Soundscapes in Couven Rooms

To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the death of the Baroque architect Johann Joseph Couven on 12 September 2013, the Couven Museum is initiating a transnational project devoted to the outstanding significance of Aachen’s famous master builder for the architectural landscape of the Rhine-Meuse region.

Johann Joseph Couven’s (1701-1763) early professional years were influenced by his collaboration with the Westphalian court architect Johann Conrad Schlaun. Through his experiences with the French Régence style and the southern German late Baroque style, Couven developed a specific architectural language typical for his region. This brought him prestigious commissions for representative buildings and interior decors from the nobility, the church and the upper middle classes.

Under the title “Soundscapes in Couven Rooms“, for the first time the most important surviving architectural monuments built by Johann Joseph Couven will be networked across national borders through a series of events with a musical focus. Music offers a particularly suitable medium through which to experience the various architectural functions of the buildings, which range from sacred structures and noble residences to middle class family houses, in a typical dimension of their purpose. The events will run from 12 September 2013 to 12 January 2014, offering concerts, guided tours and a wide range of special-interest events in 18 Couven monuments in Germany and across the borders.

The project will be accompanied by an exhibition in Aachen’s Couven Museum entitled “Soundscapes in Couven Rooms – Musical Instruments and Musical Culture between Baroque and Classicism”. The exhibition will provide insights into musical tradition in public and private contexts between 1700 and 1815. The surviving original construction drawings and architectural drafts of the “musically networked” Couven monuments will also be on show, offering an overview of the works of Aachen’s illustrious architect. In addition, the Couven Museum will also be hosting a conference with a tighter focus on the culturally and historically interesting border zone between the history of architecture and the history of music with the aim of exploring new horizons interpretation and perception of Couven architecture.

For detailed information on the programme and on partners and participants, visit www.couven-klangwelten2013.de