1994), pp. 32-55.
- Albert Clement & Eric Jas, eds.: From Ciconia to Sweelinck. Donum natalicium Willem Elders, (Amsterdam / Atlanta 1994) [XIII+391 pp.]
- Albert Clement, ed.: Das Blut Jesu und die Lehre von der Versöhnung im Werk Johann Sebastian Bachs / The Blood of Jesus and the Doctrine of Reconciliation in the Works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Proceedings of the International Colloquium, Amsterdam, 14-17 September 1993 [Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen – Verhandelingen, Afd. Letterkunde, Nieuwe reeks, deel 164] (Amsterdam / Oxford / New York / Tokyo 1995) [XII & 304 pp.]
- Albert Clement, Arno Forchert, Martin Petzoldt: Wege Zu Bach. II. Folge – Drei Aufsätze [= Societas Bach Internationalis, Jahresgabe 1995] (Stuttgart 1995).
- Albert Clement: Der dritte Teil der Clavierübung von Johann Sebastian Bach. Musik – Text – Theologie (Middelburg 1999) [xii & 450 pp.]
- Albert Clement: ‘Bach en de theologie’, R. Nauta (ed.), Bach en de theologie. Een verkenning van geloof en gevoel (Nijmegen 2001), pp. 74-115.
- Albert Clement: ‘Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: een stadsorganist van wereldfaam tussen calvinisme en katholicisme’, Louis Peter Grijp (ed.), Een muziekgeschiedenis der Nederlanden (Amsterdam 2001), pp. 182-190.
- Albert Clement: “On the Inner Correlation of BWV 645-650 and its Significance”, BACH. Journal of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute, Vol. 34/2 (2003), pp. 1-62.
- Albert Clement, Over Bach, Boeken en Barbaren [Inaugural lecture Utrecht, 21 March 2005] Amsterdam 2005 (26 pp.).
- Albert Clement, ‘Johann Sebastian Bach and the Praise of God: Some Thoughts on the Canon Triplex BWV 1076’, Dan Zager (ed.), Music and Theology. Essays in Honor of Robin A. Leaver (Lanham, Maryland / Toronto / Plymouth 2007), pp. 147-168.
- Albert Clement, ‘Mendelssohn and Bach’s Matthew Passion. Its Performance, Reception, and the Presence of 70 original Choral Parts in the Netherlands’,Tijdschrift van de Koninklijke VNM 59/2 (2009), pp. 141-155.
- Albert Clement, ‘Music as a Liberal Art and the Invention of the Telescope’, A. van Helden, S. Dupré, R. van Gent, H. Zuidervaart (eds.), The Origins of the Telescope [= History of Science and Scholarship in the Netherlands Series, Vol. 12] (KNAW Press, Amsterdam 2010), pp. 321-340.
- Albert Clement & Eric Jas, eds., Josquin and the Sublime. Proceedings of the International Symposium at Roosevelt Academy, Middelburg, 12-15 July 2009. [Centre d’études supérieures de la renaissance. Collection ‘épitome musical’] (Turnhout, Brepols 2011).
- Albert Clement, ‘De comeback van Pieter Bustijn. Een Zeeuwse organist en componist van wereldfaam’, Zeeuws Tijdschrift 62, nr. 1-2 (2012), pp. 28-30.
- Albert Clement, ‘Over Vrijheid, Vrijmetselarij en Vrije Kunsten’, Zeeuws Tijdschrift 64, nr. 4-5 (2014), pp. 23-25.
- Albert Clement, ed., Studies in Baroque. Festschrift Ton Koopman (Dr. J. Butz Verlag, Bonn, 2014). [392 pp.]
- Albert Clement, ‘An Ingenious Father Figure to Bach: Buxtehude and his Chorale Fantasia Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein.’ In: Albert Clement, ed., Studies in Baroque. Festschrift Ton Koopman (Bonn, 2014), pp. 137-159.
- Albert Clement, ‘Gradus ad Lipsias: Zum Fux-Verständnis in Bachs Kreisen’. In: T. Erhardt (Hrsg.), Sakralmusik im Habsburgerreich 1570-1770 [Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 2013), pp. 53-68.
- Albert Clement, Eine geniale Vaterfigur für Bach: Buxtehude und seine Choralfantasie Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein. In: Buxtehude-Studien I [Internationale Buxtehude-Gesellschaft] (2015), pp. 107-130.
- Albert Clement (General Editor), Exempla Musica Zelandica IX: Lupus Hellinck, Three four-part Masses, ed. Bonnie Blackburn (Oxford) [Koninklijk Zeeuwsch Genootschap der Wetenschappen] (Middelburg 2016) [xvi & 116 pp.]
- Albert Clement, Jacob Jehuda Leon en de tempel van Salomo. In: Middelburg en de Mediene. Joods leven in Zeeland door de eeuwen heen (Antwerpen / Apeldoorn 2017), p. 171-180.
- Albert Clement (Project Advisor), Facsimile edition of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Calov Bible Commentary [3 vols.], 4665 pp. Advisor to: Uitgeverij van Wijnen (Franeker 2017).
- Albert Clement and Clara Spohrer, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy und die Niederlande. Zu einigen Organisten aus der „Mendelssohn-Schule“. In: Zur Orgelmusik Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdys [= Studien zur Orgelmusik Bd. 7] Dr. J. Butz Musikverlag (Bonn 2018), p. 187-208.
- Albert Clement, Het muziekleven in Middelburg ten tijde van de oprichting van het Zeeuws Genootschap: een nadere verkenning. In: Een hoger streven. Bouwstenen voor een geschiedenis van het Zeeuws Genootschap, 1769-2019 [= Archief 2019. Mededelingen van het Koninklijk Zeeuwsch Genootschap der Wetenschappen], p. 241-264.
- Albert Clement, [articles on a number of composers in:] The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (Oxford University Press, Oxford 2005-)
- Albert Clement, [articles on a number of composers in:] Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart. (Bärenreiter, Kassel etc. 1994-)
- Albert Clement, Liner notes CD series Masaaki Suzuki plays Bach Organ Works (BIS records, Sweden, 2015-)
Find the full list here.