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Old traditions in new vestments: Musical and textual reworkings in the performing practices of liturgical music

Description

Musical genres have developed, changed, and transformed over time. Some of them, even if they existed in the same period, were perhaps strictly separated, but the others were connected more than we would assume regarding their function and form. The genres of some seemingly incompatible traditions of entirely different origins met in time because they found themselves in a common function. Such traditions in Slovenian territory between the Council of Trent and the end of the eighteenth century included liturgical plainchant and music originating in secular, even profane, genres such as opera, which was of more recent origin. In the eighteenth century—if not before—they met in the liturgy with the same texts and the same function. Plainchant music of that time usually continued or reworked older traditions, but in the case of secular music, textual and sometimes musical reworkings could be found. Both genres of music were probably known to listeners, each from a different context: one from the liturgical, the other from the profane context; one genre was the most sacred, while the other was probably the most secular; one had the patina of tradition, the other excitement of novelty. How could such different musical styles exist and coexist under a common liturgical cover?

This unusual pair was the subject of the proposed project, which studied the performance practice of two different musical traditions that could be found in liturgical “vestments” (i.e., reworkings) in the time between the Council of Trent and the end of the eighteenth century in the territory of what is today Slovenia. The main repertoire researched was post‐Medieval chant, for which many sources are preserved and could be observed throughout the whole time in question, as a tradition with possible further reworkings. A contrasting, even opposite, tradition to this “most ecclesiastical” one, the tradition of reworkings of the (perhaps most) “profane music” (such as opera compositions), served for the comparison. The project attempted to answer the following questions: what the repertoire of Modern Era plainchant from Slovenian territory was; where, how, and in which context it was written down; and when, how, in which context, and by whom it was performed. At the same time, it tried to establish possible connections with other musical genres, especially with the hitherto unknown profane music reworked for liturgical use. It also aimed to discover parallels between this segment of musical life in Slovenia and music from other European countries, where similar research is becoming ever more frequent.

The research focused on the sources used within Slovenian territory and preserved in Slovenia or abroad. They were analyzed, catalogued, and categorized, and the results of this analytical work enabled comparisons between both repertoires. Comparisons were carried out in a broader European (especially central European) context, and comparable European sources were viewed side-by-side. We were explicitly interested in the roles of both traditions in the liturgy, their performance practice, and their probable stylistic differences. Implicitly, the project raised questions about the relationships between the sacred and profane in the music of a certain period, between the original and its reworking, and between the text and music in the original piece as well as in its reworking.


Project Stages

1 July 2019–30 June 2020
-    kick-off meeting of the project team and launching of the project website
-    collecting and studying of secondary sources and literature
-    field research of primary sources in the archives and libraries in Slovenia and abroad
-    further development of methods and model studies for discovering and research of the repertoire
-    analysis and classification of sources

1 July 2020–30 June 2021
-    further analysis of the selected sources and further studies into the context and repertoire connections
-    further field research in the archives and libraries containing comparable sources and repertories in Slovenia and abroad
-    RISM cataloguing of the most important sources and collections of pieces
-    comparisons between the various repertoires from similar liturgical contexts within the Slovenian institutions
-    comparisons of these sources and repertoires with the sources from the wider Central-European context
-    presentation of the first part of the research results for the scientific community: an international round table, conference papers as well as journal articles and chapters in monographs
-    popularization of the research results for wider audiences: a concert

1 July 2021–30 June 2022 (extended until 30 June 2023)
-    finalization of the analytical and comparative-synthetical research of the selected repertoires
-    further presentation of the final syntheses for the scientific community (conference papers, journal articles), where the researched phenomenon will be presented within the wider Central-European context
-    preparation of the selected source material for a special online catalogue (database)
-    presentation of the research results in the special thematic issue of the international musicological journal De musica disserenda
-    further popularization of the project results for wider audiences with an experimental music workshop, concert and lecture-recital
-    final meetings, summarization and finalization of the project


Results

The results of the project were primarily communicated to the Slovenian and international scientific community in the form of scholarly articles (some will be published in 2024), conference papers and lectures, as well as in the (co-)organisation of two international conferences. In the extension phase of the project, its dissemination scope could be significantly widened in the direction of socio-cultural action and education of the professional and lay public in the form of a series of online lectures, various workshops and four professional concerts.

