'Regens chori figuralis' Caspar Raff (1683–1738) and vocal-instrumental music at the Cistercian monastery in Lubiąż during the early eighteenth century

Ewa Hauptman-Fischer

Abstract

One of the consequences of introducing polyphony, vocal-instrumental music and instrumental music into monastic liturgy was the establishment of a new office. In Cistercian monasteries in Silesia, a regens chori figuralis was appointed from the second half of the seventeenth century onwards. In the archives bequeathed by Silesian Cistercians to posterity, there is not a single description of this office, so we do not know what duties it involved. It is clear, however, that the regens supplied the repertoire to the ensemble (by purchasing or copying scores, or having them copied), taught the ensemble new compositions, led rehearsals to polish the performance of new music and conducted performances during liturgy and on other occasions (including large-scale works, such as oratorios and dramatic music). Traces of his day-to-day work have survived in music manuscripts. A distinguished name in the necrology of the Lubiąż monastery is that of a long-standing regens of the choir, friar Caspar Raff (1683–1738), an excellent musician and a monk of exceptional taste. He supplied the ensemble with many beautiful and rare compositions. He also composed liturgical works, as is confirmed by two recently identified sources. The twenty-two newly identified music manuscripts written completely or partially by Caspar Raff are the oldest known vocal-instrumental compositions in Lubiąż. This repertoire was copied during the period from around 1714 until 1738 and used in the monastery until its dissolution. The music preserved in the manuscripts was written by Raff’s contemporaries, such as Gunther Jacob (1685–1734), Francesco Mancini (1672–1737), Domenico Natale Sarri (1679–1744), Francesco Feo (1691–1761), Nicola Fago (1677–1745), Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741) and Pietro Paolo Bencini (1670–1755), while several compositions are anonymous. One particularly interesting source is a contrafactum of the aria ‘Benché nasconda la serpe in seno’ by Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741) from the opera Orlando furioso. Previously, the provenance and date of this manuscript were unknown.

            The presence of a repertoire so interesting and of such high artistic merit prompts questions about its provenance. The music performed in the Cistercian monastery in Lubiąż did not diverge from the mainstream repertoire used in major centres of musical life, where the 1720s were a period of growing interest in the music of Italian composers. The transmission of this repertoire was undoubtedly facilitated by political change and the fact that in the years from 1714 to 1735 Naples found itself under Habsburg influence. Also crucial were journeys undertaken by Italian musicians to other parts of the monarchy, including Prague and Wrocław, to find employment; examples of their activity include the operatic theatres established in those two cities. On the other hand, Italy remained a destination for diplomats and collectors, such as Balthasar Knapp and Jan Rudolf von Sporck. The popularity of Italian sacred music throughout the Habsburg monarchy preceded the expansion of Italian opera by a decade or so. Monasteries and larger ecclesiastical centres made a vast and sometimes underestimated contribution to the transmission of Italian music. For example, works by Italian composers are listed in a 1723 inventory from the Cistercian monastery in Osek, which was one of the greatest recipients of Italian music in Central Europe. The monastery had an excellent music ensemble. The manuscripts discussed in this article reveal that in Lubiąż Caspar Raff had at his disposal an ensemble with a comparable set of instruments and that in order to satisfy its needs he would quickly import to Lubiąż newly composed, outstanding works by Italian masters of sacred music.