Conference Agenda

What stories do music collections tell about our colonial past—and how can they amplify voices long overlooked? The collections of the Netherlands Music Institute were originally assembled by Hague banker Daniël François Scheurleer (1855–1927), who envisioned a library and museum offering access to diverse musical cultures—not only Western classical music, but also non-Western traditions. After Scheurleer’s death, the museum and its holdings became part of the The Hague Art Museum (now Kunstmuseum), which adopted a policy of collecting music manuscripts and documentation from musicians and composers, many of whom had ties to the former Dutch colonies.

Today, we critically examine these legacies. This presentation highlights how we confront traces of racism and exclusion—rethinking acquisition and cataloging practices, and how we embrace meerstemmigheid (multiplicity of voices) in our collection policies. We have digitized more than 12 meters of music and documentation, scheduled for publication through web catalogues in 2026. These materials range from 19th-century Atjeh War marching music scores and Sourabaya opera programs to autographs by Linda Bandára, Hector Marinus, Paul Seelig, as well as scrap albums of touring Dutch musicians and contemporary gamelan music scores. Together, they reveal complex narratives of power, identity, and cultural exchange.

Since 2021 musicologist Dr. Philomeen Lelieveldt has served as curator of the Netherlands Music Institute Collections, consisting of a music library and archive, which from 2016 have been part of the The Hague City Archives. www.nederlandsmuziekinstituut.nl

The first issue of the UMS Musical Times was published in Cape Town, South Africa, in September 1854. Regarded as the earliest South African music periodical, this ten-page handwritten document was distributed among members of the United Musical Society (UMS), established two years earlier. The contents of the first issues comprised original writings by UMS members alongside material reproduced from existing publications, often accompanied by illustrations. Three known issues of The Musical Times have survived, reproduced in a photocopied compilation by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 1966. An inscription in this bound volume notes that the copies were made from manuscripts belonging to John Juritz and Percival Kirby, whose personal papers are likewise housed in UCT Special Collections. As some of the earliest written documentation of music-making in South Africa, the surviving issues of The Musical Times provide a valuable lens through which to examine 19th-century musical life in the Cape Colony, then under British rule. Most articles reflect this Western colonial sphere, concentrating on European music, composers, instruments and events. It is, however, particularly in the articles focusing on local happenings and African musics that a true glimpse into the social fabric of colonialism in the Cape Colony becomes apparent. This paper first outlines efforts to locate the original manuscripts of the surviving Musical Times, and their preservation and status within UCT Special Collections. Secondly, it examines how the periodical’s content, patronage, tone, publication format and other features reflect the colonial zeitgeist of 1850s South Africa.