Scholarly articles

  • BARBO, Matjaž. »Frančiškanske rokopisne knjige kot izraz umetniške občutljivosti svojega časa: primerjalna analiza novomeškega rokopisa, Ms. mus. 93.« Muzikološki zbornik 59, nos. 1–2 (2023): 195–223. https://doi.org/10.4312/mz.59.1-2.195-223. [COBISS.SI-ID: 178958083]
  • ERJAVEC, Jana. »Contrafacta in the Archive of the Abbey and Parish Church of St Daniel in Celje.« De musica disserenda 19, no. 1 (2023): 11–36. https://doi.org/10.3986/dmd19.1.01. [COBISS.SI-ID 173161731]
  • ERJAVEC, Jana. »Glasbeni arhiv starejših rokopisov v cerkvi sv. Danijela v Celju.« De musica disserenda 16, no. 2 (2020): 71–82. https://doi.org/10.3986/dmd16.2.04. [COBISS.SI-ID 24817923]
  • ERJAVEC, Jana. »RISM and Inventorying Early Music Manuscripts in Slovenia.« Muzikološki zbornik 56, no. 2 (2020): 73–84. https://doi.org/10.4312/mz.56.2.73-84. [COBISS.SI-ID 44829955]
  • GRABNAR, Klemen. »Glasba v ljubljanski stolnici in gornjegrajski sostolnici v času škofa Tomaža Hrena.« In Tridesetletna vojna in Slovenci: evropski konflikt in slovenski prostor v prvi polovici 17. stoletja, ed. Vanja Kočevar, 437–450. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC, ZRC SAZU, 2020. [COBISS.SI-ID 48192259]
  • GRABNAR, Klemen. »Glasba v ljubljanski stolnici in gornjegrajski sostolnici v času škofa Tomaža Hrena.« In Zgodovina glasbe na Slovenskem, vol. 2, Od konca 16. stoletja do izteka 18. stoletja, ed. Metoda Kokole. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC, ZRC SAZU, forthcoming.*
  • GRABNAR, Klemen. »Uglasbitev kantika magnifikat Simoneja Gatta na primeru skladbe Magnificat primi toni.« Muzikološki zbornik 59, nos. 1–2 (December 2023): 135–151. https://doi.org/10.4312/mz.59.1-2.135-151. [COBISS.SI-ID: 178909955]
  • KOKOLE, Metoda. »Užaljena gospa Artemizija ali Kristus nam je danes rojen: celjske kontrafakture operne arije Giuseppa Gazzanige.« De musica disserenda 19, no. 1 (2023): 37–58. https://doi.org/10.3986/dmd19.1.02. [COBISS.SI-ID 173173251]
  • MOTNIK, Marko. »Music in the Dominican Convent of Marenberg: In Search of Sources.« Bogoslovni vestnik 83, no. 2 (2023): 449–464. https://doi.org/10.34291/BV2023/02/Motnik.
  • MOTNIK, Marko. »Z opernega odra na cerkveni kor: kontrafakture v glasbenem arhivu proštijske cerkve sv. Jurija na Ptuju.« De musica disserenda 19, no. 1 (2023): 59–87. https://doi.org/10.3986/dmd19.1.03. [COBISS.SI-ID 173192451]
  • SUKLJAN, Nejc. »Renaissance Music Between Science and Art: The Case of Gioseffo Zarlino.« Muzikološki zbornik 56, no. 2 (2020): 183–206. https://doi.org/10.4312/mz.56.2.183-206. [COBISS.SI-ID 44862211]
  • ŠTER, Katarina. »'Allora piú gradito, che piú battuto': Franciscans from Koper and their Baroque cantus fractus.« De musica disserenda 20, št. 1–2 (2024): 1-52. [Pre-print.] https://doi.org/10.3986/dmd20.1-2.07. [COBISS.SI-ID 221264131]
  • ŠTER, Katarina. »A Chant Treatise in the Service of Two Monastic Traditions of the Modern Era: The Case of the Musices Choralis Medulla.« Muzikološki zbornik 56, no. 2 (2020): 153–181. https://doi.org/10.4312/mz.56.2.153-181. [COBISS.SI-ID 44858627]
  • ŠTER, Katarina. »Sedil ie k'misi Iesus: škof Tomaž Hren, Gornji Grad in slovenski koral.« Muzikološki zbornik 59, nos. 1–2 (December 2023): 153–194. https://doi.org/10.4312/mz.59.1-2.153-194. [COBISS.SI-ID: 178915331]

Thematic issue of the journal De musica disserenda

  • ŠTER, Katarina (ed.). »Kontrafakture posvetne glasbe v cerkvenih arhivih slovenske Štajerske.« De musica disserenda 19, no. 1 (2023).

