The Phenomenon of Baroque Music in Slovenia

Abstract

Celebrations marking the 300th anniversary of Tartini's birth, held in his birthplace, Piran/Pirano, have given rise to an examination of the musical background of his work in present-day Slovenia. That was the time of the baroque, which was followed by a gradual disintegration of baroque thinking in the second half of the 18th century and by a long overdue classicism in Slovene music. The paper is based on the present (general) approach to the baroque and is concerned with the awakening of all forms of musical works in Slovene provinces of that time which was due to a renewal of the strength of the Catholic Church. From 1630 on there was an increasing genuine musical awareness among the Slovene speaking population, which managed to overcome ideological barriers in favour of creating its own culture and art. A survey of the repertoire with which baroque music established itself in three developmental phases is presented. The Jesuits introduced systematic musical education. The first opera performance, documented in the music-catalogue of the Ljubljana Cathedral before 1620 (G. Caccini and Euridice), was followed by several opera performances for an aristocratic audience (in 1660 also "comedia in musica"). The Academia philharmonicorum labacensis (founded in 1701) gave with its reproduction and production (especially of oratorios) the ultimate character to the period. Unfortunately creative diversity was not fostered in the second half of the 18th century. The enlightened absolutism of the Habsburg monarchy denied any cultural artistic independence to its provinces, which severely interfered with the further development of Slovene music.