Maximilian’s “foundation” of a “chapel” in Vienna
In 1498, Maximilian famously sent a group of singers, including Isaac and Rener, to Vienna to establish a “chapel”.[11] This document has long been interpreted – or rather, misinterpreted – as the “birth certificate” of the Viennese musical chapel, and ultimately of the Vienna Boys’ Choir. However, as Othmar Wesseley showed, this is a misconception: Maximilian’s chapel was dissolved at his death, and there were only a few continuities of personnel between the chapels of Maximilian and Ferdinand I.[12] Rather, as I have argued elsewhere, Maximilian’s purpose in 1498 was not to start something new, but to ensure that the pre-existent choral foundations in the castle chapel in Vienna could be serviced with due liturgical and musical propriety according to the wishes of their founders, after the disruption of Matthias Corvinus’ occupation of Vienna (1485–1490).[13] Maximilian specified that the boys sent to Vienna were to be trained in “singing descant in the Brabant style”. This mysterious phrase might refer to a particular style of improvised polyphonic singing, a particular manner of vocal production, or simply a general musical orientation towards the style of masters such as Obrecht, Josquin and of course Isaac himself. Whatever this phrase might mean, it is case clear that Maximilian wished to transplant to his Austrian dominions the kinds of cultural practices, styles and artistic levels which he had come to appreciate in the Burgundian Low Countries.
[11] Vienna, Finanz- und Hofkammerarchiv (FHKA), AHK SB Gedenkbuch [GB] 17, fol. 349r (377r).
[12] Wessely 1956, 121.
[13] McDonald 2019, 21–22.
[2] See Fiala 2002.
[3] On Lignoquercu’s career at Milan, see Merkley/Merkley 1999, 7, 101–102, 125, 141, 152, 177, 179–180, 242, 251, 285, 288, 290, 293, 296, 371, 373, 376, 391 (here called Ruglerius Lignoquerens).
[4] Wien, HHStA, RK Maximiliana 1 (alt 1a), Konv. 6, 1r–v. Further, see Kooiman/Carr/Palmer 1988. The importance of interpersonal relationships at court has been highlighted in recent historical work; notably, see Hirschbiegel 2015.
[5] Innsbruck, TLA (A-Ila), oö Kammerraitbuch 32 (1492), 30r. Further on court music at Innsbruck in these years, see » I. Music and ceremony in Maximilian’s Innsbruck.
[6] Innsbruck, TLA, Urkunde I 5147/2. Further, see Schwindt/Zanovello 2019.
[7] » A-Wn Mus. Hs. 18810, Tenor, 37r–38v; further, see Gasch 2010.
[9] Alberto Pio da Carpi to Maximilian, 25 June 1513, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Library (US-PHu), Special Collections Ms. Coll. 637, folder 2, 6r–v. Further, see Jacoby 2011. Pietschmann 2019 argues that this motet was written rather for Matthaeus Lang’s entry to Rome in 1514, though this hypothesis seems less likely in the light of the report from Carpi.
[10] See Schlagel 2002, 574–577.
[11] Vienna, Finanz- und Hofkammerarchiv (FHKA), AHK SB Gedenkbuch [GB] 17, fol. 349r (377r).
[12] Wessely 1956, 121.
[13] McDonald 2019, 21–22.
[14] McDonald 2019, 11.
[15] Wien, HHStA (A-Whh), Reichsregistraturbuch PP 17v–18r; transcr. in Staehelin 1977, vol. 2, 69–70.
[16] Täschinger’s first mass is mentioned in Wien, HHStA (A-Whh), Reichsregistraturbuch AA, 66v–67r; he describes his personal history in a letter addressed apparently to the government of Ferdinand I, now Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Mus.ep. Arigoni, F. Varia 1 (20).
[17] Wien, FHKA AHK GB 4, 111r (135r); Gasch 2015, 368–369.
[18] Innsbruck, TLA (A-Ila), Hs.113, 94r (Nota wen man Speisn sol): “Zwen knaben bej Maister Paulsen.”
[19] Weimar, Thüringisches Landesarchiv, EGA, Reg. Rr. S. 1–316, nº 737, 1a r–v; EGA, Reg. Aa 2991–2993, 10r–11v; further, see Aber 1921, 75.
[21] See Koczirz 1930/31. For online images, see https://www.archivinformationssystem.at/bild.aspx?VEID=4016010&DEID=10&SQNZNR=11; https://www.archivinformationssystem.at/bild.aspx?VEID=4016010&DEID=10&SQNZNR=12
[22] » K. A-Wn Cod. 5094: Souvenirs. On alternatim uses of the organ in the liturgy, see Rabe 2019.
[23] See » D. Kap. Zur musikalischen Quellenlage der Hofkapelle Maximilians; » D. Hofmusik Innsbruck. In the sources discussed there, repertory from Flemish composers is well present. See also » F. Musiker aus anderen Ländern.
Empfohlene Zitierweise:
Grantley McDonald : “The court chapel of Maximilian I”, in: Musikleben des Spätmittelalters in der Region Österreich <https://musical-life.net/essays/court-chapel-maximilian-i> (2019).