Organisation and co-organisation of international scientific conferences

  • Authentic, Fake or Mistaken Identity? Creation, Recreation, Deception and Forgery in Music, international musicological conference, Ljubljana, 21–22 October 2021. https://authentic-fake.zrc-sazu.si/. [COBISS.SI-ID 89096963]
  • Music – religion – spirituality, international multidisciplinary symposium, Ljubljana, 26–28 August 2021. [COBISS.SI-ID 73683715]

Papers at international scholarly conferences and lectures

  • ERJAVEC, Jana. »Glasbeni arhiv starejših rokopisov v cerkvi sv. Danijela v Celju: metodološka izhodišča preučevanja starejšega glasbeno-rokopisnega gradiva na Slovenskem nekoč in danes.« Preučevanje glasbe na Slovenskem nekoč in danes, musicological symposium on the 100th anniversary of the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, 15 October 2019. https://jarina.org/smd2019.pdf. [COBISS.SI-ID 45238061]
  • ERJAVEC, Jana. »Secular and Sacred Pieces in ›New Vestments‹: Contrafacta in SI-Co.« Authentic, Fake or Mistaken Identity? Creation, Recreation, Deception and Forgery in Music, international musicological conference, Ljubljana, 22 October 2021. https://authentic-fake.zrc-sazu.si/. [COBISS.SI-ID 93549059]
  • GRABNAR, Klemen. »Glasbena podoba obredja v času škofa Hrena: stolnici v Ljubljani in Gornjem Gradu.« Sursum corda, series of online lectures, 30 November 2021. [COBISS.SI-ID 89248771]
  • GRABNAR, Klemen. »Music of the Liturgy in Ljubljana Cathedral and Gornji Grad Co-Cathedral at the Turn of the Sixteenth Century.« Urban Music Culture in Central Europe ca. 1450–1670, 54. international musicological colloquium, Brno, 5 November 2019. [COBISS.SI-ID 45647149]
  • GRABNAR, Klemen, and Katarina ŠTER. »An Authentic Message in an Inauthentic Language: A ›Slovenian Vestment‹ for the Chant Discubuit Jesus.« Authentic, Fake or Mistaken Identity? Creation, Recreation, Deception and Forgery in Music, international musicological conference, Ljubljana, 22 October 2021. https://authentic-fake.zrc-sazu.si/. [COBISS.SI-ID 93549571]
  • KOKOLE, Metoda. »La vendemmia by Bertati-Gazzaniga on Its Way Across the Alps (1778-1884).« Le forme dell'opera italiana del 18° secolo nei diversi paesi della regione transalpina, international conference, Český Krumlov, 18 September 2022. [COBISS.SI-ID 124432899]
  • MOTNIK, Marko. »The ›Authenticity‹ of Eighteenth-Century Plainchant: Examining the Cases of the Mahrenberg and Studenitz Dominican Convents.« Authentic, Fake or Mistaken Identity? Creation, Recreation, Deception and Forgery in Music, international musicological conference, Ljubljana, 22 October 2021. https://authentic-fake.zrc-sazu.si/. [COBISS.SI-ID 93549315]
  • MOTNIK, Marko. »Koralno petje in glasba v ženskem dominikanskem samostanu Mahrenberg (Radlje ob Dravi).« Sursum corda, series of online lectures, 7 December 2021. [COBISS.SI-ID 89252867]
  • SUKLJAN, Nejc. »Renesančna glasba med znanostjo in umetnostjo: primer Gioseffa Zarlina.« Preučevanje glasbe na Slovenskem nekoč in danes, musicological symposium on the 100th anniversary of the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, 14 October 2019. https://jarina.org/smd2019.pdf. [COBISS.SI-ID 44862211]
  • SUKLJAN, Nejc. »Traktatek o umetnosti zvoka in petja: vpogled v zgodovino poučevanja glasbe v Kopru.« 100. obletnica rojstva Vladimirja Lovca, musicological symposium, Koper, 18 November 2022. https://www2.arnes.si/~gskoper/vladimir_lovec_100let.pdf.
  • ŠTER, Katarina. »Carthusian Chant as Piety in the Form of Active Contemplation.« The Image of Piety in Medieval Manuscripts in Slovakia and in Europe, interdisciplinary conference, Bratislava, 9 October 2020. http://cantus.sk/sites/default/files/20201009_Konferencia_Bulletin_A5_WEB.pdf. [COBISS.SI-ID 32034307]
  • ŠTER, Katarina. »He puelle regie and Applying Musicological Research in the Alps-Adriatic Region: From Manuscript to Concert.« The image of piety in medieval manuscripts in Slovakia and in Europe, international musicological conference, Klagenfurt, 16 October 2023. https://notes.gmpu.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/oegmw-Tagung_2023_GMPU_Programm_2023-11-07_lay-1.pdf. [COBISS.SI-ID 181809923]
  • ŠTER, Katarina. »Dve koralni tradicij meniških redov v novem veku: primer učbenika Musices choralis medulla.« Preučevanje glasbe na Slovenskem nekoč in danes, musicological symposium on the 100th anniversary of the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, 14 October 2019. https://jarina.org/smd2019.pdf. [COBISS.SI-ID 45240877]
  • ŠTER, Katarina. »Sedil je k'misi Jesus: škof Hren, Gornji Grad in slovenski koral.« Sursum corda, series of online lectures, 23 November 2021. [COBISS.SI-ID 89239811]
  • ŠTER, Katarina. »Učenje in poučevanje stare glasbe v novem veku: primer slovenskih kartuzijanov.« Slovensko društvo za preučevanje 18. stoletja, 46. A lecture given within the lecture series of the Slovenian Society for the Research of the 18th Century (SD18), Ljubljana, 20 September 2019. http://sd18.zrc-sazu.si/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=jztmLSHdwX4%3d&tabid=59&mid=394. [COBISS.SI-ID 45766957]

