Music in Fifteenth-Century Bohemia - by Hana Vlhová-Wörner & Jan Ciglbauer (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This volume seeks to liberate the musical culture of 15th-century Bohemia from the 19th- and 20th-century nationalist agenda and reassess its position in European music history. What was the musical culture like in a country in Central Europe that in the fifteenth century tried to restore the values of the early church, but earned the label 'heretical' and found itself isolated, needing to defend its identity politically, militarily, and intellectually? Bohemian theologians tried to return to the "roots" by promoting communion under both species and encouraging lay participation in worship by using vernacular language. The musical sources seem to go against the European trend of transmitting early-modern polyphony. In Bohemia late medieval chant and sacred songs were promoted, but contemporary polyphonic music was reflected as well. The phenomena occurring in fifteenth-century Bohemia were fully developed during the European Reformation. This book contains chapters on liturgy and song in fifteenth-century Bohemia, and the influence of the Hussite movement, with one chapter demonstrating how a fifteenth-century song was involved in the revival of Czech culture in the nineteenth century. The chapters concentrate on hitherto neglected topics as well as topics that were used to highlight the distinctiveness and long continuity of Czech culture in the modern historiography, freeing it from nationalistically tinged narratives and the marginalization caused by their apparent distance from the contemporary Western music, illustrating how fifteenth-century Czech culture dealt with the dichotomy of reform and identity. Edited by Hana Vlhova-Worner and Jan Ciglbauer. Contributors: Eliska Batova, Jan Ciglbauer, Rhianydd Hallas, Lenka Hlavkova, Viktor Velek, and Hana Vlhova-Worner"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

A long-needed reassessment of the musical culture of fifteenth-century Bohemia, liberating it from nineteenth- and twentieth-century nationalist agendas and reassessing its position in European music history.

What was musical culture like in a country in fifteenth-century Central Europe where theologians tried to restore the values of the early church--including through musical practices--only to be branded "heretical"?

Bohemian theologians tried to return to Christianity's "roots" by promoting frequent bread-and-wine communion for all (including children) and by encouraging lay participation in worship through translations into the vernacular. Unlike in many other European lands, monophonic chant and sacred songs were primarily used (though some advanced contemporary polyphonic settings circulated as well). These religious and musical developments formed part of the seedbed that would develop more fully during the European Reformation through the work of Martin Luther and others.

Music in Fifteenth-Century Bohemia: Between Reform and Identity Building contains essays on liturgy, song, and the influence of the Hussite movement. The book resists both nationalistically tinged narratives and the marginalization that has long resulted from an emphasis on the disparities between Czech and Western European musical traditions. One chapter demonstrates how a fifteenth-century song was employed in the revival of Czech culture in the nineteenth century.

Taken as a whole, the essays in this important collection illustrate the distinctive and often effective ways in which fifteenth-century Czech culture dealt with the dichotomy between religious reform and cultural identity.