The De Castro project

In October 1990 a research project started at the departments of musicology of the University of Louvain (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) and the University of Brussels (Université Libre Bruxelles) on Jean De Castro (ca. 1540/45-ca. 1600). Gone into oblivion over the last centuries, the Liège polyphonist was a celebrated musician at his time. Between 1569 and 1600 his music appeared in no less than thrity individual volumes and a number of anthologies, printed by renowned music publishers in Western Europe. As can be read from the Plantin account books and the Phalèse and Bellère catalogues he belonged to the two best sold composers (together with Orlandus Lassus) of the Southern Netherlands (now Belgium) in the last decades of the 16th century. The reprinting of several volumes for upto thirty years after his death confirms De Castro's popularity. It is hard to understand why until recently his work has scarcely been studied. By publishing the opera omnia of Jean De Castro in a modern edition, the De Castro project aims at disclosing the music of this late-sixteenth century polyphonist, and at further revealing the ars perfecta of the vocal polyphony.

So far, three volumes of the modern edition of De Castro's opera omnia have been published (see bibliography).

Editing board: Prof. Dr. Ignace Bossuyt (KULeuven), Bart Demuyt, Lic. Katrien Derde (KULeuven), Lic. Frédérique Longrée (ULBruxelles), Lic. Marijke Van Campenhout (KULeuven), Prof. Dr. Henri Vanhulst (ULBruxelles), Dra. Saskia Willaert (KULeuven).