Personnel requirements for church music
In Viennese churches and monasteries,[1] the musical embellishment of sacred services was already popular in the fourteenth century and developed rapidly. Crucial to this were the roles of the cantor, the organist and the schoolmaster. At St Stephen’s, a cantor is mentioned as early as 1267, a century before its elevation to a collegiate church in 1365.[2] The first mention of organ playing on 15 June 1334 (for the Feast of Corpus Christi, based on an endowment by the parish priest Heinrich von Luzern) appears quite late compared to what was probably the first use of the organ:[3] “cantantibus in organis et famulis folles calcantibus xxxvi denarios” (to the organ players and their assistants who operate the bellows, 36 pfennigs).[4] Between 1370 and about 1391, there was an organist at St Stephen’s by the name of Master Peter.[5]
In the oldest surviving church accounts of the parish church of St Michael from 1433, an organist (not named) is also mentioned. At that time, St Michael’s already had two organs, a large one and a small one, which was accessible from the rood screen.[6] One of the organs was “gebessert” (repaired) in 1437 and received a grille in 1444. In 1450, Master Andre, organ master of Stein, was paid 24 tl. for tuning and a repair of the large organ; the total repair costs that year amounted to over 66 lb (Churchwarden’s Account 1450, p. 19). Further repairs are recorded for 1460, 1472, 1480 and 1498; in 1474, the painter Hans Kaschauer carried out decorative painting on the organ.[7] The role of cantor at St Michael’s in 1433 was still combined with that of the schoolmaster in a single person.[8] Whether the cantor and schoolmaster could be paid at all, or whether these were one or two separate positions, depended in fact on local circumstances. The embellishment of the liturgy with singing – in addition to the chant performed by the priests – was primarily the task of pupils, who sang under the direction of their teacher. If a school was large enough, Latin instruction and singing lessons could be divided between two instructors – possibly with specialised vocal training for particularly gifted pupils.
In the late Middle Ages, Vienna had four Latin schools administered by the city council: at St Stephen’s (the “Bürgerschule”, “civic school”, which was superior to the other three), at the Schottenkloster, at St Michael’s (attested since 1352), and at the Bürgerspital, “civic hospital” (since 1384).[9] That secular pupils (scolares saeculares) were also educated at the Schottenkloster is evident from a reform ordinance of 1431, which forbade them to participate in the choral prayer and ordered their instruction to take place outside the monastery buildings.[10] The opposite must therefore have been the practice previously. Already on 5 February 1310, the participation of monastery pupils in the vigil (Matins) of a memorial foundation was prescribed, and their education had to take this into account. The participation of pupils in the vigil was confirmed in 1330.[11] During the tenure of the last Scottish abbot, Thomas (1403–1418), a “music school with its own choirmaster” is said to have been established; in 1413, a “singing fellow” from Pulkau is mentioned.[12] In 1418, the new abbot, Nicolaus von Respitz, was solemnly installed by the visitors, with the participation of the school rector, the “succentor” or “Junkmaister” (see also » E. Ch. Junkmeister, Astanten), i.e. assistant to the school cantor, who elsewhere was also called subcantor or Junger (cf. Ch. Hermann Edlerawer and the building of the Cantorey), and the pupils.[13] Evidence for the participation of pupils in liturgical services – mostly funded by pious endowments – also exists for the private “Otto and Haimsche” Town Hall Chapel. After it was rebuilt under chaplain Jacob (der) Poll in 1360–1361, endowments from the years 1367–1373 obliged four poor pupils who wished to become priests to sing in the chapel.[14] At the Peterskapelle, there were scholarships in 1412 and 1420 for four poor pupils who were to assist with the singing.[15] The chaplain was to say daily Mass, but also required “vier Schüler […], die zu singen helffen waz zu singen not ist in derselben sand Peters capelln” (four pupils who help with the singing of whatever needs to be sung in the said St Peter’s Chapel).[16] Apparently, no other priests were available to form the choir for these Masses. The pupils also had to read the Psalter during the vigils; each was to receive 1 tl. annually – a considerable income.[17] At the private Philipp and Jakob Chapel in the Kölnerhof (Klosterneuburgerhof), four pupils were also to read the Psalter during Easter Week, according to a 1395 endowment.