Music score

  • ŠTER, Katarina (ed.). He puelle regie: spevi iz koralnih rokopisov ženskih samostanov med 16. in 18. stoletjem. Ljubljana: ZRC SAZU, 2021. [COBISS.SI-ID 102378755]

Concerts

  • He puelle regie: glasbene sledi ženskih samostanov na Slovenskem. Katarina Šter, voice and artistic direction; Ana Kodelja, voice; Barbara Tišler, voice; Christina Thaler, voice; Tanja Vogrin, voice and harp. Concert with music from chant manuscripts of the female convents between the 16th and 18th centuries, Velesovo, 15 May 2022. [COBISS.SI-ID 114817283]
  • He puelle regie: glasbene sledi ženskih samostanov na Slovenskem. Katarina Šter, voice and artistic direction; Ana Kodelja, voice; Barbara Tišler, voice; Christina Thaler, voice; Tanja Vogrin, voice and harp; Klara Kastelec, narrator. Concert with music from chant manuscripts of the female convents between the 16th and 18th centuries, 2nd concert of the 12th season of the cycle Harmonia concertans – Early Music at New Square, Ljubljana, 16 May 2022. [COBISS.SI-ID 114817027]
  • He puelle regie: glasbene sledi ženskih samostanov na Slovenskem. Katarina Šter, voice and artistic direction; Ana Kodelja, voice; Barbara Tišler, voice; Christina Thaler, voice; Tanja Vogrin, voice and harp. Concert with music from chant manuscripts of the female convents between the 16th and 18th centuries, Radlje ob Dravi, 11 December 2022. [COBISS.SI-ID 140738819]
  • He puelle regie: glasbene sledi ženskih samostanov na Slovenskem. Katarina Šter, voice and artistic direction; Ana Kodelja, voice; Barbara Tišler, voice; Christina Thaler, voice; Ana Marija Krajnc, harpsichord. Concert with music from chant manuscripts of the female convents between the 16th and 18th centuries, Sakralni abonma, Ljubljana, 26 April 2023. [COBISS.SI-ID 150860291]
  • He puelle regie: glasbene sledi ženskih samostanov na Slovenskem. Katarina Šter, voice and artistic direction; Ana Kodelja, voice; Barbara Tišler, voice; Christina Thaler, voice; Domen Marinčič, viola da gamba. Concert with music from chant manuscripts of the female convents between the 16th and 18th centuries, Pleterje, 6 April 2024. [COBISS.SI-ID 209179139]
  • He puelle regie: glasbene sledi ženskih samostanov na Slovenskem. Katarina Šter, voice and artistic direction; Ana Kodelja, voice; Barbara Tišler, voice; Christina Thaler, voice; Domen Marinčič, viola da gamba. Concert with music from chant manuscripts of the female convents between the 16th and 18th centuries, Ilirska Bistrica, 7 April 2024. [COBISS.SI-ID 209176579]

