Monday, 20 April 2026
The Conservatoire royal of Brussels and its baroque cello class are organizing a
second symposium on basso continuo on the cello
The Origins of Improvisation
Reflections upon the Pedagogy and Practice of Basso Continuo
on the Cello in the 18th Century.
Moderator: Marc Vanscheeuwijck
In memoriam David Watkin
During their earliest years of training, 18th-century cellists were introduced to composition and improvisation. Not only did they create their own works, they also transformed those of others, enriching both the bass lines and the upper voices.
How can we train baroque cellists today to handle basso continuo and improvisation with such freedom and creativity? How can we encourage them to break free from the score, which was conceived at the time as a simple harmonic support, and rediscover the spirit of invention that inspired 18th-century musicians?
In this second symposium, several international musicians will present their work on these questions, both musically and in terms of pedagogy: Giovanna Barbati (Italy), Víctor García García (Spain), Daniel Rosin (Germany), as well as the team of researchers attached to the baroque cello class at the Conservatoire royal of Brussels, Valentin Bajou, Pierre Beaubatie, Marc Vanscheeuwijck, and Hervé Douchy. For nearly six years, this team has been developing an original method, inspired by the teaching practices of 18th-century Neapolitan conservatories. The results of their research will be presented at this symposium organized by the Conservatoire.
The day will end with a concert by the Ayres Extemporae ensemble, which focuses on improvisation in its performances.
Schedule for the day
Planning
8:45am Auditorium: reception
9:15 Opening - Live streaming
9:15 Presentation of the day by Marc Vanscheeuwijck (live streaming)
9:30 Memoir of David Watkin by Víctor García García (live streaming)
9:45 - 10:30 Paper 1 : Giovanni Barbati (live streaming)
10:45 - 11:30 Paper 2 : Víctor García García (live streaming)
11:45 - 12:30 Paper 3 : Daniel Rosin (live streaming)
12:30 - 2:00pm Lunch break
2:00pm - 2:45 Paper 4 : Valentin Bajou (live streaming)
3:00 - 3:45 Paper 5: Pierre Beaubatie (live streaming)
4:00 - 4:45 Paper 6 : Marc Vanscheeuwijck (live streaming)
4:45 - 5:00 Conclusion : Marc Vanscheeuwijck (live streaming)
5:15 - 6:15 Round table discussion with all communicators (live streaming)
6:30 - 7:30 Apéritif
8:00 - 9:00 Concert Ensemble Ayres Extemporae :
Xenia Gogu Mensenin, violin; Víctor García García, 5-string cello;
Teresa Madeira, cello
The symposium will be held in the auditorium at the Conservatoire royal in Brussels, rue du Chêne n°17.
All presentations will be in English and broadcast live via live streaming.
Registration is required. To receive the live streaming link:
click here
Participation in the symposium and the concert by the ensemble Ayres Extemporae is completely free of charge.
Giovanna Barbati (I)
Víctor García García (E)
Daniel Rosin (G)
A cellist and viola da gamba player, Giovanna Barbati is professor of viola da gamba at the ‘A. Casella’ Conservatory in L’Aquila. She conducts research on the historical practice and teaching of improvisation, for which she has been invited to various European institutions, including the CNSMD Paris, MDW Wien, the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, and the Mozarteum in Salzburg. She has published articles and critical editions of manuscripts for cello related to improvisation. She has been principal cellist and viola da gamba player of various European Baroque orchestras, including the Academia Montis Regalis. In 2023 she recorded the CD Le virtuose fatiche (Francesco Supriani, complete works for cello).
Víctor García García is a Spanish cellist and researcher specialized in historical performance. He is a professor for historical cello at the HKU Utrecht Conservatorium and enjoys a varied and international musical career as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player. Alongside his activities as a performer, his interest towards research led him to obtaining the Doctor of Performing Arts degree at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the University of St Andrews, focusing on the performance practice of cellists in the beginning of the 19th century.
After having studied at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Daniel Rosin started working as a principal cellist with orchestras such as Freiburger Barockorchester and Bach-Stiftung St.Gallen. His main activity, however, is chamber music, which can be traced through numerous award-winning CDs, many of which feature a more copious role of the cello as a continuo instrument. Daniel Rosin is also committed to research and is active as an artistic leader and a lecturer, currently holding tenured positions at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts
A Teaching Path for Improvising Continuo on the Cello according to Partimenti by Rocco Greco and other Neapolitan Sources for Cello
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Some recently rediscovered Neapolitan manuscripts for cello, including Partimenti by Rocco Greco, show models and indicate techniques that help us to reconstruct the historical practice and teaching of continuo improvisation on the cello. The overall teaching path is based on learning and varying the historical examples; it begins from playing consonances in simple counterpoint, through steps concerning the use of dissonances, to reach to the final goal: imitative style. Of great importance are the diminution techniques and the art of variation that allow to perform according to the appropriate style and practice.
