Doctoral defence of Luc Ponet

Nearly 400 years after its creation, the 1626 Tongeren Organ Manuscript  proves to be a unique source, essential for a better understanding of 17th-century organ culture in Tongeren. Ponet artistically reconstructs the organist practice of the time: an authentic and representative, internationally oriented yet largely forgotten musical tradition.

The rise of innovative organ building, initiated by Peter Breisiger in the Rhineland, gave rise to a network of organ builders who, through the Brabant-Liège-Rhineland tradition, laid the foundation for later European organ movements. Instruments in Maastricht, Munsterbilzen, Tongeren, and Trier, among others, bear witness to this.

The Tongeren Organ Manuscript is an exclusive, primary source of information that implicitly offers insights into historically informed performance practice, with attention to the art of intabulation, the alternatim practice, the relationship between score and instrument, singer and organist, word and tone, Gregorian chant and polyphony — in what was then a leading cultural and economic region at the crossroads of Romanesque and Germanic influences.

Members of the Examination Committee

• Dr. Pieter Schuermans (chairman of the examination committee, LUCA School of Arts / KU Leuven)
• Em. prof. dr. Carl Van Eyndhoven (supervisor, LUCA School of Arts / KU Leuven)
• Dr. Pieter Mannaerts (member of the supervisory committee, KU Leuven)
• Prof. dr. Barbara Haggh-Huglo (member of the supervisory committee, University of Maryland, VS)
• Prof. dr. Tom Beghin (LUCA School of Arts / KU Leuven)
• Dr. Alessandro Cervino (LUCA School of Arts / KU Leuven)
• Dr. Peter Strauven

The doctoral defence will take place on Friday, June 6, 2025, from 14.00 to 18.00. It begins with the presentation of the artistic project in the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwebasiliek in Tongeren-Borgloon. This will be followed by the defense in the Gallo-Roman Museum, concluding with the proclamation at the town hall. Starting at 17.00, a reception will be held in the large hall. You can register for the defence until Thursday, June 5, by purchasing a free ticket here.