Marc Vanscheeuwijck

organology, violoncello

Marc Vanscheeuwijck, born in Belgium in 1962, is a distinguished baroque cellist, musicologist, and Professor Emeritus of Musicology at the University of Oregon in the United States. Between 1995 and 2022, he contributed significantly to the university by teaching courses covering the history of music from the Renaissance to Classicism, performance practice, and baroque cello. Additionally, he played a crucial role in coordinating the Collegium Musicum ensemble, specializing in early music. Presently, Marc Vanscheeuwijck is a valuable member of the teaching staff in the early music department at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles. His expertise and dedication span both performance and academic spheres, making him a prominent figure in the world of early music education.
Marc Vanscheeuwijck's research is deeply immersed in late seventeenth-century music in Bologna and Emilia, with a specific focus on the history and repertoire of the bass violin and the cello. His scholarly contributions are extensive, including numerous articles published in esteemed journals such as Performance Practice Review and Early Music. Additionally, he has produced critical facsimiles of seventeenth-century Bolognese cello music, featuring works by Gabrielli, Jacchini, and Degli Antoni. In 2003, he published his first book titled "The Cappella Musicale of San Petronio in Bologna under Giovanni Paolo Colonna (1674-1695): History-Organization-Repertoire," released by L'Institut Belge d'Histoire in Rome. More recently, he collaborated with Guido Olivieri to co-edit a volume of studies on Corelli titled "Arcomelo 2013," published by LIM in Lucca in 2015. In 2016, Marc Vanscheeuwijck released a notable book accompanied by five compact discs with Bruno Cocset and les Basses Réunies, titled "Cello Stories. The Cello in the 17th and 18th Centuries" for Outhere (Alpha 890) in Paris. Further contributing to the field, in 2020, he published a volume of essays on "I Bononcini da Modena all'Europa (1666-1747)" for LIM in Lucca.

In his capacity as a baroque cellist, Marc Vanscheeuwijck is a frequent performer with ensembles in both Europe and North America. His artistry extends to numerous recorded works, featured on CDs released by notable labels such as Tactus, Passacaille, Ramée, Bongiovanni, Klara, Querstand, Ars Eloquens, CPO, and others. His discography stands as a testament to his commitment to the interpretation and dissemination of baroque music.
Having retired from the University of Oregon in 2022, Marc Vanscheeuwijck now dedicates a significant portion of his time to his residence near Sassoferrato in the Marche region of Italy. In this picturesque setting, he engages in the exploration of local culture and cuisine, enjoying the richness of his surroundings and immersing himself in the beauty of the region.

Achievements and publications

  • Monographs

  • 2016, “Cello Stories. Une histoire du violoncelle aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles / The Cello in the 17th and 18th Centuries”, Paris: Alpha Productions (170 pages + 5 CDs avec Bruno Cocset et Les Basses Réunies)
  • 2003, “The Cappella Musicale of San Petronio in Bologna under Giovanni Paolo Colonna (1674-1695). History—Organization—Repertoire”, Bruxelles & Rome: Institut Historique Belge (422pp. + CD)

  • Directed works

  • 2020, “I Bononcini: da Modena all’Europa, 1666-1747”, 14 essais à propos de G.M., G. et A.M. Bononcini, présentés au congrès de Modena (Décembre 2016). Lucca: Libreria Musicale Italiana (XIX + 372pp.).
  • 2015, “Arcomelo 2013. Studi nel terzo centenario della morte di Arcangelo Corelli”, 16 essais autour de Corelli, présentés au congrès de Fusignano (Decembre 2013). Co-dirigé avec Guido Olivieri (UT Austin), Lucca: Libreria Musicale Italiana (568pp.)

