A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Gheyn, van den

by George Grove

GHEYN, VAN DEN. A Flemish family of bell founders, who originally belonged to the town of Malines, and afterwards spread to Saint Trond, Tirlemont, Nivelles, and Louvain. Their names are found on bells in the chimes of Malines and Louvain with various dates ranging from 1516 to 1757, that of the second great bell of the church of St. Rombaud at Malines. The present representative of the house is André Louis van Aerschot, ainé, Rue de Namur, Louvain.

The ornament of the family, Matthias van den Gheyn, son of André Francois, was born April 7, 1721, at Tirlemont, removed to Louvain, was appointed organist of the church of St. Peter 1741, and on July 1, 1745, became by public competition carilloneur to the town of Louvain, which two posts he retained till his death, June 32, 1785. As carilloneur his duties were to play on all market days, fête days, and other public occasions, to keep the chimes in tune and to set fresh tunes for hours and half-hours on the drum of the carillon, whenever so required by the authorities; for this the salary was 100 'pattacons' a year. For private festivities extra fees were paid. His habit was, in addition to his regular duties, to extemporise on the carillon for half an hour every Sunday. Matthias married Feb. 24, 1745, and had seventeen children, one of whom, Josse Thomas (born 1752), succeeded him as organist after his death.

Chev. van Elewyck, from whose pamphlet ('Matthias van den Gheyn,' Louvain, Peeters, 1862) the foregoing account has been condensed.^[1] has collected 51 compositions by Matthias. Of these three were printed—'Fondements de la basse continue,' etc. (Louvain, Wyberechts); '12 petites senates pour l'orgue ou le clavecin et violon' in continuation of the foregoing; 'Six Divertiments pour clavecin' (London, Welcker, Gerrard-street, Soho). The rest remained in MS. during his lifetime; they consist of a second treatise on harmony and composition, Preludes and Fugues for the organ, Sonatas for Clavecin, and Airs, Rondos, Marches, Menuets, Fugues for 3 and 4 parts, etc. for the carillons. Dr. Elewyck has published a volume selected from these (Schott, 1863), forming vol. i. of his 'Anciens Clavecinistes Flamandes.'

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1. See an interesting account in the chapter on Carillons, in 'Music and Morals' by Rev. H. E. Hawels (Strahan, 1871).