Based on primary sources, many of which have never been published or examined in detail, this book examines the music of the late seventeenth-century composers, Biber, Schmeltzer and Muffat, and the compositions preserved in the extensive Moravian archives in Kromeriz. These works have never before been fully examined in the cultural and conceptual contexts of their time. Charles E. Brewer sets these composers and their music within a framework that first examines the basic Baroque concepts of instrumental style, and then provides a context for the specific works. The dances of Schmeltzer, for example, functioned both as incidental music in Viennese operas and as music for elaborate court pantomimes and balls. These same cultural practices also account for some of Biber's most programmatic music, which accompanied similar entertainments in Kromeriz and Salzburg. The many sonatas by these composers have also been misunderstood by not being placed in a context where it was normal to be entertained in church and edified in court. Many of the works discussed here remain unpublished but have, in recent years, been recorded. This book enhances our understanding and appreciation of these recordings by providing an analysis of the context in which the works were first performed.

Based on primary sources, many of which have never been published or examined in detail, this book examines the music of the late seventeenth-century composers, Biber, Schmeltzer and Muffat, and the compositions preserved in the extensive Moravian archives in Kromeriz. These works have never before been fully examined in the cultural and conceptual contexts of their time. Charles E. Brewer sets these composers and their music within a framework that first examines the basic Baroque concepts of instrumental style, and then provides a context for the specific works. The dances of Schmeltzer, for example, functioned both as incidental music in Viennese operas and as music for elaborate court pantomimes and balls. These same cultural practices also account for some of Biber's most programmatic music, which accompanied similar entertainments in Kromeriz and Salzburg. The many sonatas by these composers have also been misunderstood by not being placed in a context where it was normal to be entertained in church and edified in court. Many of the works discussed here remain unpublished but have, in recent years, been recorded. This book enhances our understanding and appreciation of these recordings by providing an analysis of the context in which the works were first performed.

Music, Piety, and Political Power in 17th-Century Salzburg traces the role of sacred music in the service of politics at the archbishopric of Salzburg, one of many jurisdictions that made up the Holy Roman Empire in the second half of the 17th century. The author reveals that the use of music to present political, cultural, and religious meanings was not limited to cross-confessional communities, the Imperial capital of Vienna, or other early modern metropolitan centers such as Munich and Paris. Presenting music as a powerful cultural artifact that informs our understanding of the religious and political relationships shaping the history of central Europe, this study expands our understanding of the history of music, absolutism, and Catholicism in the 17th century and will be of interest to scholars working in those areas.

Companion to Music in the baroque.

Available for the first time in English, this book has been considered the best single encyclopedia of the violin for 20 years. All aspects of the violin are covered: construction, history, and literature; violin playing and teaching; and violin virtuosos through the ages.

A Companion to Music at the Habsburgs Courts in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, edited by Andrew H. Weaver, is the first in-depth survey of the Habsburg family’s musical patronage over a broad span of time.