Playing with Harmony
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This presentation explores my ongoing journey of approaching the cello as a harmonic instrument through a mindset of openness and playful experimentation. I will reflect on the different contexts within my artistic practice in which the act of playing, in the sense of engaging playfully with and through harmony, lies at the centre. These include our work within the ensemble Ayres Extemporae, the pedagogical settings, the role as a continuo player within larger groups, and solo performances.
An Uncertainty Principle of our Own: Balancing the Verifiable and the Valuable when Dealing with the Cello as a Fully-fledged Continuo Instrument.
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Accepting that throughout the 18th century, cellists seem to have assumed much broader continuo responsibilities than plain notation would suggest, modern performers following that path are still faced with one core problem: they may feel they can play either in a verifiable or a meaningful way. A discussion of contextual sources combined with proposed continuo solutions laying stress on intramusical qualities may lead to useful approaches. In addition, it may help define specific requirements in the training of baroque cello students.
Valentin Bajou (F)
Pierre Beaubatie (F)
Marc Vanscheeuwijck (B)
Valentin Bajou is a cellist specializing in bass violin instruments and historically informed performance. He teaches basso continuo in the Early Music Department of the Conservatoire royal of Brussels and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at the Université libre de Bruxelles on continuo realisation practices in Italy during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Born in France, Pierre Beaubatie began his studies in modern cello at the Conservatoire of Limoges in the class of Colette Condette, and continued at the Conservatoire of Aubervilliers with Florian Lauridon. He later moved to Brussels, where he studied modern cello and baroque cello at the Conservatoire royal of Brussels, in the classes of Didier Poskin and Hervé Douchy, respectively.
Alongside his activities as a performer, he has developed a strong interest in music education, with particular focus on the teaching of music theory and its relationship to instrumental pratice. He holds a Master’s degree in baroque cello and music theory education, and his teaching approach integrates active listening, improvisation, harmonic awareness, and historically informed performance pratices.
He currently teaches music theory at the academies of Molenbeek and Anderlecht. He is also involved in the co-creation of a baroque cello method developed at the Conservatoire royal of Brussels, in collaboration with Valentin Bajou and Marc Vanscheewijck, with emphasis on ornamentation and improvisation as pedagogical tools.
Marc Vanscheeuwijck is a Belgian baroque cellist and professor emeritus of musicology at the University of Oregon where he taught from 1995 to 2022. He is currently visiting professor at the conservatories of Brussels and Paris, where he teaches baroque cello, primary-source reading, and Culturally Informed Performance Practices. His research and publications have focused on late 17th-century music in Bologna and on the history and repertoire of cellos and bass violins. As a cellist in various ensembles, he has performed everywhere in Europe and in the USA and has taken part in several CD recordings with compositions by Colonna, Perti, Torelli, Gabrielli, Martini, Vandini, etc.
Teaching Basso Continuo on the Cello at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels: A Structured and Accessible Pedagogical Method
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Developed over several years, the cello continuo method devised by Valentin Bajou has contributed to the consolidation and development of basso continuo teaching within the Early Music Department of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. This presentation will outline the method’s core pedagogical framework and demonstrate its relevance for equipping contemporary cellists with practical tools for the realisation of basso continuo in professional contexts.
Ornementation and Improvisation in Cello Pedagogy : A Methodological Axis Developed at the Concervatoire royal de Bruxelles
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This paper presents the "ornamentation and improvisation" axis of a cello method developed at the Conservatoire royal of Brussels, conceived as a continuation of Valentin Bajou’s method. This axis aims at reintegrating historically informed practices of ornamentation and improvisation into the core of instrumental training, approaching them as structuring skills for both performance and musical understanding.
The pedagogical approach is based on two complementary principles. The first consists of the regular learning of ornamental figures, introduced on a weekly basis, allowing for the progressive assimilation of stylistic vocabulary. The second relies on the internalization of harmonic formulas through the exploration and variation of different soprano lines over given basses, fostering the development of listening skills, inventiveness, and harmonic awareness.
The method is structured in three parts : basic patterns and their soprano realizations; Baroque dances; and sonata movements. This progression seeks to articulate structural rigor and creative freedom, while strengthening student’s interpretative autonomy.
“He plays and expresses a parlare”: Teaching to Play Basso Continuo rhetorically on the Cello.
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As the third and last part of our method, my contribution is concerned with making students conscious of what is happening in terms of pure communication of form and affect in the musical discourse. I will reflect on some possibilities of teaching classic rhetoric as it applies to music—and particularly basso continuo—without falling into the usual traps of exploring only academic analysis with little practical application, in order to achieve students’ awareness of what music is conveying and how to effectively transmit that.
Contact :
Marc Vanscheeuwijck <marc.vanscheeuwijck@conservatoire.be>
Hervé Douchy <herve.douchy@conservatoire.be>