Expert articles (selection)

  • GRABNAR, Klemen. »Dies irae = Strašen dan: koralni spev.« Magnificat 6, no. 11 (2019): 31–35. [COBISS.SI-ID 45645101]
  • GRABNAR, Klemen. »Glasba protestantske Cerkve na Slovenskem: zgodovina glasbe na Slovenskem.« Družina 71, no. 12 (2022): 23. [COBISS.SI-ID 117479939]
  • GRABNAR, Klemen. »Glasbeno razgibano 16. stoletje: zgodovina glasbe na Slovenskem.« Družina 71, no. 11 (2022): 23. [COBISS.SI-ID 102860547]
  • ŠTER, Katarina. »Adoro te devote = Molim te ponižno: obhajilna pesem.« Magnificat 8, no. 7 (2021): 30–33. [COBISS.SI-ID 77079043]
  • ŠTER, Katarina. »Gregorijanski koral in liturgično enoglasje: zgodovina glasbe na Slovenskem.« Družina 71, no. 10 (2022): 23. [COBISS.SI-ID 102881539]

Workshops

  • MOTNIK, Marko. »Ženski samostani, dominikanke v Radljah in glasba.« Od arhiva do izvedbe: odkrivamo glasbo radeljskih dominikank, introduction and workshop, study day for students of the Department of Musicology FF UL and the Academy of Music UL, Ljubljana, 11 November 2022. [COBISS.SI-ID 129764099]
  • MOTNIK, Marko, and Katarina ŠTER. »Pojemo koral z radeljskimi dominikankami.« Od arhiva do izvedbe: odkrivamo glasbo radeljskih dominikank, workshop, study day for students of the Department of Musicology FF UL and the Academy of Music UL, Ljubljana, 11 November 2022. [COBISS.SI-ID 129757955]
  • ŠTER, Katarina. »The (Un)known Vocal World of the Gregorian Chant.« Europa Cantat Festival, lecture and workshop, Ljubljana, 21 July 2021. [COBISS.SI-ID 77091843]
  • ŠTER, Katarina. »Cerkveni zbor in gregorijanski koral.« Dan slovenskih cerkvenih glasbenikov 2021, lecture and workshop, Maribor, 25 September 2021. [COBISS.SI-ID 81456643]
  • ŠTER, Katarina. »Samostani, liturgija, glasba.« Od arhiva do izvedbe: odkrivamo glasbo radeljskih dominikank, introduction, study day for students of the Department of Musicology FF UL and the Academy of Music UL, Ljubljana, 11 November 2022. [COBISS.SI-ID 129759747]
  • ŠTER, Katarina, and Marko MOTNIK. »Samostani in glasba.« Od arhiva do izvedbe: odkrivamo glasbo radeljskih dominikank, workshop, study day for students of the Department of Musicology FF UL and the Academy of Music UL, Ljubljana, 11 November 2022. [COBISS.SI-ID 129753091]

* Scholarly articles accepted for publication based on peer review, to be published in 2025. Last update: 12 February 2025.


Research Project

Keywords
operne arije
potridentinski koral
sakralna glasba
glasbene predelave in kontrafakture
preobrazba repertoarja

Research Fields
Muzikologija H320