Library

Ton Koopman collection

In 2020 the Orpheus Institute acquired the prestigious library of Ton Koopman. The focus of the collection is 17th- and 18th-century music, its cultural context and performance practice.

In the course of his sixty-year career, Koopman has collected an impressive collection of books and music. Among the thousands of prints and manuscripts are numerous unique works, including a cantata by Handel unknown until recently. In addition to this historical library with works from the 15^th to the 19^th century, Koopman has also collected thousands of modern books and periodicals on Baroque music and culture. Many of the books, both old and modern, have been annotated extensively by the artist himself, making the collection unique.

The collection is subject of a new research group at the Orpheus Institute. The research group Resounding Libraries, with baroque specialists Dr Bruno Forment (principal investigator) and Dr Huub van der Linden, will develop projects around the collection to encourage innovative artistic practices and develop new methods within the digital humanities. In this context, the Orpheus Institute will also open up the collection digitally to make it available to researchers in Belgium and beyond.

Visit the library

Korte Meer 20A, 9000 Ghent

Contact: dr. Bruno Forment

Library officers: Sigrid T'Hooft & Liesa Deville

Orpheus library collection

The Orpheus Institute keeps its own specialized and discipline-specific library which favours works in performance-oriented, music-theoretical, aesthetic and (artistic) philosophical areas.

The library catalogue currently contains about 8 000 books, scores and CDs.

The Orpheus library collection contains publications on themes as musical practice, execution of music, creativity, experiment, philosophy and aesthetics. The library also houses a collection of specialised journals, CDs and scores. And of course, all publications of the Orpheus Institute, its researchers and graduate students are kept in the collection.

The library also has two special collections:

Fonds Johan Huys

The ‘Fonds Johan Huys’ is a donation from Johan Huys, chair of the board of governors of the Orpheus Institute and former principal of the Ghent Conservatory. As an organ player Johan Huys developed a specific interest in music and literature from the 18th and 19th century. The collection contains a number of original reference books from this period.

Fonds Gerard Corver

The ‘Fonds Gerard Corver’ is the legacy of philosopher Gerard Corver. Gerard Corver (1929-2009) was professor Philosophy at the University of Groningen. His main fields of expertise were philosophical anthropology, phenomenology and art history, with a personal interest for Kant, Cassirer and Adorno. During his life, he has gathered a significant collection of works on art philosophy and psychology. Over 750 books are now to be consulted in the Orpheus Institute library.

Visit the library

Korte Meer 12, 9000 Ghent

Mon-Thu: 10:00-13:00 & 14:00-16:00
Fri: 10:00-13:00
Sat, Sun and official holidays: closed

Library materials can be consulted onsite only.  

Contact: Kathleen Snyers