Performance Practice at the Graz Court around 1600

In the second third of the 16th century, music at the Graz Court, probably also for geographical reasons, was oriented much earlier towards Italy (soon to become the leading European cultural nation) compared to other Habsburg courts in Vienna, Prague and Innsbruck. Thus, Venetian polychoral music was already introduced in Graz under Archduke Charles II (15401590), and under his son Ferdinand II (15781637) the basso continuo age the stile nuovo made its first appearance at a court north of the Alps. After a long period of research on the musicians and compositions of the Graz Court, this project turns for the first time to performance practice. Individual aspects such as patrons, musical instruments, instrumentation, iconography, sheet music, tempo issues, pitch questions, improvisational practices and performance venues will be examined in relation to the Graz Court. In an empirical part, performances of works by Graz Court composers will be re-enacted at historical locations (e.g. Graz Cathedral). These reenactments will not only look at the performances themselves, but also at the rehearsal process, which in the case of polychoral compositions differs significantly from modern conventions in terms of historical production methods (ensemble setup, ensemble direction, sheet music). Finally, the acoustics of historical performance venues in Graz will be virtually reconstructed, which have presumably changed considerably due to alterations in rooms that still exist. Among other things, the findings of the project should provide new methods and impulses for historically informed performance practice.