  • Published articles

  • 2023, “The Violoncello in 18th-Century Naples”, In Marchitelli, Mascitti el la musica strumentale napoletana fra Sei e Settecento, sld. Guido Olivieri Neapolitan (Lucca: Libreria Musicale Italiana)
  • 2021, “As Histórias do Violoncelo,” In Violoncelo. Um compêndio brasileiro, ed. William Teixeira (Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul): publication en ligne: 13-103. https://repositorio.ufms.br/handle/123456789/3603
  • 2020, “Violoncello and other Bass Violins in Baroque Italy”, In Gli esordi del violoncello a Napoli e in Europa, sld. Dinko Fabris (Barletta: Cafagni Editore): 25-100.
  • 2020, “The Violoncello of the Bononcini Brothers”, In I Bononcini: da Modena al l’Europa, 1666-1747, sld. Marc Vanscheeuwijck (Lucca: Libreria Musicale Italiana): 85-101.
  • 2018, “La ‘Scuola Bolognese’ e il musicista francescano Ferdinando Antonio Lazzari”, In Barocco Padano 9; Barocco Padano e Musici Francescani II. L’Apporto dei maestri conventuali, sld. Alberto Colzani, Andrea Luppi et Maurizio Padoan (Padua, Centro Studi Antoniani – AMIS Como): 485-498.
  • 2016, “La musique à San Petronio de Bologne à la fin du XVIIe siècle”, In Vingt-cinq ans de conférences à l’Institut de musicologie de Nancy, Université de Lorraine, (1990-2015), conférences réunies par Yves Ferraton, (Nancy: Le Parnasse français, 2016): 1059-1085.
  • 2015, “Bowed Basses in Corelli’s Rome”, In Arcomelo 2013, sld. Guido Olivieri & Marc Vanscheeuwijck (Lucca: LIM): 173-188.
  • 2015, “L’essor de l’ ‘orchestre’ à cordes à Bologne”, In Les cordes de l’orchestre sous Louis XIV. Instruments, Répertoires, Singularités, sld. Jean Duron & Florence Gétreau (Paris: Vrin): 429-443.
  • 2014, “ ‘Another Petrarch’: Teaching Petrarch though Music”, In Approaches to the Teaching of Petrarch’s Canzoniere and the Petrarchan Tradition, sld. Christopher Kleinhenz & Andrea Dini (New York: MLA): 128-135.
  • 2013, “Sulle tracce del violoncello nel repertorio tardo-seicentesco in area padana”, In Barocco Padano 7, sld. Alberto Colzani, Andrea Luppi et Maurizio Padoan (AMIS Como): 109-144.
  • 2012, “Violoncello & Violone”, Chapitre dans Jeffery Kite-Powell (sld.) A Performer’s Guide to Seventeenth-Century Music (2e Ed., Indiana University Press): 230-247.
  • 2010, “Recent re-evaluations of the Baroque cello and what they might mean for performing the music of J. S. Bach”, In Early Music 38 (May 2010): 181-192.
  • 2008, “In Search of the Eighteenth-Century ‘Violoncello’: Antonio Vandini and the Concertos for Viola by Tartini”, In Performance Practice Review 13 (2008): http://ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/ppr&CISOPTR=2986
  • 2008, “Una crisi in ambiente musicale Bolognese: la polemica fra Giovanni Paolo Colonna e Arcangelo Corelli (1685)”, In Barocco Padano 5, sld. Alberto Colzani, Andrea Luppi et Maurizio Padoan (AMIS Como): 441-453.
  • 2007, “G.P. Colonna and P. Franceschini: Building Acoustics and Compositional Style in Late Seventeenth-Century Bologna”, In Peter Dejans (sld.), Towards Tonality. Aspects of Baroque Music Theory (Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2007): 171-201.
  • 2006, “Giacomo Antonio Perti (Bologna, 1661-1756), ‘oriundo di Crevalcore’”, In Rassegna Storica Crevalcorese 4, (December 2006): 11-25.
  • 2003, “The Baroque Equestrian Ballet: A Rediscovered Example by Bolognese Composer G.P. Colonna (1676)”, Proceedings of the International Antonio Cesti Colloquium, Arezzo, Italy, 2002 (Florence: Olschki), 191-205
  • 2002, “El violonchelo barroco y su práctica instrumental”, Quodlibet, Revista de especialización musical, 22: 43-53 (traduction par Ramón Silles de “ The Baroque Cello and Its Performance” PPR IX (1996): 78-96)
  • 2000, “The City and the Church: Music, Liturgy, and Government in late 17th-Century Bologna”, Yearbook of the Alamire Foundation, 261-280
  • 1996, “The Baroque Cello and its Performance” Performance Practice Review, IX: 78-96
  • 1995, “Musical Performance at San Petronio in Bologna: A Brief History”, Performance Practice Review, VIII: 73-82
  • 1993, “The ‘Cappella Musicale di San Petronio’ in Giovanni Paolo Colonna’s Time (1674-1695): Exemplary Organization of a Musical Institution”, In Atti del Convegno internazionale di Studi, sld. O. Mischiati & P. Russo (Società Italiana di Musicologia: Firenze: Olschki), 303-324.
  • 1991, “Mozart and Padre Martini (Bologna 1770)”, Musica Antiqua, VIII: 63-67.
  • 1991, “W.A. Mozart and Musical Life in Ghent around 1765”, In ‘Een remarquabel ambellissement’ Gentse wooncultuur in Mozarts tijd, sld. G. Van Doorne (Ghent University & Dienst voor Monumentenzorg), 23-25.
  • 1989, “Bowed Instruments in Claudio Monteverdi’s Music”, In Il Ballo dell’Imperatore, sld. M. Tiella & R. Vettori (Accademia Roveretana di Musica Antica), 65-73.
  • 1989, “Bologna in the High Baroque: A Musical Visit to the Basilica of San Petronio”, Musica Antiqua, VI: 110-114,
  • 1987-88, “Italian Treatises on Organology (Late 16th and Early 17th Centuries I-IV”, 4 articles: Musica Antiqua, IV: 136, 146-147; V: 18-21, 60-64, 130-133,
  • 1986, “Giulio Cesare Luini: A Problem of Musical Iconography”, In Liber Amicorum Prof. Dr. J.L. Broeckx, sld. F. de Hen, H. Sabbe & A.-M. Riessauw (Geraardsbergen), 321-345
  • 1985, “Cello Technique in the Baroque Era,” Musica Antiqua, II: 108-110.

