Secular vocal music in the monasteries of Upper Austria

The blossoming of culture in the Upper Austrian monasteries since the end of the 17th century is characterized by a significant cultivation of music which has not been sufficiently researched by musicologists. Under the influence of imperial and ceremonial examples, music developed into an instrument of a new spiritual and representative self- awareness which is expressed in opulent performances of operas, oratorios and cantatas. The rich monastery music tradition of the 19th century is characterized by an adaptation of bourgeous musical forms. An essential part of monastic music performance belongs to the area of secular vocal music. Building on the results of the pilot project, we will now examine the monasteries of Engelszell, Kremsmünster, Lambach, Ranshofen, Reichersberg, Schlägl, Schlierbach and Wilhering. Central to this research will be the examination of secular vocal music performance as derised from an analysis of the compositions and non-musical sources. The results of this analysis will be supplemented by comparisons between the monasteries. Research into new sources will demonstrate performance practices in the monasteries and the adaptation of compositions to local conditions. Musical forms which were developed specifically by the monasteries will be described. For this research it is important to demonstrate how music was influenced by contemporary development, musicians and the activities in the cultural centers. Significant research into the biographical background of local composers, including their style and influence, will be conducted. The picture will be completed by a reconstruction of the amount of financial expenditures and by statistics concerning the hired musical personnel. The work will be concluded with a stylistic comparison between the individual monasteries. With this thorough research into the music of the Upper Austrian monasteries, it will finally be possible to demonstrate the importance of the monasteries for the complete history of Austrian music.

The enquiry deals with the examination of the secular vocal music in Upper Austrian monasteries in the 18th and 19th century. The work is based on the results of a previous project undertaken by the author. It refers to the historical importance of monasterial music culture. Once more it gives documentary of the central position of the monasteries within the Austrian music culture. The work centres around the discussion on the musical repertoire and the general state of music. The main foundations are the analysis of compositions and provenance research as well as the enquiry of details of practical performance. Additionally, the work deals with social- and authoritarian-critical reflexions transformed in the compositions and gives an insight into the various possibilities of the musical mediation of opinion and value. Additional analysis shows peculiarities specific to monasteries and poses them with regard to corresponding factors of influence. The extensive discussion about "applausus musicus" provides important information concerning developments specific to monastic music. The analysis deals with the social and cultural context and shows the functionality of music within a clearly structured ceremonial act. The information from the particular monasteries serves as starting point for mutual comparisons and supplements. The research provides detailed results concerning the functionality of monastic ensembles as well as the organisation of the monasterial music operation. The analysis explains the motives and the different forms of musical activities and exposes the specific demand of the monasterial environment. Besides that, the study shows administrative and organisational structures, historical developments and contemporary sectors of influence. It points out religious conditions as well as political and economic interrelations. Until the beginning of the 19th century, the musical evolvement was significantly influenced by the Viennese court. The transformed models are transcribed in the monasterial environment and posed in a religious context. The imperial examples are mirrored in great detail whereas the specific filter of each monastery causes a differentiated perception. New models opened during the initiatives of the new bourgeois culture in the social upheavals of the last decades of the 18th century. Depth analyses concerning the status of the musical personell provide complementary information. Further analyses deals with the examination concerning the rights and duties of the musicians, hierarchies and the contractual arrangements.