Musical Inventories of the St. Peter and Paul (Brno) Church in the 18th and Early 19th Century

The study focuses on the musical inventories of the church between years 1663 and 1816. Inventories important for examination of the musical development have been transcribed and evaluated. Inventory from years 1804/1805 contains a valuable thematic catalogue of music sheets transcribed by regenschori Karl Nanke. This inventory contains also a list of gradualien by Michael Haydn. Most compositions had been identified as well as transcribed and provided with an appropriate signature according to Sherman & Thomas catalogue from 1993.

Musical inventories can be defined as lists of musical collections -such as sheet music and musical instruments -designed to record and track changes in the amount and quality of church's belongings. The creation of a new inventory occurred mostly with an ownership change of any sort or in specific time period of a given church, monastery or a castle. 1 Inventory record has irreplaceable value for a historical research. 2 Summaries of tangible properties of various churches, parishes, brotherhoods, noblemen and ruling courts could -if handled thoughtfully -explain and clarify much about the functioning not only of these societies but also of those belonging to their command and ownership.
These inventory records are valuable not only for the reconstruction of the former conditions of the collections and for creating a list of preferred composers and musical styles but also for evaluating of an intensity and quality of performed art. 3 An uneasy task is to distinguish the essential information from irrelevant and unimportant ones.
In case of inventories from the church of saint Peter and Paul 4 in Brno (then capitol of Moravia, now Czech Republic) from 1663-1816 the chronological ordering is used for easier evaluation of changes over time. 5 Each individual inventory varies not only in its content but also in the quality of orthography and in overall presentation. The inventories made for swift orientation in church's possession tend to be without distinctive decorations and ornaments, while those made for more important and thorough evaluation are crafted more carefully and with proper and more elegant handwriting. 6 Most of the inventories come with a date. One of them has a pencil written note 1750-1756 on the first page. In case of two inventories was the approximate creation date estimated by the numbers of sheet music and instruments in it. From the row of inventories one in particular stands out -a catalogue of symphonies and masses written by Karl Nanke 7 as well as a list of gradualien by Michael Haydn. 8 In case of catalogue one 1 ŠTĚDROŇ, Bohumír. Inventáře hudební. In Československý hudební slovník osob a institucí., sv. 1., A-L. Gracian Černušák -Bohumír Štědroň -Zdenko Nováček. Praha: Státní hudební vydavatelství, 1963, s. 550-551. 2 Methodological foundations of such research are to be found in an article by Jan Racek published in Časopis Moravského musea -Vědy společenské: RACEK, Jan. Hudební inventáře a jejich význam pro hudebněhistorické bádání. Časopis Moravského musea -Vědy společenské, 1962, roč. 47, s. 135-162. The importance of such research is also highlighted by musicologist Jiří Fukač in the dictionary Slovník české hudební kultury under the dictionary entry Katalog. Fukač also divides inventories into several categories according to the purpose of the documents. FUKAČ, Jiří. Katalog. In Slovník české hudební kultury. Jiří Fukač -Jiří Vysloužil -Petr Macek (eds.). Praha 1997, s. 428-432. 3 ŠTĚDROŇ, Bohumír. Inventáře hudební. In Československý hudební slovník osob a institucí., sv. 1., A-L. Gracian Černušák -Bohumír Štědroň -Zdenko Nováček. Praha: Státní hudební vydavatelství, 1963, s. 550-551. production of its time. This hypothesis is backed up by a single precisely named composition Duodena selectarum sonatarum 16 by Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, printed in 1659 in Nuremberg that is four years before the inventory was made. It is possible the Schmeltzer's composition was listed for its fame with a full composer's name. The inventory lists another two sonatas; it is Sonata Sancti Thomae and Sanctae Annae. Why are these two sonatas written with a name and the rest of them are known only as Item is unknown.

Inventory from 1725
A list of musical instruments made by cantor Jan Jiří Linhart 17 on the 8th January 1725 presents a rather modest set of instruments. Linhart unfortunately does not evaluate the state of the instruments. The only exception being the note: "Ein alte zerbrochene Tenor Posaunn" which figures also in the upcoming inventories. After comparing this inventory with the one from 1663, it is evident that the greatest incensement represents four trumpets, two violas and tympani. Instead of five violins the inventory lists only four and out of two trombones remained only one in a bad condition. The note about cornett present in the previous inventory disappeared in the inventory from 1725.
The list of music represents only Psalterium Romanum, Graduale Romanum, Manuale Chorale and two old antiphonaries, one from the choir loft, the other one from the sacristy. In 1663-1725 held the position of regenschori Gregorius Scharetka, relatively unknown Prünner, Jiří Ignác Graff, Václav Stix, Mathias Franz Altmann and Jan Jiří Linhart. Linhart made a list of compositions after ten years since former regenschori Mathias Franz Altmann left the church. 18 Altmann owned a significant amount of compositions among which were as well unperformed compositions by famous and significant authors of the time. 19

