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The Dutch choral conductor, church musician, music educator, organist, and music educator, Jan Pasveer, grew up in Coevorden. He received his first music lessons from Willem Hendrik Zwart on the organ and from the Fries Rients Beintema for choral conducting. At the age of 15 he became the permanent organist of the Nederlands Hervormde Kerk in Oosterhesselen, and at the age of 16 conductor of the choir Soli Deo Gloria in De Krim. He realized that his hands were too small to develop into a good, professional organist and turned to conducting. In 1959, he completed the choral conducting course with Henri Geraedts in The Hague through evening studies, and in 1960 the school music course, both through the state exam. In addition, he studied singing with Jaap Stroomenberg for some time, organ and piano with Cor Kee, cello with Corry Jansen-Reder and also orchestral conducting, initially with Jaap Spaanderman, and later with Jean Fournet by being a selected candidate with him twice - in 1967 and 1969 - follow the international conducting course of the Nederlandse Radio Unie (later: NOS).
Jan Pasveer settled in Zaandam in 1955, where he was appointed organist of the Zuiderkerk in 1953. In 1961, after several years of teaching music education, he became director of the Muziekschool Zaanstreek, an institute that - partly due to the pedagogical and didactic qualities of Jan Pasveer - served as an example when it comes to professional music education for amateurs in the Netherlands. In addition, Pasveer was one of the initiators of the establishment of the Muziek Pedagogische Academie Alkmaar.
Between 1969 and 1994, Jan Pasveer was principal subject teacher of choral conducting at the Amsterdams Muzieklyceum and the later Sweelinck Conservatorium. In 1980 he succeeded Simon C. Jansen as conductor of the Westerkerkkoor in Amsterdam. With the Bachorkest, an ensemble of professional musicians that was set up at the time, the Westerkerkkoor, which consists of trained amateur singers, performed a cantata by J.S. Bach or another vocal work about nine times a year in the context of a cantata service in the Westerkerk. Jan Pasveer also founded the Zaans Cantatekoor in the 1970's, a group of trained amateur singers that performed J.S. Bach cantata or other vocal work in the Zaanse Westzijderkerk (Bullekerk) approximately every month on a Saturday afternoon. With this choir he was also involved in the premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's opera Montag aus Licht in Milan in 1988. Several CD's were also recorded with this choir (in 1990 a selection of Christmas Carols and in 1997 works by J.S. Bach). In 1990 the Zaans Cantatekoor was awarded the prize for the best performance of repertoire from the 20th century at the international choral festival in Nis (Serbia). Jan Pasveer also conducted various oratorio choirs in the Netherlands (Leiden, Zaandam, Heemstede, Haarlem), often accompanied by the Noord-Hollands Philharmonisch Orkest (later: Holland Symfonia). He also worked with the Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Het Gelders Orkest and the Radio Kamerorkest.
Jan Pasveer was a board member of numerous committees in the field of (church) music. For several years (1977-1982) he was chairman of the Gereformeerde Organistenvereniging, with which he contributed to the formation of amateur organists, also of the Instituut voor de Kerkmuziek in Utrecht and for several years a member of the music committee of the Koninklijke Christelijke Zangersbond (KCZB). He was also chairman of various juries for vocalist presentations, choral competitions and choral singing. He adapted the book Koorkunde, which was written in Bulgaria, for use in the Netherlands, a handbook for choral conductors and choristers. Jan Pasveer also worked on a dissertation (unfinished) on the number symbolism in the music of J.S. Bach, in particular the Magnificat (BWV 243).
Jan Pasveer devoted himself to the professionalization and innovation of church music, and composed several works for choir, including Agnus Dei, Nunc Dimittis, Magnificat and the cantata Nulla Salus Bello. A number of his compositions and harmonizations for choir have been published by Harmonia and the KCZB. Some church songs composed by him are included in the Liedboek voor de Kerken (1973) and its successor:Liedboek - zingen en bidden in huis en kerk (2013). He wrote in 1974 with J.N. Lammens and Niek Schuman published the book Vespers vieren about the introduction of musical vespers in the Protestant liturgy. In 2001 the book Het kerklied - een geschiedenis was published, of which he edited, together with Jan Luth and Jan Smelik. Previously he was a music advisor at the Convent der Kerken (IKON) and edited church music programs for the NCRV. Jan Pasveer presented Schriftnoten on the radio, a program about church music, including the cantatas of J.S. Bach.
Jan Pasveer was an officer in the Order of Oranje-Nassau. He died suddenly and was buried on January 20, 2005 at the General Cemetery in Zaandam, prior to this a farewell service was held in the Westerkerk in Amsterdam: members of the Westerkerkkoor and the Zaans Cantatekoor, the Bachorkest, Piet Hulsbos (continuo) and soloists performed the Actus Tragicus (Gottes Zeit ist die beste Zeit, Cantata BWV 106) by J.S. Bach and BWV 106 by Jan Pasveer, conducted by Joop Schets. Gertru Pasveer played Ground in C minor by William Croft, Kathinka Pasveer played Zungenspitzentanz on flute from the opera Samstag aus Licht by Karlheinz Stockhausen and Marianne Smit played L'eternel rêveur by Marcel Tournier on harp. Jos van der Kooy, cantor-organist of the Westerkerk played the large organ. Hein Meens succeeded Jan Pasveer in 2005 as conductor of the Westerkerkkoor and Bachorkest. |
