Magnificats and Motets [antikvár]

Centres of music in Upper Hungary in the 17'1' century* The musical culture of Hungary divided into three parts presents a quite uneven picture during the first half of the 17th century. In areas occupied by the Turks musical life was almost completely crippled. In the Transylvanian towns, although this continued undiminished, the seat of the independent principality showed little interest in music during the 1630s and 1640s. Thus it was the cities and noble courts of royal Hungary, namely Western Trans-danubia and Upper Hungary, that primarily became the patrons of contemporary high quality art music. These cities did indeed do much to further music (chiefly church music): they paid organists, cantors, singers and instrumentalists, and covered the cost of purchasing music and instruments.1 The foreign connections of Upper Hungarian cities were furthered by the presence of a German social layer. These received a stimulus from the spread of the Lutheran reformation, as well as the participation in domestic religious and cultural life of Upper Hungarian students who had studied in German universities. The Reformation brought changes to all areas of religious life, as well as music. The forms of service were changed in the Protestant churches of Upper Hungary: the Latin plain-song was gradually superseded by plainsong in the vernacular (German, Hungarian, Slovakian), and later by the composition of Hungarian reformers, new German hymns, Genevan psalms, and - particularly in areas inhabited by German speaking people — polyphonic motets.2 Lutheran church music flourished mainly in three areas of Upper Hungary in the 17 th century: Pozsony3 and the surrounding district, the mining towns of Bars, Hont and Zólyom counties, and the counties of Szepes and Sáros — namely today's Western, Central and Eastern Slovakia. Our information concerning the music of these areas and their musical life in general comes from both primary sources - manuscripts and printed sources — and secondary ones — inventories and archive material. Of the musicians employed, the place of first importance belongs to those of Pozsony. The Lutheran church consecrated in 16384 included among its cantors and composers those of the rank of Jacob Sebald Ludwig from Nuremberg (1638— 1651), as well as Samuel Capricornus (between 1651 and 1657) of Silesia, of whose more than one hundred works composed at Pozsony a selection was published in Nuremberg.5 A collec- *Upper Hungary i. e. Felvidék, a historical territory of Hungary, has been part of Czechoslovakia since 1920. 'fot the sixteenth and seventeenth century Hungarian social background and music see Szabolcsi, 31-44.; Rybariü 1966,1984; Dobszay, 132-145. 9 The ruling of the Körmöcbánya synod of 1569, De officio, said: „Nachmals das Officium ab introitu Weichs mit der Orgel geschlagen, wird, darnach das Kyrie, samst dem Et in terra lateinisch. Dominus vo-biscum deutsch, Collecta deutsch, Epistel deutsch, am Sontag Alleluia lateinisch, Prosa lateinisch oder deutsch, Evangelium dominicale deutsch oder windisch in lingua populari, darauf das Patrem, oder Wir glauben deutsch; nach diesem folget die Predig mit vorgehenden und nachfolgenden deutschen oder windischen gesengen ", quoted in Breznyik 1,215. Part of the Selmecbánya order of liturgy (Kirchenordnung) of 1580: „ Nach dem Gebet Prosa, oder ein schöne Moteten nach Gelegenheit der Zeit Nach der Predigt singet man wieder ein christlich Lied aus Lutheri Cantional, oder ein Moteten, oder schlegt der Organist Darauf helt man das Opfer fein, ordentlich und zierlich, und singet der Chor unterdes neben der Orgel schöne Stück." Breznyik 1,251. 3 For the contemporary Hungarian and German names of the towns, together with the present Slovakian ones, see list of place names, p. 75. 4 From 1581 Lutherans in Pozsony could take part in Lutheran services (initially privately), though before 1631 they could not entertain seriously the idea of building their own church. Services were held from 1606 onwards — officially acknowledged — in the private house standing on the site of the present day Jesuit church. (Between 1619 and 1621 the church of St. Marton was temporarily the property of the Lutherans.) Schrödl, 87-104. "*Opus Musicum, ab 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8. vocibus concertantibus variis instrumentális, adjuncto choro pleniori, sive, ut vocant, in ripieno concinnatum (1655), RISM A/I/2 C 928. For a modern edition see Capricornus 1975 1979. 29