The practice of music in Rajhrad monastery in the first half of the 18th century

Abstract

Continuity of change is perhaps the best characteristic for a wide range of activities that influenced the everyday life in Rajhrad Benedictine monastery in South Moravia during the first half of the eighteenth century. These activities reached their climax under provost Anton Pirmus (1676–1744) in an attempt to realise an ambitious project made by famous architect Johann Santini Aichl of rebuilding the monastery complex and monastery church. An attempt to answer an arising question of how music was practised there and how in general the monastery's musical life mirrors the above mentioned continuity of change is the aim of this paper. I will try to formulate an answer by giving an insight into the evolving musical life in Rajhrad monastery in the first half of the 18th century and within this I accentuate local and distant individualities (e.g Günther Jacob) connecting with musical culture in Rajhrad, changes in repertoire and places where music was performed.

Keywords

• Moravian baroque church music
• music in the Rajhrad monastery
• Günther Jacob
• Moravian music inventories
• baroque music in Moravi
• music in the Benedictine monasteries