Bart Jacobs (born in 1976) studied organ, harpsichord and basso continuo with Reitze Smits and Kris Verhelst at the Lemmensinstituut in Leuven, graduating in 2000 with summa cum laude.
He was then appointed organist of the former Brussels cathedral choir with which he has recorded a variety of works for organ and choir, including the complete organ works of August De Boeck (1865-1937), played on the Forest organ (1873) in Gent (BE).
Between 2006-2010 he won prizes at the international organ competitions of Alkmaar (1st prize, “Schnitger competition”, becoming the first Belgian ever), Amsterdam (3rd prize, “Sweelinck competition”) and Bruges (4th prize, “Musica Antiqua” competition and “Listener’s Choice award”).
In 2012 he was appointed titular organist at the cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula in Brussels. In addition, he has been organist since 2013 of the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-en-Leodegarius church in Bornem (BE).
As soloist and continuo player, he has toured extensively across Europe and collaborated with various renowned ensembles including Vox Luminis, Les Muffatti, Il Gardellino, Currende, Psallentes, Hathor consort, Collegium Ad Mosam, …
His impressive discography includes solo performances on both harpsichord and organ, as well as accompanying numerous ensembles. His debut solo albums, featuring organ works of Bach’s best students (2013) and Early organ works and Sinfonias of J. S. Bach (2015) have been enthusiastically received at home and abroad. The CD Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott (2016) was awarded with prizes including "CHOC de Classica 2017", "Diapason 5", "Gramophone Editors Choice 2017" and "ffff de Télérama". This recording for the Ricercar label in collaboration with the ensemble Vox Luminis contains choral and organ music on the occasion of 500 years of the Reformation.
The CD Concertos for organ and strings (2019) by the Ramée label, with his own reconstructions of concertos for organ and strings by J. S. Bach and performed with the baroque orchestra Les Muffatti, proved an unprecedented success in the classical music scene. This original concept received the most prestigious awards at home and abroad, including the "Golden label" at "Klassiek Centraal" (B), the "Diapason d'Or de l 'année 2019 "(FR) and the" Award for the Best Belgian CD 2019 " by Klara, the Belgian classical music radio station.
In 2020, he recorded the complete Clavier-Übung III by J. S. Bach for the Organroxx label, played on the monumental Draps/Flentrop organ in Sint-Niklaas (BE), in which the organ works are interspersed with the sung chorales.
In 2022, his new album Recommended by Bach has been released for the Ramée label, played on the new Contius organ in Leuven (BE). This recording has been desribed as one of the truly original Bach recordings that have been released in recent years.
Together with Reitze Smits, he forms the organ duo 422play. This duo discovers new possibilities for the oran in their own original arrangements of music by Debussy, Ravel, Mendelsohn, Bruckner, and others. In July 2020, their debut album 422play in Brussels Cathedral was released, played on the Grenzing organ of St Michael’s and St Gudula's cathedral in Brussels.
Bart Jacobs has cooperated with All of Bach, a project of the Netherlands Bach Society. His Bach interpretations on organ and harpsichord can be seen and heard on www.allofbach.com.
He was co-founder and driving force of the Flemish Harpsichord Association (2006-2021).
As teacher of organ and harpsichord, Bart Jacobs is attached to the Academy for Music, Drama and Dance in Bornem (Antwerp) and Luca School of Arts in Leuven (BE).
In 2021 he received the Bornem Culture Prize.
For more information, please visit www.bartjacobs.eu