  • Published musical editions

  • 2020, “Antonio Vandini: The 6 Sonatas for Cello and Basso Continuo,” co-dirigé avec Elinor Frey (Albese con Cassano: Musedita).
  • 2020, “Giuseppe Tartini: Concerto in re maggiore per violoncello e orchestra,” co- dirigé avec Alessandro Bares (Albese con Cassano: Musedita).
  • 2017, “Girolamo Frescobaldi: Canzoni per basso solo e per due bassi,” co-dirigé avec Alain Gervreau et Alessandro Bares
  • 2007, “Giovanni Battista degl’Antonii: Ricercate sopra il violoncello o clavicembalo. & Ricercate per il violino, Op. I (1687)” Facsimile + Introduction & appareil critique (pp.7-32) et Italiaen et en Anglais; transcription en partition, Bologna: Arnaldo Forni Editore
  • 2001, “Giuseppe Jacchini: Sonate a Violino e Violoncello, Opus I (1695)” Facsimile + Introduction & & appareil critique (pp. 5-14); transcription en partition, Bologna: Forni
  • 1998, “Domenico Gabrielli: Ricercari per Violoncello solo; Canone a 2 violoncelli; Sonate per violoncello e basso continuo” Facsimile + Introduction & & appareil critique (pp. 5-12), Bologna: Forni

  • Encyclopedia articles
  • Révision de 19 articles sur G.B. Bassani (II, 857-858); G.M. Buini (III, 565-566); G. Buoni (III, 607-608); M. Cimatore (IV, 855); G.P. Colonna (VI, 153-154); P. Franceschini (IX, 166); D. Gabrielli (IX, 397-398); G. Giacobbi (IX, 819); A. Grandi (II) (X, 287); G.T. Lambertini (XIV, 168); B. Monari (XVI, 915); G.A. Perti (XIX, 464-466); G.M. Righi (XXI, 384); P. Sanmartini (XXII, 246-247); P.M.P. Sgabazzi (XXIII, 187); G.A. Silvani (XXIII, 392); A. Spontone (XXIV, 219); G. Torelli (XXV, 615-619); G.F. Tosi (XXV, 646-647). In The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie & John Tyrrell (2e édition, Londres & New York: Macmillan Publishers, 2001)
  • “Colonna, Giovanni Paolo” avec Carlo Vitali, In Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Personenteil IV, 1409- 1413 (Kassel & Basel: Bärenreiter; et Stuttgart & Weimar: Metzler, 1999-2009)

