Choirboys under Maximilian
We know little about the recruitment of choirboys for Maximilian’s chapel. A few were the sons of adult singers in the chapel. For example, the choirboy Georg Täschinger, listed as a member of Maximilian’s chapel at his death, was the son of the chaplain and tenorist Michael Täschinger, ordained to the priesthood after the death of his wife; but such cases were rare.[16] Other choirboys were the sons of members of the court. It has been suggested that the poor Swiss boy presented at court in 1498 because of his skill as a singer was probably Ludwig Senfl.[17] The choirboys evidently learned the musical skills necessary for performing chant and polyphony in the divine service. Besides training in composition, some also learned to play the organ from Maximilian’s famous court organist Paul Hofhaimer. As early as 1488, when Hofhaimer was still in the service of Sigmund of the Tyrol, it seems that two organ students lived with him.[18] This was certainly the case when Hofhaimer spent periods at the Saxon court at Torgau in 1516 and 1518.[19] While the court was in residence at Innsbruck, the boys attended the school attached to St James’s parish church, which served as the court church.[20] While the court was on progress, the boys’ lessons were probably taken over by another member of the chapel. Choirboys also learned court etiquette and made contacts with other members of the ruling élite, which could prove invaluable if the boys returned to imperial service as adults.
After their voices broke, the choirboys customarily received a scholarship to the University of Vienna, generally for three years, though this could be extended if a boy showed particular aptitude for learning and wished to study in one of the higher faculties after taking his basic degree in the Arts Faculty. Some boys subsequently returned to imperial service, a few as singers, most as toll-collectors, accountants or secretaries in the chancery.
[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.
[20] See Strohm 1993, 519; » I. Music and Ceremony in Maximilian’s Innsbruck.
[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).