Elewijck, Elewyck, Xavier Victor Fidèle Chevalier van, *24 April 1825 Ixelles (now Brussels), †28 April 1888 Tienen (French Tirlemont), Belgian music theorist and composer.
He studied under, among others, L. Boutmy (piano), Ch.-F.-M. Bosselet (harmony) and P. Gimena (composition). He worked in Leuven, where in 1868 he took up the post of maître de chapelle at St Peter’s Church. From 1870, he organised performances by Belgian and foreign artists in a concert hall built in his own home. He died in an asylum.
Elewijck is primarily regarded as the author of theoretical works. His writings, particularly Matthias van den Gheyn…, and his edition of works by Old Flemish harpsichordists, constitute a valuable source for research into 17th- and 18th-century Belgian music. Among Elewijck’s extensive compositional output, his sacred works and songs are of particular significance.
Compositions:
numerous sacred works for solo voices, choir and organ
cycles of piano miniatures
solo songs
Works, including:
Discours sur la musique religieuse en Belgique, Leuven 1861
Matthias van den Gheyn…, Paris 1862
De la musique religieuse…, Paris 1866
De l’état actuel de la musique en Italie, Paris 1875
edition:
Collection d’oeuvres composées par d’anciens et célèbres clavecinistes flamands, 2 vols., Brussels 1877 (includes, among others, works by M. van den Gheyn)