Inventory from 1750
A large and detailed inventory is dating back to 1750 and provides information on the church's overall property. The great amount of inventory is dedicated to clothing and to objects of daily use. The inventory consists of two separated parts, one being the list of the belongings of the church itself and the other one being the list of property of filial 16 More detailed information are to be found on the RISM database under the number: 00000990058098.
17 Linhart served as a regenschori from 1720 until his death in 1729.
18 STRAKOVÁ, Theodora. Hudba na Petrově v 17. až 18. století. Časopis Moravského muzea v Brně -Vědy společenské. Brno, 1984, s. 101-116. church of Saint Barbara. 20 Both parts divide the clothing in to segments according to the colour, lists of compositions and musical instruments. 21 The document is significantly harder to read due to a poor handwriting and orthography.
The instruments feature two oboes, a bassoon, two horns, two trumpets, a trombone, tympani, positive, two violins, a viola, and a violoncello. The inventories of musical instruments and sheet music become much more detailed. Among other things, there are two pairs of drumsticks, bags for musical instruments, pegs for string instruments or mouthpieces. The increase such as this occurs never again in the researched inventories.

Inventory from 1750-1756
A detailed inventory of musical instruments, but especially of compositions, can be found in an undated inventory with an added pencil note setting this inventory to years 1750-1756. The same handwriting suggests the probability the author of this inventory is the same as of the previous one. Legibility and clarity are sometimes very poor. Frequent orthographic errors occur as well as occasional corrections. The inventory includes a list of musical instruments that is basically the same as the previous one. The only difference being the two violoncellos. The inventory from 1750 originally featured two cellos as well, this number was however later changed to one. This indicates that instead of writing down a new inventory, the old one was used instead. It is impossible to identify when the number was changed. Similar notes and corrections appear in other inventories as well.
Inventory is essential above all by its overview of the compositions, which for the first time are detailed and in some cases the provenance is mentioned as well.
At the beginning the inventory lists liturgical books: Roman Missal from Antwerp and Officia Propria from Olomouc. It is most probably the print of Officia Propria Sanctorum Almae Cathedralis Ecclesiae, totiusque dioecesis olomucensis, quibus officia recentiora ab anno 1720, pro universali ecclesia emanata adjecta referiuntur from the year 1732 by František Antonín Hirnle. 25 In the middle of the 18 th century existed the printing shop of František Antonín Hirnle in Olomouc. 26 It could be assumed the books were new and therefor printed by Hirnle otherwise there would be at least a note about them in the previous inventories. The inventory lists also a breviary from Augsburg and a missal bound in red leather with gold edges belonging to the brotherhood of St. Jan Nepomuk.
The compositions are divided into masses, symphonies, arias, offertories, vespers, litanies, requiems and (one) hymn. The inventory also lists two passions and one Te deum. Partitioning is not always consistent, and the inventory occasionally puts different kinds of music into one genre. Thus, if there are both arias and offertories under label, there is no way to find the exact number of pieces of each type.

Inventory from 1761
In 1761 a new inventory was made when Gothard Pokorny became new regenschori. At the same time Pokorný received useful music sheets and musical instruments after the deceased organist and regenschori Johann Metoděj Zarda. The inventory lists the received music sheets only as "54 Stück bestehen von Introitis Responsorijs und Hymnis. 2. Rorate und 1: Asperiesme (!) mit Romanischen Miserere." 27 In the part of the inventory concerning musical instruments, the horns are not mentioned, but they were probably only forgotten, as they occur in all other inventories. Tympani rose from one to two pairs. However, this number changes several times later. Trumpets are divided into two groups, one with fringes, the other one without it. Trumpet division into groups by tuning appears in the 1805 inventory by Karel Nanke. In the inventory occur five violins with bow and one old violin without the strings.

Inventory from 1793
The inventory made by Gotthard Pokorný in 1793 offers a relatively comprehensive and well-readable overview of instruments and music. Greater attention is focused on musical instruments. Pokorný also notes the state of instruments, but these numbers and states are further adjusted over time. A pair of oboes was removed from the inventory. The bassoon was crossed out and appears no longer in any other upcoming inventories. Only the inventory from 1805 contains a note about the missing bassoon. Pokorný alson mentions an old trombone. 28 The number of Introits, Responsories and Hymns arose from 54 to 56 pieces and the number of Asperiesme (!) resp. Asperges arose from one piece to two pieces. It is striking that after a relatively long time between inventories from 1763 and 1793 the number of actual compositions increased only very little. Interesting is also a detail about 70 "old masses". However, these old masses are not specified.

