The Provincial Trumpeters in Carniola

Abstract

Despite previous opinion it is now clear that provincial trumpeters, as well as town musicians, were both active in Ljubljana, as was the case in other towns. As professional musicians who were able to play not only their official instrument but also others they had been contributing to the growth of the musical culture of the town for a long period of more than two hundred years. They took part in various public and private celebrations, religious and secular performances, as is substantially confirmed by surviving material. The first trumpeter is mentioned in the sources in 1530 and then their number gradually increases until, it reaches ten or even more in 1697. On the basis of the surviving archive material an extensive survey of the names of the trumpeters and kettle-drum m ers active in Ljubljana is presented. They were of local and foreign origin. The administrative reforms of Maria Theresa from the middle of the 18th century onwards were gradually retarding the work of their institution so that at the beginning of the next century their activity came to an end.