The first documented reference to the schoolmaster of the St Stephen’s school dates from 1237, thirty years before the first mention of the cantor, whose position was apparently split away from the schoolmaster’s role.[18] Since the founding of the collegiate chapter at St Stephen’s by Duke Rudolf IV (confirmed in 1365), the cantor of St Stephen’s (the “Sangherr”) was a leading member of the chapter (canonicus). This is to be distinguished from the role of the cantor of the civic school, who was subordinate to the schoolmaster and was paid by the city council and through endowments (cf. Ch. Development of the Cantorey (choir school) of St Stephen’s).[19]
[1] Perger/Brauneis 1977; Schusser 1986, 17–41.
[2] Zschokke 1895, 2.
[3] Mantuani 1907, 209–210. Flotzinger 1995, 89–90. For general information on organs, see » C. Organs and Organ Music.
[4] Mantuani 1907, 209–210, suspects that the term “organist” refers to an organ builder, who was, however, referred to as “organ master” (e.g. “Petrein the organ master 15 tl” in the city accounts of 1380, » A-Wn Cod. 14234, fol. 39r). This designation is to be understood as a Germanisation of the term magister organorum.
[5] Incorrectly assumed for 1334 by Flotzinger 1995, 90. On the school cantor Peter Hofmaister, see Ch. Development of the Choir School of St Stephen’s.
[6] This and the following information on organs at St Michael’s according to Perger 1988, 91, and the churchwarden accounts in the College Archive of St Michael’s.
[7] On Hans Kaschauer and his father Jakob Kaschauer, who painted the large panel of the high altar between 1445 and 1448, see Perger 1988, 84.
[8] Schütz 1980, 14.
[9] Mayer 1880; Schusser 1986, 66, no. 31/1 (Richard Perger). The university confirmed this regulation on 14 April 1411: see Uiblein, Acta Facultatis 1385–1416, 355.
[11] Mantuani 1907, 289, note 1, citing Hauswirth 1879, 15; Czernin 2011, 59.
[12] Mantuani 1907, 289, note 1, citing Hauswirth 1879, 25.
[13] Mantuani 1907, 289, note 1, citing Hauswirth 1879, 29.
[14] See Lind 1860, 11; Mantuani 1907, 289 f., note 1; Perger/Brauneis 1977, 275.
[15] Mantuani 1907, 289, note 1.
[16] Mayer 1895–1937, Part II/Vol. 2, no. 1935.
[17] Vienna City and State Archive, Charter 1935, 21 November 1412; see also Schusser 1986, 139, no. 115.
[18] Boyer 2008, 25.
[19] An attempt to distinguish between chapter cantor (“Sangherr”) and school cantor is made by Mantuani 1907, 287 f.
[1] Perger/Brauneis 1977; Schusser 1986, 17–41.
[2] Zschokke 1895, 2.
[3] Mantuani 1907, 209–210. Flotzinger 1995, 89–90. For general information on organs, see » C. Organs and Organ Music.
[4] Mantuani 1907, 209–210, suspects that the term “organist” refers to an organ builder, who was, however, referred to as “organ master” (e.g. “Petrein the organ master 15 tl” in the city accounts of 1380, » A-Wn Cod. 14234, fol. 39r). This designation is to be understood as a Germanisation of the term magister organorum.
[5] Incorrectly assumed for 1334 by Flotzinger 1995, 90. On the school cantor Peter Hofmaister, see Ch. Development of the Choir School of St Stephen’s.
[6] This and the following information on organs at St Michael’s according to Perger 1988, 91, and the churchwarden accounts in the College Archive of St Michael’s.
[7] On Hans Kaschauer and his father Jakob Kaschauer, who painted the large panel of the high altar between 1445 and 1448, see Perger 1988, 84.
[8] Schütz 1980, 14.
[9] Mayer 1880; Schusser 1986, 66, no. 31/1 (Richard Perger). The university confirmed this regulation on 14 April 1411: see Uiblein, Acta Facultatis 1385–1416, 355.
[11] Mantuani 1907, 289, note 1, citing Hauswirth 1879, 15; Czernin 2011, 59.