Inventory before 1801
The inventory does not specify its date. It is most probably written by Gotthard Pokorný. The year of the inventory is estimated before 1801 because of the higher numbers of both musical instruments and compositions in upcoming inventories.
The growth of the repertoire can be seen for example on solo arias. In the inventory before 1801 there are 56 pieces of soprano aria, 17 tenor arias, 5 bass arias and 4 alto arias. In inventory from 1804/1805 there are 61 pieces of soprano arias, 21 tenor arias, 3 bass arias and 12 alto arias, these numbers remain unchanged until 1816. The increase in numbers can also be seen in case of laurethan litanies where the number shifted from original 58 to 65 and this number stays the same for the rest of the given researched period. The author also reports old masses 29 , probably the remains of the 70 masses recorded in the inventory of 1793.
It is striking that Michael Haydn's compositions which are listed for the first time in this inventory, do not appear in the 1801 music catalogue but appear again in the 1804/1805 inventory only as "gradualien". This could lead to an assumption that the undated inventory is newer then the one from 1801. But the other numbers suggest otherwise. Though it is not explicitly stated in the inventory from 1804/1805 that so called gradualien are Michael Haydn's compositions, but the number in both cases is exactly 46.
The inventory lists for the first time a couple clarinets. The number of trumpets dropped to three pieces and two pairs were corrected to only one pair. Although the inventory lists 2 pieces of horns, their condition probably was not ideal. 30 The number of errors in Latin names is also puzzling.

Inventory from 1801
In the inventory from January of 1801 Gotthard Pokorný presents individual authors for some of the types (mass, symphony and other species) of the compositions. He does not identify a specific composition itself. The inventory is divided into two parts, the first one with introits, responsories, hymns and such and the other one with arias, symphonies, offertories, requiems and such. The first group of compositions belonged to the church, the other one to the regenschori himself. The inventory provides more detailed information on less represented composition that were only mentioned in the previous inventory. The inventory lists four pieces of Veni Sancte Spiritus, three pieces of Te Deum laudamus and others.
Unusual is a great drop of masses. The inventory mentions only 5 choral masses and 75 masses from the various authors it enumerates. 31 The five choral masses are probably the rest of the old masses that featured the previous inventories. But where have disappeared the remaining 41 pieces of the original 116 pieces is a mystery. The inventory from 1811 shows 122 masses, this figure was later modified to 118. In the catalogue of Karel Nanke created in 1805 only 102 masses are mentioned, it seems possible that at the beginning of the 19 th century the number of masses was drastically reduced. The reasons behind this remain unknown. It is possible that the old masses were outdated or in a bad condition.

Inventory from 1804-1805
Although the exact year of the creation of this inventory is known, additional information extend its scope to 1805. The inventory includes the catalogue which a year 1804 written on it. However, in the text of the inventory, appears a note with date 24th March 1805. Parts with the information on instruments and music sheets are probably largely from 1805.
From the perspective of sheer amount of information is this particular inventory one of the most valuable. Not only does it contain catalogues of compositions and musical instruments, but it also lists the above-mentioned Michael Haydn's compositions used in the liturgy. 33 Some of the original number of 46 compositions are missing, it is unclear whether they got lost or were discarded. However in 1841 the regenschori Josef Dvořák mentions the excellent condition and usability. 34 From the transcription of the source it is clear that not every feast is listed with a name. 35 Compositions that obviously belong to the above-mentioned set of compositions by Haydn, but it is unclear under which number had been transcribed into a separated table. 36 After the incipits from the thematic catalogue, which are transcribed in the appendix of the study, 37 there is an inventory part with listed compositions followed by the list of musical instruments. The thematic catalogue is divided into two parts, the first comprising symphonic works, the 33   In the left column are the numbers of the music sheets stored in the archives of Department of the History of Music. Only in two cases where the incipit listed in the archives were different than the incipits found in RISM, the music itself was examined. second one masses. One side of the catalogue has been cut out. It is unknown whether it contained any other incipits. Most of the compositions have a name of the author written beside the incipit, yet there are also many incipits without authorship. Most of them contain a performance instruction such as andante or allegro as well. By using the online version of Répertoire International des Sources Musicales it was possible to precisely identify a large number of compositions. 38 If the composer has a thematic catalogue, the reference to a specific composition is included in the notes as well.
Unfortunately, a vast amount of compositions is unidentifiable. Either the composers have not been properly studied yet, or the incipits do not provide a significant enough melody. Another reason for cautious behaviour is the database of RISM itself, for some of the results may be considered misleading at best.
The inventory also lists the repairs of violins and trumpets as well as their prices. Number of trumpets settled on 6, these trumpets are divided into D trumpets and Dis trumpets. 39 There is a note of a trumpet repair for about 1 gulden and 12 kreuzer. Similarly, the number of violas risen to 2 pieces. There is a note about the repair of a viola for 1 gulden and 15 kreuzer. The number of musical instruments no longer changes in the following inventories, only notes in the inventory of 1816 indicate the deterioration of the state of the instruments.

