The author discusses various forms of musical activity of nuns in the 17th and 18th century: plainsong, polyphony, vocal-instrumental, chamber, and keyboard music. To consider the role of music in liturgy, monastic events, and everyday life, she describes the recruitment of musically gifted candidates and the scriptorial activity of nuns.
The study is the first monograph devoted to the musical culture of a female order in Poland. It is a result of in-depth research into musical, narrative, economic, and prosopographic sources surviving in libraries and archives. Focused on the musical practice of nuns, the book also points to the context of spirituality, morality, and culture of the post-Trident era. The author indicates the transformation of the musical activity of the nuns during the 17th and 18th century and discusses its various kinds: plainsong, Latin and Polish polyphonic song, polichoral, keyboard, vocal-instrumental and chamber music. She reflects on the role of music in liturgy and monastic events and in everyday life of cloistered women, describes the recruitment of musically gifted candidates, and the scriptorial activity of nuns.
Female monasticism - Nun's musical culture - Female Benedictine cloisters in Poland - Cloister ceremonies - Cloister liturgy - 17th-century music - 18th-century music - Nuns-musicians - Musical sources - Musical manuscripts - Polychoral music - Cantionals - Organ music books - Vocal-instrumental music - Keyboard music
Magdalena Walter-Mazur is Professor at the Institute of Musicology of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. Her current interests include the musical culture of female convents in the 17th and 18th century. She combines her interest in the relations between music, spirituality, and social life with archival study.
