He studied at the Namur Conservatoire with René Barbier and Paul de Maleingreau at the Brussels Conservatoire. He also studied Gregorian plainsong and harmony at the Floreffe seminary as a pupil of Camille Jacquemin. He also studied composition with Raymond Moulaert and fugue with Léon Jongen, as well as composition with Paul Gilson and Jean Absil, before going to Paris to study with Charles Tournemire. In 1942 he became organist at the Church of St James in Liège. There he also received a professorship at the conservatory. His early compositions were still strongly influenced by César Franck, but under the influence of Stravinsky and Webern he developed a tendency towards dodecaphony and established contacts with Messiaen and Boulez, among others. He was also very active in the rediscovery and revival of early music and arranged editions of old masters, for example.