Gunther Jacob OSB (1685 - 1734), život a dílo

Mgr. Robert Hugo, Ph.D.

Doctoral thesis

Gunther Jacob OSB (1685 - 1734), Life and Work

Abstract:

P. Gunther Jacob OSB není zcela neznámým pojmem v oblasti barokní hudby českých zemí. V porovnání s jinými českými barokními autory je ale pouze okrajovým zjevem. Poslední kdo mu věnoval soustavnou pozornost byl Emilián Trolda v roce 1915. Vzhledem ke skutečnosti, že o Jacobovi za sto let nebylo publikováno téměř nic nového, současné studium hudebních i nehudebních pramenů přineslo některé překvapující výsledky. Jacob byl činný i jako apoštolský notář a této funkci zapisoval například zprávy z některých vizitací. Existuje mnoho rukopisů opatřených vlastnoručním podpisem a pečetí. V hudební analýze jsme se pokusili vyhnout prostému popisu skladeb a zaměřili jsme se na typické znaky melodie, harmonie a kontrapunktu. Snažili jsme se také ukázat, že Jacobovy hudební extravagance, včetně paralelismů, byly zřejmě vědomé a že odsudky některých badatelů druhé poloviny 20. století jsou neopodstatněné.

Abstract:

Gunther Jacob is not completely unknown in the field of baroque music of Czech lands. He is however only a minor phenomenon compared to other Czech Baroque composers - Zelenka, Černohorský and more recently Reichnauer and Brentner. The last researcher to study him systematicaly was Emilián Trolda. He published a short study about his life and work in 1915 and transscribed all his work available at the time . For the next one hundred years music historians addopted information on Jacob from his work. Given the fact that there has not been published almost anything new about Jacob during this time, the current research of musical and non-musical sources offered some surprising results. It confirmed Trolda‘s presumption, that the composer‘s biography, part of the chronicle of St. Nicholas Monastery in the Old Town of Prague, is in fact his autobiography. This is clear from number of sidenotes in the inventory of the monastery archive that Jacob wrote in 1732. Furthermore there are many other manuscripts, which are not related to music. Jacob had been active as an apostolic notary and as such wrote reports from visitations. There are therefore many manuscripts bearing his signature and seal. Most of them are written in Latin, there is one report written in Czech form the questioning in the case of Václav Košín, abbot of Sazava. There is unfortunately only one known song (Te Deum in A major), where Jacob has very likely participated on the transscription. The musical analysis avoided simple description of the compositions, and focused on typical features of melody, harmony and counterpoint. The work is characterized through summary in tables and music examples. Based on a comparison of the music with information from Jacob‘s biography, we can determine three periods of his work: early, middle and late. There are some features typical for these periods, that allow us to determine the age of compositions and may provide some direction for reflection on the authorship of anonymous songs. The research Jacob's work has shown that it is better preserved than that of other Prague composers and therefore allows us a broader understanding of the artist's musical message. We also tried to show that Jacob's musical extravaganza, including parallelism, was clearly deliberate and condemnation that some scholars of the late 20th century are unfounded.

Keywords

Gunther Jacob, baroko, barokní hudba, duchovní hudba, benediktini, duchovní řády, kláštery, klášter svatého Mikuláše, Krajková, Břevnov, Broumov, mše, nešpory, árie, baroque, baroque music, sacred music, Benedictines, monastic orders, monasteries, St. Nicolas monastery, masses, vespers, arias

Language used: Czech

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 5. 4. 2017

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 13. 9. 2017
• Supervisor: prof. PhDr. Miloš Štědroň, CSc.
• Reader: doc. PhDr. Jana Perutková, Ph.D., prof. PhDr. Jiří Sehnal, CSc.

Masaryk University

Faculty of Arts

Doctoral programme / field:
General Theory and History of Arts and Culture (4-years) / Musicology