[12] Mantuani 1907, 289, note 1, citing Hauswirth 1879, 25.
[13] Mantuani 1907, 289, note 1, citing Hauswirth 1879, 29.
[14] See Lind 1860, 11; Mantuani 1907, 289 f., note 1; Perger/Brauneis 1977, 275.
[15] Mantuani 1907, 289, note 1.
[16] Mayer 1895–1937, Part II/Vol. 2, no. 1935.
[17] Vienna City and State Archive, Charter 1935, 21 November 1412; see also Schusser 1986, 139, no. 115.
[18] Boyer 2008, 25.
[19] An attempt to distinguish between chapter cantor (“Sangherr”) and school cantor is made by Mantuani 1907, 287 f.
[20] Zschokke 1895, 25–48; Flieder 1968.
[21] Grass 1967, especially 464–467.
[22] Flieder 1968, 140–148, especially 148.
[23] Edited by Ogesser 1779, Appendices X and XI, 77–83. See also Flieder 1968, 155, 158–160.
[24] A statute from 1367 stipulated that the roles of “choirmaster” (magister chori) and dean should be united in one person (Göhler 1932/2015, 141 f.), which, however, apparently did not occur (Flieder 1968, 173 f.).
[25] Mantuani’s (Mantuani 1907, 288) mistaken equation of “choirmaster” with “cantor” has often been repeated. The German term for the latter was “Sangherr”. Ulreich senior (1365?) was “magister chori et cantor” (Göhler 1932/2015, 142 and fig. 11), i.e. the two titles were not synonymous. On the correct use of the terms, see Ebenbauer 2005, 14 f. (choirmaster responsible for the parish), although Mantuani is cited there without contradiction.
[26] On the location of altars and chapels, see Perger/Brauneis 1977, 61–63. I am sincerely grateful to Prof. Barbara Schedl for her advice in this regard.
[27] Ogesser 1779, 80–82. See the list of procession participants from a Liber ordinarius of St Stephen’s (» A-Wn Cod. 4712): » E. SL Corpus Christi Procession.
[28] Zschokke 1895, 30–46; Flieder 1968, 254–266.
[29] Zschokke 1895, 33.
[30] In ecclesiastical service regulations, the Latin equivalent “alta voce” was traditionally used.
[31] Zschokke 1895, 37.
[32] Zschokke 1895, 40.
[33] Zschokke 1895, 84–91.
[34] Raimundus Duellius, Miscellanea, Augsburg/Graz 1724, Vol. II, 78 and 82.
[35] “Ne quis eciam nimium voces agitare aut in altum audeat elevare habeatque et cantum Bassum et nimis clamorosum ad medium reducere.” (Zschokke 1985, 89 f.) See also Rumbold/Wright 2009, 44.
[36] Archdiocesan Diocesan Archive Vienna (A-Wda), Acta Capituli 1446–1551, Cod. II, fol. 107r.
[37] Grass 1967, 482–487.
[38] On 12 March 1421, over 200 Viennese Jews were burned in Erdberg by order of Duke Albrecht V, as reported, among others, by theology professor Thomas Ebendorfer (Lhotsky 1967, 370 f.).
[39] Zapke 2015, 87 f.
[40] Gall 1970, 85–86; Flotzinger 2014, 44–47, 54 f.
[41] Gall 1970, 34, 86 f.; Zapke 2015, 88 f.
[42] Pietzsch 1971, 27 f.
[43] Mantuani 1907, 283 and note 1; Enne 2015, 379 f.
[44] See Strohm, Ritual, 2014 on the temporal awareness of ecclesiastical regulations.
[45] “Canons” here refers to the “octonarii”, the priests of the collegiate chapter entrusted with pastoral care.
[46] A-Wda, Charter 13391028; see Currency: 1 pound (tl.) = 8 large (“long”) shillings (s.) = 240 pfennigs (d., denarii).
[47] Camesina 1874, 11, no. 36. The distinction between chapter cantor and school cantor is convincingly demonstrated in Göhler 1932/2015, 228 f.
[48] A-Wda, Charter 14200525; see http://monasterium.net/mom/AT-DAW/Urkunden/14200525/charter [02.06.2016].
