The Social and Historical Status of Music and Musicians in Croatia in the Early Baroque Period

• Published in: International review of the aesthetics and sociology of music 1987-06, Vol.18 (1), p.3-17
• Main Authors: Stipčević, Ennio, Stipcevic, Ennio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Baroque music; Hymnals; Music; Music composition; Musical aesthetics; Musical consonance; Musicians; Opera; Original Scientific Papers / Izvorni Znanstveni Članci; Renaissance music; Seventeenth Century; Slavic culture; Social History; Society of Jesus; Yugoslavia
• ISSN: 0351-5796; 1848-6924
• DOI: 10.2307/836903

Croatian music assimilated early Baroque innovations in music very quickly. Not all the models offered were equally incorporated into the Croatian musical tradition, but they were often adapted to the needs of Croatian patrons and audience and to the modest musical talent of the performers available. Due to the difficult political circumstances in the first half of the 17th century, the weakened aristocracy could not continually support music. As a result, musicians often had to work in churches. Concern with the preservation of spiritual continuity was also reflected in the field of music. Some innovations were accepted in a reduced form (e.g. opera), and within the small corpus of printed secular and spiritual works, several are notable for their artistic value. In the process of interaction between the artistic and vernacular, there are some remarkable indigenous features. This interaction provides the basis for some future developments in Croatia.