Instrumental Music at the Court of Maximilian I
While the personnel of Maximilian’s instrumental music can be relatively easily identified through archival records and documents, it is much more challenging to identify or even grasp the music played by these musicians. This is primarily because instrumental music at that time was rarely recorded and was essentially a non-written practice. In this sense, the musicians did not “improvise,” but rather they played “by heart,” so to speak, either based on oral tradition or as ad hoc creations.[32] Written records were mainly typical for vocal music – accordingly, in the Triumphzug, only the carriage of the “Musica Canterey” shows a music stand, while all other musicians perform without musical notation. Specific writings for instrumental music, known as tablatures, existed at the beginning of the sixteenth century for keyboard instruments and lutes. Indeed, music by Maximilian’s musicians is preserved in both notations: by Paul Hofhaimer and Adolf Blindhamer (see the chapter “Lute Intabulations by Adolf Blindhamer”). Further sources of instrumental music can be identified from the title page of a songbook printed in four partbooks (Seventy-Five Beautiful Songs, Cologne: Arnt von Aich, 1514-1515): “In this book one finds seventy-five beautiful songs with Discant, Altus, Bass and Tenor, pleasant to sing. Also some to play on flutes, shawms, and other musical instruments.”[33] Accordingly, the songs, for which the lyrics are found separately in the tenor partbook, can also be performed instrumentally. Interestingly, the print is most likely a reprint of a collection that first appeared in Augsburg but is now lost, containing repertoire from Maximilian’s circle.[34] Therefore, the two Augsburg song prints “Of special artistic kind” (» 1512) and “[68 Songs]” (» 1513), published by Erhart Oeglin, can also be claimed for Maximilian’s instrumental music, although it must be noted that this is clearly vocal music that could also be performed instrumentally.
This looks somewhat different in the case of a manuscript source for which a loose connection to the repertoire of Maximilian’s musicians is also suspected: the “Augsburger Liederbuch” (» D-As Cod. 2o142a), a music manuscript created between 1505 and 1515, containing a mixed content of songs, chansons, and motets (including works by Josquin Desprez, Jacob Obrecht, Heinrich Isaac, Alexander Agricola, and Ludwig Senfl (» G. Kap. Senfls musikgeschichtliche Bedeutung) as well as some dance pieces.[35] These mostly untitled pieces can be identified as Italian dances, as brought back by musicians like Schubinger from their service in Italy. However, the written-down music only provides a rough idea of its captivating performance practice, as seen in a letter from Maximilian in 1479 from the Netherlands, stating that his pipers “almost played him to death three or four times.”[36]
[32] See Welker 1992, 189–194.
[33] Aich 1515, title page of the tenor partbook; for dating, see Schwindt 2008, 117 ff.
[34] See Bernoulli/Moser 1930, v–vii; McDonald/Raninen 2018.
[35] See Brinzing 1998, 137–154; Filocamo 2009.
[1] Zum Triumphzug, seinen unterschiedlichen Versionen und der komplexen Entstehungsgeschichte informiert Appuhn 1979 und Michel/Sternath 2012; zur Bedeutung für Maximilian Müller 1982; zum Verhältnis zwischen Abbildung und Realität Polk 1992; das Zitat stammt aus der frühesten erhaltenen Formulierung des ikonographischen Programms des Triumphzugs 1512 in » A-Wn Cod. 2835, fol. 3v.
[2] Koczirz 1930/31, 531 f.
[4] Nedden 1932/33, 27 (Zitat aus den Augsburger Baumeisterbüchern von 1491, den Kassenbüchern des Rats über Ein- und Ausgaben).
[5] Vgl. Simonsfeld 1895, 267 f.
[6] Vgl. Strohm 2009, 98.
[7] Zitiert nach Waldner 1897/98, 2.
[8] Treitzsaurwein 1775, 78.
[9] Vgl. Schwindt 2012.
[10] Sie erhält im Juni 1520 bei der Auflösung der Hofkapelle nach dem Tode von Maximilian die hohe Summe von 50 Gulden „zu Irer vnderhaltung vnd Zerung“; Koczirz 1930/31, 535.
[11] Wie beispielsweise „Hannsen pfeiffer vnnd matheusen Trumelschlacher“, die 1491 ausdrücklich für ihre Dienste „bei Tanz“ an der Fasnacht bezahlt werden; Waldner, 1897/98, 52.
[12] Appuhn 1979, 172 f.
[13] Für eine Zusammenstellung der musikrelevanten Abbildungen siehe Henning 1987, 69–94
[15] Vgl. Gombosi 1932/33; Heinzer 1999, 92 ff.
[17] Vgl. Kirnbauer 2005.
[18] Vgl. Kirnbauer 2003, 243–248 (dort auch zum Folgenden).
[20] Laut Zahlungen in den Augsburger (D-As) Baumeisterbüchern Nr. 103 (1509), fol. 24v, und Nr. 104 (1510), fol. 28; freundliche Mitteilung von Keith Polk.
[21] Vgl. Jahn 1925, 10 ff., und Kirnbauer 2000, 25 ff.
[22] Kirnbauer 1992, 131.
[23] Nedden 1932/33, 31.
[24] Vgl. Polk 1989a; Polk 1989b.
[25] Hintermaier 1993, 38.
[26] Vgl. Brief von Paul Hofhaimer an Joachim Vadian am 14. Mai 1524; Moser 1966, 56.
[29] Nowak 1932, 84.
[30] Praetorius 1619, 148.
[31] So der Wortlaut in der Formulierung des ikonographischen Programms in » A-Wn Ms. 2835, fol. 8v.
[32] Vgl. Welker 1992, 189–194.
[33] Aich 1515, Titelblatt des Tenor-Stimmbuchs; zur Datierung siehe Schwindt 2008, 117 ff.
[34] Vgl. Bernoulli/Moser 1930, v–vii; McDonald/Raninen 2018.
[35] Vgl. Brinzing 1998, 137–154; Filocamo 2009.
[37] » A-Wn, Mus. Hs. 41950; Faksimile und Beschreibung in Kirnbauer 2003. Lautentabulaturen der nächsten Generation aus dem süddeutschen Sprachraum beschreibt » H. Lautenisten und Lautenspiel (Kateryna Schöning).
[38] Gerle 1533, fol. IIv.
[39] Vgl. Moser 1966, 26 und 182, Fußnote 35.
[40] Vgl. Moser 1966, 137–140; Radulescu 1978, 66 f.; siehe auch » C. Orgeln und Orgelmusik.
Empfohlene Zitierweise:
Martin Kirnbauer: “Instrumentalkünstler am Hof Maximilians I.”, in: Musikleben des Spätmittelalters in der Region Österreich <https://musical-life.net/essays/instrumentalkunstler-am-hof-maximilians-i> (2016).