[49] Camesina 1874, 21, no. 94.
[50] Camesina 1874, 21–23, no. 96.
[51] Accounts of the churchwarden’s office of St Stephen’s (in the Vienna City and State Archive), see Uhlirz 1902. Extracts from the account books of St Michael’s in Schütz 1980.
[52] Schütz 1980, 124. Schütz 1980, 15, mistakenly equates the schoolmaster with one of the two cantors.
[53] See Uhlirz 1902, 251 and elsewhere. Knapp 2004, 268, interprets this as a Marienklage (Lament of Mary), which is less likely from a liturgical perspective.
[54] Uhlirz 1902, 364, 384. The Easter sepulchre was an artistically crafted sculpture.
[55] On the locations of the organs, see also Ebenbauer 2005, 40 f.
[56] Uhlirz 1902, 337 (1417).
[57] For example, 1415: Uhlirz 1902, 299.
[58] Uhlirz 1902, 267 (1407).
[59] Vienna City and State Archive, 1.1.1. B 1/ Main Treasury Accounts, Series 1 (1424) etc.: hereafter abbreviated as OKAR 1 (1424) etc. (» A-Wsa OKAR 1-55).
[61] For detailed information on » A-Wn Cod. 4712 see Klugseder 2013; see also » E. SL Corpus Christi Procession. The liturgy of the St Stephen’s chapter is represented by the “Turs Missal” (c. 1430, produced under Provost Wilhelm von Turs), which still belongs to the Archiepiscopal Chapter and is of particular interest for art history.
[62] A-Gu Cod. 756, fol. 185r; see » A. Weihnachtsgesänge.
[63] The former is the earliest dated addition, indicating that the codex must have been created before 1404.
[64] However, the Sunday Vocem iucunditatis was dedicated to St Koloman (» A-Wn Cod. 4712, fol. 54r).
[65] For polyphonic conclusions to monophonic plainsongs, as seems intended here, there is evidence from the fourteenth century in France and Italy.
[66] The procession descriptions in the original corpus of » A-Wn Cod. 4712, a Liber ordinarius of the Diocese of Passau, replicate word-for-word the regulations for Passau itself (courtesy of Robert Klugseder), but are also applicable to Vienna due to the similar ecclesiastical topography of both cities. Added marginal notes clarify the route descriptions with direct reference to Vienna: Klugseder 2013 devotes a separate chapter to the Vienna-related marginalia in Cod. 4712. (See also the digital edition of the Passau Liber ordinarius, http://gams.uni-graz.at/o:cantus.passau). The Corpus Christi procession is represented in Cod. 4712 only by a brief marginal note on fol. 67v. However, the list of participants appears in the appendix (fol. 109r), edited in » E. SL Corpus Christi Procession.
[67] Camesina 1874, 24, no. 101.
[68] Camesina 1874, 26, nos. 113 and 114 (12 and 13 December 1404).
[69] Schusser 1986, 75, no. 50 (Lohrmann).
[70] The claim that the Dorothea Altar stood in front of the rood screen (Perger/Brauneis 1977, 61 and note 214) cannot be derived from the records of 1403–1404. The altar’s income belonged “to the school corporation”, which in this context did not refer to a “brotherhood of pupils” (Lohrmann in Schusser 1986, 75, no. 50), but to the school building itself.
[71] Not to be confused with a canon of the same name, Peter of St Margrethen, active in 1399.
[72] Mayer 1895–1937, Part II/Vol. 2, nos. 2159 and 3076. 1449: OKAR 10 (1449), fol. 28v.
[73] Some of the information in Brunner 1948 is outdated.
[74] Göhler 1932/2015, 228, no. 98.
[75] Mayer 1895–1937, Part II/Vol. 2, no. 2978; a mention of “Peter Marold, cantor” in OKAR 18 (1461), fol. 19v, may refer to another cantor of the same name or be retrospective.