  • Texts for CD covers
  • Plus de 150 textes de jaquettes de CDs pour les étiquettes BONGIOVANNI, TACTUS, SYMPHONIA (Italie); HARMONIA MUNDI FRANCE, ALPHA, ARCANA (France); ACCENT, EUFODA, PASSACAILLE, RICERCAR (Belgium); ATMA (Canada) sur (entre autres): Musique pour violoncelle du 17e siècle; 6 Suites pour Violoncelle seul de J.S. Bach; Sonates pour violoncelles de Vivaldi et Geminiani; Musique pour violons du 17e siècle en Emilie; Concertos pour Trompettes de G. Torelli; Vivaldi, Opus XII; Musique italienne du 16e siècle pour Orgue (Musica Nova); Wagenseil: Concertos; Trios et Quatuors avec bassoon de Bréval & Devienne; Oeuvres pour violoncelle de Franchomme; Ricercari pour orgue de Palestrina & De Macque; Oeuvres pour orgue de Frescobaldi; Concertos pour violoncelle de Vivaldi; Ricercari du 16e siècle pour orgue; Textes pour CDs de compilations (Harmonia Mundi): Opera Seria, The Cantata and the Petit Motet (1640-1740), History of the Oratorio, J.S. Bach’s Sacred Music; Messes de Kerll; Oeuvres pour les orgues de Hermans àCollescipoli et à Pistoia; P. Van Maldere: Symphonies; E. Ozi: Sonates pour Basson; G. Muffat: Armonico Tributo; Marc’Antonio Cavazzoni: Oeuvres pour orgue; Antonio Bertali: Sonatas instrumentales; Mozart: Oeuvres sur orgues italiennes; Mozart, Sonates pour violon; Mendelssohn, Oeuvres pour violoncelle et piano; Handel, Concertos pour orgue Op.4; Concertos Vénitiens; A. Vivaldi: Sonates pour violoncelle; Frescobaldi, Ricercari (1615); Chopin, Oeuvres pour violoncelle et piano; D. Gabrielli, Cantates; Codex Tarasconi; Frescobaldi, Capricci (1624); Sonates Napolitaines pour violoncelle du 18e siècle; Musique de chamber vénitienne du 17e siècle “Verso Venezia”; Cantates de Pietro Porfiri; Oeuvres pour chant et consort de violons d’Antonio Scandello; Carlo Graziani: Sonate pour violoncelle; Nel Giardino di Partenope (sonates napolitainepour violoncelle du 18e siècle; François Francoeur: sonatas pour violon; Sonates pour violoncelle de Salvatore Lanzetti; Colonna: Motets Op.3; G. Gabrieli: Compositions pour 2 orgues; Schubert: Sonate Arpeggione; W.F., C.P.E., J.C. & J.C.F. Bach: Symphonies pour cordes; C.P.E. Bach: Concertos pour violoncelle; R. de Visée: Oeuvres pour théorbe et guitare; A. Vandini: Oeuvres complètes; Intabulations and Diminutions from the Codex Faenza to the late 16th Century; Ermenegildo del Cinque: Sonates pour 2 & 3 violoncelles; Joseph-Hector Fiocco: Lamentations; Josquin Baston: Chansons Flamandes & Françaises du 16e siècle.

