Born in Ghent, Belgium in 1947, he sang in the boys' choir. He studied medicine and psychiatry at university, but became captivated by early music. He studied organ, harpsichord, and choral singing at the Ghent Conservatory. In 1970, he founded the Collegium Vocale choir. In 1977, he founded La Chapelle Royale in Paris to perform music from France's Golden Age. In 1991, he joined the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, among other ensembles, and expanded his repertoire. He has also served as conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Choir and the Liège Symphony Choir, and artistic director of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He has also guest-performed with the Orchestre de Lyon, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Berlin Philharmonic. He has served as Music Director of the Royal Flanders Philharmonic since 1997 and the Festival des Saintes Early Music in the South of France since 1982. He has been a professor at the University of Leuven since 1997, from which he received an honorary doctorate.