Musical Repertoires in Central Europe, 1420-1450

The present volume emerges from an international conference on late-medieval musical repertories in Central Europe and their appropriation as cultural practice in the first half of the fifteenth century, housed by the Austrian Academy of Sciences in November 2010. Due to its specific urban profile and the geographical position, late- medieval Vienna offers an excellent starting point for any consideration on the general topic. What may be described as a fascinating `simultaneity` of `non-simultaneous` phenomena is closely connected to the coexistence of different patterns of music patronage within court and nobility, the university, a variety of ecclesiastical institutions (among them the collegiate church of All Saints, later St Stephen`s Cathedral), and diverse strands of upper- and middle class citizens on the one hand, cultural exchange with neighbouring territories of the Holy Roman Empire, of Bohemia, Northern Italy and the Upper Rhine on the other. Within a total of thirteen chapters, conceived as case-studies, plus a detailed thematically introduction, manifold strands of polyphonic and monophonic repertories (both sacred and profane), compositional techniques, regionally bound stylistic peculiarities, strategems of music patronage, institutional (or even personal) collectionism, furthermore aspects of music iconography and the role of music within the history of ideas are scrutinized according to different methodological approaches. In sum, this is an invaluable contribution to a better understanding of a crucial period of late-medieval music history.