An unknown collection of music manuscripts from Otyń (Wartenberg)
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Date
2012
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Katedra Muzykologii, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PTPN, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM
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Abstract
The Museum of Musical Instruments in Poznan (a branch of the National Museum) is in
possession of a very important collection of music manuscripts from the former Jesuit monastery in
Otyń (Ger. Wartenberg), which was dissolved in 1776. The activities of this centre were associated primarily
with the fi gure of Karol Reinach, the monastery’s last superior (from 1753). Reinach maintained
friendly relations with Frederick II the Great, who was an ardent fl autist, as we know, and visited Otyń
from time to time. The Otyń manuscripts were bequeathed to the museum in 1947, along with three
preserved instruments: a pair of kettledrums and a bass viola da gamba. At present, the collection of
manuscripts from the Jesuit ensemble of Otyń contains fi fty-six compositions, written between 1753 and
1768. Thirty-one pieces have fully certifi ed provenance, refl ected on the title pages of the manuscripts
in the form of inscriptions, such as ‘pro Choro Residentiae Wartenbergensis’, and in the names of the
Otyń transcribers. Twenty-two compositions were classifi ed as belonging to the Jesuit collection on the
basis of its inventory number, placed in the top right corner. Seventeen of the preserved manuscripts
were provided with exact dates of origin (ten compositions were dated to the day, the other seven to
a particular year). In these manuscripts, one can fi nd compositions of the following types: offertoria,
antiphons, Marian hymns (mostly arias), litanies, carols, a cantata, a dialogue and a sequence. All of
them are vocal-instrumental. The lyrics were written in Latin and German, and their subject matter is
mostly connected with the Marian cult (the antiphons Ave Regina Caelorum, Alma Redemptoris Mater
and Regina Coeli Laetare; the hymn Ave Maris Stella), Jesuit themes (a litany of St John Nepomucen,
a prayer of St Francis Xavier, O Deus Amo ego te) and Christmas (carols). The well-known composers
include František Xaver Brixi (1732–1771), Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739–1799), Carl Heinrich
Graun (1704–1759), Johann Adolph Hasse (1699–1783) and Karel Loos (1724–1772), and there are
also the less well-known or nearly unknown, such as Carolus Gaebel [Gébel], F. Passelt [?], Joseph
Rhödigez, Antonio Josepho Ronge (or Runge [?]), Francisco Rudolph and Wollmann.
The continued examination of the collection will certainly reveal more details that are unknown or as
yet barely identifi ed. The research is due to be capped with the publication of a thematic catalogue of
Otyń’s music manuscripts and their registration in the RISM database.
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Keywords
Otyń, Wartenberg, musical culture, Jesuit music, musical manuscript, Karol Reinach
Citation
Interdisciplinary Studies in Musicology 11, 2012, pp. 67-80.