In September 2021, the Contiusorgel (Flentrop BV–Zaandam / Joris Potvlieghe–Tollembeek) was festively inaugurated during a brief pause in the corona pandemic that allowed the public to be received in the Sint-Michiels Vredeskerk in Leuven. This instrument is a historical reconstruction of the organ that Heinrich Andreas Contius built in 1774-1778 in Liepaja (Latvia). Contius was praised by J.S. Bach as the best organ builder of his time. The Contiusorgel is therefore the perfect instrument for performing the music of Bach and his contemporaries.
The Sint-Michielskerk, built in 1650-1671 by the Jesuits, is a magnificent baroque church, architecturally and acoustically a particularly special sanctuary. The perfect location for this unique, 18th-century organ. The organ was placed on a new gallery, where there is sufficient space for singers, instrumentalists, and — to a limited extent — listeners or visitors.
The Sint-Michielskerk gave itself a mission as a "Peace Church". The Contius Foundation wishes to give an important place to this peace dimension, in various areas: international peace, conflict prevention, the pursuit of dialogue at a local level. The intercultural dimension will thus be a reflection axis in the activities of the Contius Foundation: "Organ in dialogue with music from other worlds".
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© Wim Winters[/caption]Inaugural concerts were the prelude to an ambitious new cultural project that begins in April. This project includes various elements...
Of course, plenty of space for concerts:
- Contius-Bach Cycle: over three seasons, the complete organ works of J.S. Bach will be performed in 18 concerts by young professional European organists. Always the third Tuesday of the months May to October, at 20.30.
- 17-05: Laurens de Man (NL)
- 21-06: Adriaan Hoek (NL)
- 19-07: Quentin du Verdier (FR)
- Contius Lunch Concerts: every Thursday afternoon from April to October, a free concert moment (12.15-12.45), featuring often a promising student from one of our conservatories, but also established names.
- Contius-Bach Festival: first edition (1 to 9 July), in which of course the Contiusorgel is central with organ concerts, a 1-day symposium, masterclasses, and also the participation of a nocte temporis (Reinoud van Mechelen) and InAlto (Lambert Colson).
In addition, the following:
- Contius-organist in Residence: a program that wishes to support a promising young professional organist for one year in his/her career, with a grant, concert and recording opportunities, etc.
From eleven candidates, the Artistic Board of the Contius Foundation chose Laurens de Man (NL) for the 2022-2023 season, and Francesca Ajossa (IT) for the 2023-2024 season. - An annual composition commission for organ, children's and youth choir and student choir, around the theme of Peace.
- Open days for music academies, where students can get to know the Contiusorgel.
This entire 2022 program will be festively opened with a Bach concert by Sigiswald Kuijken (violin/violoncello da spalla) and Bernard Foccroulle (organ) on Tuesday, April 19 at 20.30.
Reservations via www.contiusfoundation.org
© Wim Winters[/caption]Contius-organist in Residence
The Contius Foundation wishes to play an active role in the promotion and mentoring of young, promising professional organists. Therefore, it has established the "Contius-Organist in Residence" program.
For one year, the Contius-Organist in Residence will be supported by the titular, Wim Winters, and will undertake the following activities:
- Evening concert in the Contius-Bach Cycle
- Participation in a number of Lunch Concerts
- Development of school outreach (also in the context of the annual Peace composition)
- Support for the promotion of the Contius project, including via social media
- (CD) recording
During this year, the Contius-Organist in Residence can of course freely use the organ, which he/she can consider as his/her instrument during this period!
The artistic board of the Contius Foundation has selected two organists from eleven candidates:
- April 2022–September 2023: Laurens de Man (NL)
- April 2023–September 2024: Francesca Ajossa (IT)
Contius-composer in Residence
The Contiusorgel has found its home in the Sint-Michielskerk in Leuven, which presents itself as a Peace Church. To support this mission, the Contius Foundation intends to commission annually a new composition for organ, children's and youth choir, and student choir. With a broad theme of "Peace".
The deployment of a student choir is set up as a participatory trajectory with the theme "Peace" at its center. The outcomes of this trajectory influence the ultimate composition process. The first commission was entrusted to Bart Verheyen (BE), supported by Winny Ang (ID/BE). They will collaborate with the children's and youth choir Clari Cantulus/Clari Cantus, and with the Leuven Sint-Jansschool. The creation is scheduled for early June 2023. For 2024, Cathy Milliken (AU/DE) was engaged.
Since Leuven is a member of the network ECHO (European Cities with Historical Organs) which Leuven recently joined, these creations will also be able to be performed in other European cities. A support application is underway in the context of Creative Europe.