Historian Studying Carmelite Music in Poland and Italy Between the 17th and 18th Centuries

Dr. Marek Bebak is a music historian from Poland and teaches at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. In the fall of 2023, he was awarded the seventh research grant from the General Archives of the Carmelites, named in memory of Fr. Emanuele Boaga, and started a Musicology project, entitled Mapping the Carmelites Musical Culture in Europe in the Seventeenth-and Eighteenth-Century. Preliminary research was based on the collection of the General Archive of the Carmelite Order in Rome.

Marek has dealt with this issue before, investigating Polish Carmelite archival and bibliographical sources and producing several publications on the subject. Now his attention has shifted to Italy.

On the occasion of his stay in Rome, we were able to asked him some questions:

Can you briefly describe what your research work consists of?

As a musicologist, I try to learn about the ancient musical culture of the Carmelites, especially regarding the 17th and 18th centuries, when the Order was at its peak. Referring to various historical sources, namely musical manuscripts and prints, theoretical treatises, ancient books, and archival documentation (chronicles, charters, reports, protocols), I try to answer the following questions:

What kind of music was heard in Carmelite churches and monasteries? In what situations was it used? Who performed it and who financed it? What instruments were available in Carmelite churches?

I also try to analyze the musical works themselves and assess the compositional skills of the Carmelites in the context in which they created them. I also prepare critical editions of musical works so that musicians can include these compositions in their concert repertoire and record them on CD. Examining the documentation of many convents and provinces gives me a broader perspective: the opportunity to compare and evaluate the level of musical culture in different places in Europe.

What cultural institutions have you visited to pursue your research in Poland and which ones are you consulting and will you consult here in Italy?

In both Poland and Italy the source situation is complicated and requires research at various institutions. This is mainly due to the difficult history of Europe. Many archival and library materials were destroyed or dispersed as a result of fires, floods, wars, partitioning, and dissolution of church property during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The starting point of my work is the materials collected in Carmelite archives, but many sources are also currently held in state and diocesan archives and libraries. My research on the musical culture of the Carmelites in the Polish-Lithuanian Confederation is based on materials that are currently scattered among Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and partly also in Germany, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. For example, in the State Archives in Modra (near Bratislava), Slovakia, I found a manuscript containing a composition by the Krakow Carmelite Telesfor Wikliński. This composition was included in the repertoire of the Piaristi musical chapel in Podolinec. We have immortalized this and other compositions from the repertoire of Polish Carmelites in the 2023 album "Flos Carmeli" (available on streaming services, including Spotify).

My research on the musical culture of the Carmelites in Italy presents the same problems: I started with the General Archives in Rome, and in later stages I will go to historical materials preserved in state and ecclesiastical libraries and archives.

Can you tell us some interesting facts that particularly struck you about the Carmelite composers and musicians who are the subject of your study?

Unlike other religious realities, such as the Jesuits, the Carmelite Order was not known for its musical culture: so any information relevant to this topic is interesting to me.

I was surprised that the number of musical (vocal-instrumental) chapels in Italy was lower than in Poland: in fact, I expected the organization of Polish chapels to be modeled on that of Italy. For example: in mid-17th century in Krakow, in the Carmelite church, there was a large vocal-instrumental chapel, which could successfully perform both 1-4 compositions and large polychoral pieces (for 2 or 3 choirs); this chapel included many musicians, both Carmelite and lay. Unfortunately, no musical material has survived from it, but we have library catalogs listing all the works that the musicians had at their disposal. For comparison, in Rome, in the important Carmelite church of Santa Maria in Traspontina, only three cantors and an organist were employed at the time: it is possible that the musical environment of the daily liturgy was more modest than in Krakow. Instead, for larger feasts (e.g., Our Lady of Mount Carmel or St. Albert), always at Santa Maria in Traspontina, the most distinguished musicians from the papal chapels of St. Peter's Basilica or the Lateran Basilica were invited. Inviting chapels from other churches was typical of this period, but during my research I would like to check whether the Carmelites had their own musical chapels in other cities in Italy.

From sources collected at the General Archives of the Carmelites we know that there were many musicians in other centers, but so far, I have not been able to recognize their organization. This does not mean, however, that in general the musical culture of the Carmelites in Italy was modest. We have many descriptions of events during which wonderful music was performed, composed by the Carmelites themselves, e.g., Filippo Cristianelli, Giovanni Battista Tonnolini, Giuseppe Scarani, Girolamo Casati, Pietro Colombina, Lorenzo Penna, Elia Vannini. In every province of Italy there was at least one composer whose interesting musical works have been preserved. I hope we will learn more about them in the future.