Geplaatst op 07 Sep 2026
11 September, 2026
STUK, Naamsestraat 96, 3000 Leuven
Defense Schedule
13:00 - 14:00: Closed meeting for the members of the examination committee
14:00 - 16:25: Public defence at the Ensemblezaal
16:25 - 16:45 Closed meeting for the members of the examination committee
16:45 - 17:05: Proclamation and laudation at the Ensemblezaal
17:05: Reception at the STUK Café
This doctoral defense presents a research project on Renaissance improvised counterpoint: the historical practice of creating additional musical lines in real time according to contrapuntal rules and stylistic conventions. Combining musicological research with practice-led experimentation, the dissertation asks how this largely lost skill can be reconstructed today, not only through written sources but also through listening, memory, interval recognition, and decision-making under time pressure. The project has produced the Corpus of Recorded Counterpoint Examples (CRCE), a collection of 420 recordings designed to support listening, analysis, and practice. The defense includes live musical demonstrations with recorder, tenor, and organ.
Copyright
01: Vicente Lusitano, Del arte de contrapunto, F‑Pn Esp. 219, fol. 23r (excerpt). Gallica, public domain
02: Vicente Parrilla, Photo by Ane Yarza + Jose A. López Photography, used with permission
03: An early form of advanced listening and warning for approaching aircraft before the advent of radar, 1921. Bolling Airforce Base, Newspaper archive, Library of Congress, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/..., photo by US DoD
04: Choir, Monastery of San Millán de Yuso, San Millán de la Cogolla, La Rioja, Spain, Photo by Vicente Parrilla
05: Intervals table. Distribution of intervals in Lusitano’s F‑Pn Esp. 219, fols. 17v–38r (excerpt). Photo by Vicente Parrilla
