The Charter of the Kwidzyn (Marienwerder) Convivium Musicum of 1587 as a source for the history of musical culture in Prussian towns
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Date
2012
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Katedra Muzykologii, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PTPN, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM
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Abstract
Music societies, referred to in German documents as ‘Kantoreigesellschaften’, ‘Musikgesellschaften’
or ‘Musikkränzlein’, and in Latin records as ‘collegia musica’ or ‘convivia musica’, were
founded in numerous towns in German-speaking territories during the very fi rst years after the Reformation.
They were of an elite character, comprising the most prominent burghers, including the mayor,
aldermen, councillors, church offi cials (pastor, deacon, cantor, organist) and local schoolteachers. Pupils
and students attending Protestant schools and universities in German-speaking regions also actively
participated in musical performances given by the societies. Their members provided a polyphonic
setting for the Mass and other services, as the convivia had the noble mission of singing to the glory
of God and educating young people. There are few extant charters of sixteenth-century societies of
this type. The present article provides a detailed description of the charter of the Convivium Musicum
in Kwidzyn, a town located during the sixteenth century and the fi rst half of the seventeenth century
within the borders of Ducal Prussia. This society, founded on 18 February 1587, followed an early modern
trend for creating music societies under the patronage of municipal councils and the Church. Its
initiator was a local Protestant superintendent (‘Erzpriester’) and pastor, Salomon Klein, supported by
deacons, a local teacher, an organist, mayors, aldermen, a notary, a municipal judge, town councillors
and others. The article carefully examines each chapter of the charter, providing information on the
Convivium’s structure, organisation and activities and the duties of its members.
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music society, ‘convivium musicum’, ‘collegium musicum’, ‘Kantoreigesellschaft’, Kwidzyn, Marienwerder, Ducal Prussia, sixteenth-century Protestant music, Reformation, Salomon Klein
Citation
Interdisciplinary Studies in Musicology 11, 2012, pp. 213-233