Pair of inventories from 1811-1816
The inventory from 5 th August 1811 lists the musical instruments and the compositions. The layout is not decorative, but the font is relatively easy to read. The inventory contains two notes concerning the sheet music. To a large extent, the same numbers of instruments and compositions remain, the only exception being the number of offertories, where instead of the original 38 was the number changed to 35 pieces. The inventory also lists 56 symphonies and 122 masses. 41 There is a note suggesting that some of the symphonies are missing certain voices.
The second inventory, written probably by Karel Nanke's hand, lists the same number of musical instruments as the previous and subsequent inventories and therefor is listed mainly for completeness. The inventory also provides information on the parts of the trombone. 42 All three inventories written between 1811-1816 show the same number of sheet music and instruments, but only the inventory from 1816 is transcribed because of its notes on repairments and obvious decreases in usability and deteriorating equipment quality.

Inventory from 1816
On the title page of the inventory is written Inventarium Der Domkirche vom Jahr 1816, but no exact date is given. The font is neat and easy to decipher. The inventory contains two other inventories with the same amount of instruments and music sheets, the only difference being the quantity of French horn's mouthpieces. Much more interesting difference is to be found in the column Anmerkung. One of them contains the note about missing voices, the other one describes the worsening state of certain musical instruments. As all three inventories do not differ in the numbers of the instruments or their sorting the inventory with the most notes has been transcribed.
Notes in the right column reveal a lot of missing or otherwise inadequate pieces. These notes are not always readable and bear erase marks. The cello is without a bow and there are two mouthpieces missing as well as one viola, a D trumpet, two E-flat trumpets and one clarinet. Another indecipherable note concerns oboe. Apart from the musical instruments the parts needed for musical performances such as benches and boxes for sheets of music are missing as well. There is a small note of a year 1834 on the paper. It is possible that all notes made by pencil were the result of an inventory check in 1834.

Evaluation
Inventories provide enough material to explore the development of music in the church of St. Peter and Paul. From the middle of the 18 th century the increasing focus on the performance of figural music is evident. The increasing amount of symphonies suggests the preferences of various regenschoris in instrumental music. However, there is apparent a certain slowdown in development in the early 19 th century. These tendencies are evident not only in the numbers and conditions of instruments, but also in the amount of compositions in the inventories. For example, the number of solo arias did not change in eleven years between 1805 and 1816.
The table lists the changing numbers of the various instruments. Although the table is not always able to capture the conditions of musical instruments, it helps to overview the development over time. Brackets suggest the insufficient condition of the instrument. The years 1750-1793 when the condition was not mentioned at all the numbers counting the amount of instruments are without brackets. Although it is probable the conditions were insufficient even in years 1750-1793. Unfortunately, it is not possible to follow the development of the music itself due to an ambiguous division into specific forms and types. Well observable changes can nevertheless be seen in case of the masses and even more in case of the symphonies.
In case of masses there is an evident decrease in amounts of compositions which may have been caused by the attempt to modernize the repertoire. Symphonies show gradual The quantity of Masses and Symphonies Masses Symphonies growth until the stagnation since 1805. It should be added that while the numbers of symphonies were always very precise, it is likely that the exact number of the masses would be a slightly different. In the various inventories are masses divided into vague groups such as old masses, which should be taken into account as well.
Probably the greatest increase in the quality of musical production can be expected in the second half of the 18 th century. The church of St. Peter and Paul expanded the amounts of musical instruments and the musical compositions at this time. In the first years of the first half of the 19 th century, the moderation of the development took place and the decline of the former growth was evident. A lot of instruments were either missing or were not in a satisfying technical condition. The growing amount of the performable compositions slowed down and eventually nearly stopped. Probably the highest quality of musical production can be expected when Gotthard Pokorný was the regenschori of the church. It seems that even Karl Nanke, at the beginning at least, tried to improve the conditions for the music performances in Petrov, but it seems he soon left these efforts unfulfilled. It is possible that Nanke focused more on his own work and thus did not pay much attention to the music of the church of St. Peter and Paul. 43 Nanke nevertheless remained a regenschori until his death on 30th December 1831.