The music of religious orders on the Slovenian territory from the 16th century to their abolition

The main purpose of this research project was the analysis of all preserved music sources of ecclesiastical orders active in Slovenian territory from the sixteenth century to their abolition, the definition of their role, and the impact of their musical activities on society at that time. To achieve this task it was initially necessary to define the status of “ecclesiastical” in Slovenia in the given period as well as to systematically examine all preserved musical documentation still kept in the libraries and archives of the present-day orders, including the remaining musicalia that once belonged to orders and are now preserved elsewhere. The materials were then systematically catalogued, partly also in the international electronic database RISM (Répertoire international des sources musicales). Following an analysis of the best-preserved collections of music prints and manuscripts, these were found to be those consisting of compositions created or used (i.e., performed) by Franciscan orders: the Observants in Ljubljana and Novo Mesto and the Minorites in Piran. The analysis brought about a new and interesting view of musical activities within these orders and the impact of their public musical endeavors on the general musical culture. This is testified to by the more general preserved musical repertoire, especially evident in the collection of the Franciscan Observants in Ljubljana, who from the end of the eighteenth century were also engaged in performing music for public church services. Regardless of their general gravitation towards the north in the case of convents in central Slovenia, and towards Italy in the coastal area, it has been established for all ecclesiastical orders within Slovenian territory that secular chamber music was widely used for recreation by members of the orders. The Minorite Convent in Piran, for example, has in its music archive a number of arrangements of popular operatic numbers for piano and voice by the foremost Italian composers of the time. It is also known that the Jesuit order in Ljubljana had in its college and convent regular performances of instrumental music such as dances (a fact known especially from the secondary sources, but also from the preserved compositions by the foremost early Slovenian composer, the Jesuit father Johannes Baptista Dolar). A thorough modal analysis of his compositional style on the example of the three Kyrie movements of his preserved masses was carried out as part of the study. Research into the Minorite father Gabriello Puliti’s compositions and the meaning of their dedications revealed the impact of his music on Koper’s cultural life in the first three decades of the seventeenth century as well as his ambitions to promote his works even further. He dedicated some of his works to the Inner-Austrian archduke based in Graz. A more detailed comparative analysis of music manuscripts preserved in the Diocesan Archives of Koper revealed the previously unnoticed role of the Servite Order in local musical life. In general, the project results proved the hypothesis that musical repertoire circulated within the orders studied and between their centers and other ecclesiastical institutions, and revealed the influence of their endeavors on general music production and reproduction in all major Slovenian cultural centers and beyond.

Among the lesser-studied agents of music production, reproduction, and dissemination of music repertoire were ecclesiastical orders (Jesuits, Franciscans Observants, Minorites, Capuchins, but also the lesser-known Piarists, Paulins, etc.), especially those active within the Counter-Reformation from the late sixteenth century to the reforms of Joseph II and finally the abolition of a number of convents under the French administration at the turn of the eighteenth century. This project first systematically inventoried all music materials preserved in Slovenian territory (music manuscripts and prints) pertaining to different ecclesiastical orders, and then evaluated the impact of the Counter-Reformation movement on musical endeavors in Slovenian-speaking regions, with special attention to music production within orders and the repertoire used for monastic devotions and educational purposes. The research included a comparative analysis of materials belonging to similar church communities in neighboring or connected central European countries, such as Croatia, other Austrian provinces, Bohemia, Moravia, some southern German states, and Italy, the center for the dissemination music of literature in the discussed period. The study also focused on the circulation of music within separate orders and the exchange of music among orders and other non-monastic ecclesiastical institutions and even secular centers. As a model example, music endeavors within the Jesuit order, their music education, music activities in the College (including stage performances by its students), and music creativity of certain members of the order, especially Janez Krstnik Dolar (Kamnik c. 1620 – Vienna 1673) were studied. Taking into consideration all extant and potentially newly discovered materials, Dolar’s biography was reassessed, followed by a thorough study into his compositional techniques based on the study of contemporary theoretical treatises, compositions by his European contemporaries, and comparative modal analysis of Dolar’s music.