  • Published reviews
  • Critique du livre: Fabrizio Guidotti: Chiese e Musica a Lucca. Dalle dotazioni rinascimentali alle soppressioni Napoleoniche, 3. Vols. (Florence: Olschki, 2021) pour Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme 45/1 (Winter/hiver 2022).
  • Critique du livre: George Kennaway: Playing the Cello 1780-1930 (Ashgate, 2014) pour Music & Letters 109 (2015)
  • Critique d’édition musicale: Giovanni Paolo Colonna: La Profezia d’Eliseo, édité par Francesco Lora (Bologna: Ut Orpheus, 2013) pour Notes 71 (Mars 2015)
  • Critique du livre: Jerome Carrington: Trills in the Bach Cello Suites. A Handbook for Performers (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2009) pour Performance Practice Review (en ligne 2009)
  • Critique du livre: Véronique Roelvink: Gegeven den sangeren. Meerstemmige muziek bij de Illustre Lieve Vrouwe Broederschap te ‘s-Hertogenbosch in de zestiende eeuw (‘s-Hertogenbosch, 2002) pour Notes 61 (Mars 2004)
  • Rapport de Congrès: International Musicological Society, Leuven, Belgium (2002), Rapport de la session du 5 août 2002 “Rex tremendae maiestatis: The Double Bass and Its Adoption as a Standard Ensemble Member at European Courts” Journal of the Viola da Gamba Society of America 39 (2002)

  • Translations

  • 2011, Lorenzo Bianconi & Paolo Isotta (eds.), Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica. Guida al percorso espositivo (Bologna, 2004) à International Music Museum and Library, Bologna. Guide to the Museum [catalogue de 209 pages de l’Italien à l’Anglais]
  • 2006, F. Regina Psaki, “Un coup de foudre: la recherche anglo-saxonne sur Le Roman de Silence.” Cahiers de Recherches Médiévales, 13 (2006), 287-303.
  • 1995, Introduction au catalogue de l’exposition “Divertimento – Music and Visual Arts” Brussels, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts [du Néerlandais au Français]
  • 1989, Paolo Russo, “Les incertitudes de la tragédie lyrique: Zoroastre de Louis de Cahusac,” Revue de Musicologie, LXXV, 47-65 [de l’Italien au Français]
  • 1988- , Traductions de textes de jaquette pour les étiquettes italiennes TACTUS et SYMPHONIA [de l’Italien au Français], pour HARMONIA MUNDI FRANCE [du Français à l’Anglais], ACCENT [du Néerlandais, au Français et à l’Anglais], PASSACAILLE [Italien & Français > Anglais, Néerlandais > Français & Anglais]

  • Compact discs (Participation en tant que violoncelliste continuiste)

  • 2020, “Antonio Vandini: Complete Works for Cello” (avec Elinor Frey; Passacaille)
  • 2020, “Antonio Veracini. Sonate da Camera Op. 2 a violin solo” (ensemble Opera Quinta; Dynamic CDS7860).
  • 2015, “Alessandro Scarlatti: Musica Sacra” (avec l’ensemble vocal Odhecaton, dir. Paolo Da Col; ARCANA).
  • 2015, “Antonio Scandello: Im Himmel und auf Erden” (Chordae Freybergenses; Querstand VKJK 1503)
  • 2015, “Berlin Sonatas” (avec Elinor Frey; Passacaille 1006)
  • 2014, “Pietro Porfiri: Cantate a camera a voce sola, Bologna 1692” (avec Laboratorio Armonico; TACTUS TC 651601)
  • 2014, “Te Deum Laudamus. Music at the Freiberg Cathedral. Angel’s Instruments from 1594 (avec Chordae Freybergenses; CPO 7779282)
  • 2008, “Giovanni Bononcini: San Nicola di Bari,” (avec Les Muffatti; RAMÉE 0806)
  • 2007, “Johann Christoph Pez: Ouvertures – Concerti,” (avec Les Muffatti; RAMÉE 0705)
  • 2005, “Paradiso Armonico,” 17th-Century Music for Soprano, Recorder, Violin Violone and Continuo (avec l’Ensemble More Maiorum; KLARA)
  • 1992, “Giuseppe Torelli, Opera omnia di Concerti, Sonate e Sinfonie a 1, 2 e 4 trombe, oboi, archi e basso continuo, conservate presso l’Archivio Musicale di San Petronio di Bologna” (3 CDs, sortie 1993; BONGIOVANNI)
  • 1990, “Vespro solenne per il VI Centenario della Basilica di S. Petronio.” (2 CDs, released 1993; TACTUS)
  • 1987, Colonna, Vespro per S. Petronio. (2 CDs, released 1989; TACTUS).