[76] All except Neuburg are listed in Czernin 2011, 87 f. This list also includes the chapter cantors Ulreich Musterer (†1426), Wolfgang von Knüttelfeld (†1473), Hanns Huber (1474), Brictius (1470s), and Conrad Lindenfels (1479–1488, previously school cantor 1449–1457); a “Kaspar” (1448) may be identical with choirmaster Kaspar Wildhaber (1423/24). The additional names in Flotzinger 2014, 57, note 49, all refer to “choirmasters”, whom Flotzinger, following Mantuani 1907 and Flieder 1968 mistakenly equates with cantors. See Ch. The institutional foundation of the St Stephen’s chapter.
[77] Melk, Abbey Archive, Charters (1075–1912), no. 1436 I 27, http://monasterium.net/mom/AT-StiAM/archive [02.06.2016].
[78] OKAR 5 (1438), fol. 92r.
[79] OKAR 6 (1440), fol. 98r, and OKAR 7 (1441), fol. 111r.
[80] The latter note is based on kind information from Prof. Barbara Schedl, Vienna.
[81] Mayer 1895–1937, Part II/Vol. 2, no. 2656 (3 July 1438). Other, partly contradictory, details cited in Ebenbauer 2005, 38 f.
[82] A-Wda, Charter 14401105.
[83] See also Flotzinger 2014, 56 f.
[84] Boyer 2008, 36 f.
[85] Mantuani 1907, 289 f., note 1. On Martin von Leibitz and his Caeremoniale (A-Wn Cod. 4970), see Schusser 1986, 82, no. 65, and » A. Melk Reform.
[86] OKAR 6 (1440), fol. 97v. The cantor received 60 d.
[87] For example, OKAR 7 (1441), fol. 112v (five weeks; from November before St Martin’s Day to St Lucy’s Day, 13 December).
[88] For example, OKAR 8 (1444), fol. 139v. In addition, 24 “peace masses” were sung daily until the Friday after Laetare (4th Sunday in Lent), for which “Hermann and the boys were paid 32 d. for each mass sung”.
[89] For example, OKAR 8 (1444), fol. 140r. The cantor received 21 d. for each “votive”. The dean, levites (probably choirboys), sacristan, and organist are also mentioned.
[90] For example, OKAR 9 (1445). The (unnamed) cantor received 3 s. (= 90 d.).
[91] Mayer 1895–1937, Part II/Vol. 3, no. 3848; Camesina 1874, 92–93, no. 437.
[92] OKAR 8 (1444), fol. 37r.
[93] As often stated in older literature, e.g. Strohm 1993, 507. Corrected in Rumbold/Wright 2009, 47.
[94] Camesina 1874, 78–80, no. 364 (1445, undated).
[95] See Weißensteiner 1993.
[96] OKAR 9 (1445), fol. 51r; the city accounts for 1446–1448 are lost. See Rumbold/Wright 2009, 48–50.
[97] OKAR 10 (1449), fol. 32r.
[98] Mayer 1895–1937, Part II/Vol. 2, no. 3333 (for 1449); OKAR 15 (1457), fol. 41r.
[99] Zschokke 1895, 375; Rumbold/Wright 2009, 50–51. Lindenfels quickly became unpopular after his installation in 1479 by claiming, as chapter cantor, the right to choose his canon’s residence ahead of more senior canons (A-Wda, Acta Capituli 1446–1551, Cod. II, fol. 18r).
[100] OKAR 18 (1461), fol. 82v. The total cost for the carpenter and locksmith (for iron bars to secure the choir books) amounted to 160 d.
[101] OKAR 15 (1457), fol. 118v. The total cost for the carpenter and painter amounted to 95 d.
[102] OKAR 16 (1458); OKAR 36 (1474), fol. 22r.
[103] OKAR 42 (1478), fol. 32v.
[104] Text provided, among others, in Mantuani 1907, 285–287; see also Gruber 1995, 199; Flotzinger 2014, 58 f.
[105] See Strohm 2014.
[106] Uhlirz 1902, 477.
[108] A-Wda, Charter 15060119; see http://monasterium.net/mom/AT-DAW/Urkunden/15060119/charter [02.06.2016].
Recommended Citation:
Reinhard Strohm: “Musik im Gottesdienst. Wien ”, in: Musikleben des Spätmittelalters in der Region Österreich <https://musical-life.net/essays/musik-im-gottesdienst-wien-st-stephan> (2016).