The Belgian composer, pianist, musicologist and teacher Raymond Auguste Marie Moulaert was born in Brussels (Belgium) and studied at the Conservatoire royal de musique, in the same city. Here he studied piano, harmony, counterpoint, fugue, instrumentation and orchestration. As a composer, however, he was self-taught. His earliest acknowledged compositions date from around 1907.
In 1896 he commenced teaching at the conservatory where he had studied, and continued to teach there for 43 years. Initially he taught harmony, and later counterpoint. From 1898 to 1912 Moulaert was the choir master at thè Théàtre royal de la monnaie in Brussels.
He also taught at the Chapelle musicale reine Élisabeth, and was director of the “Saint-Gilles” school of music from 1913 to 1938.
Among his pupils were the American conductor, composer and musicologist Safford Cape (1906-1973), the Belgian composer and organisi Pierre Froidebise (1914-1962), and the Belgian composer and pianisit Marcel Quinet (1915-1986).
Moulaert was a pioneer in the revival of interest in music of earlier times. For example, he participated in the preparation of an edition of Lully's music, published by the French musicologist Henry Prunières (who was also a devotee of Segovia). Moulaert's work as an editor of old music appears to have influenced his own creative work. A large part of his output consists of settings of ancient texts (such as Aucassin et Nicolette, based on 12th century texts), or settings of old French, English, Dutch, Italian and German poetry. However, he was also a great admirer of the music of his French near-contemporaries, notably Fauré and Debussy.
In 1955, Moulaert was elected a member of the Belgian “Royal Academy”, and in 1958 he received the Prix quinquennial of thè Belgian government. His son Pierre (1907-1967) was also a composer.
In view of Moulaert's long composing career, his oeuvre is not large, but it is substantial: two symphonies and several orchestrai works, a handful of concertante works for soloists and orchestra, about ten chamber-ensemble works (often featuring wind instruments) and a few works for solo instrument, or solo instrument and piano.
The largest part of his output is vocal music ol most kinds: solo songs, choral works, and works for choir and orchestra. Moulaert appears to have composed an opera (Maisotternije) and a ballet (Sirine) some time before thè mid-1950s, but these works are not in the catalogue of his works that he revised in the last decade of his life (Foreword “Suite”, edition Bèrben, The Andrés Segovia Archive, General editor: Angelo Gilardino)