Most sources online except classical.net and MusicSack give his birthyear as 1806, including a Google-quoted excerpt from a scholarly article apparently about Bessems ("The Bessems Brothers and the Autograph of Berlioz' Messe Solennelle") (which is quoted as saying he was born in Antwerp in April 1806)... and- MusicSack does not even list 1806 as an alternative "rejected" option- which is a little odd! Indeed, one of MusicSack's own sources- Grove- gives 1806 as the birthyear. (here.) MusicSack would usually in this case write '1809/1806' to show 1806 was deprecated, belong to an antiquated source, with newer information giving 1806, right? Except they don't. (Well, it has its problems and we have ours. just wish both imslp, musicsack, and Wikipedia people more consistently- me included- specified what claim came from what reference when. clutter notwithstanding) Eric 02:08, 3 October 2010 (UTC)
