Arti musices, Vol. 51 No. 2, 2020.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/y7v64t01jy
Serafino Razzi’s Storia di Raugia, or, How Renaissance Dubrovnik (Might Not Have?) Heard Polyphony in February 1588: Towards a Liturgical Reconstruction of the Feast of Saint Blaise
Tin Cugelj
; University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Abstract
With the emergence of the legend of Saint Blaise, who protected the people of Dubrovnik against the Venetian menace, the city of Dubrovnik has been continuously organizing a feast in Saint Blaise’s honour on the 3rd of February of each year. In addition to the social importance of this event, it also emphasizes musical activity as the daily Liturgy of the Hour is modified to fi t the festivity and enriched with musical instruments which accompany the main services. In this article, we will travel back to the feast of 1588, where Serafino Razzi – a Dominican friar on a two-year canonical visitation to Dubrovnik – witnessed the festivity. What did Razzi have a possibility of hearing at that time in Dubrovnik, were there performing forces to support the festivity, and what did the liturgy look like on the 2nd and 3rd of February 1588 are the main questions this paper will address through thorough an analysis of Razzi’s account, its comparison with other performances in European citystates, and extensive use of available sources.
Keywords
feast of Saint Blaise; Dubrovnik; chant; improvised counterpoint; polyphony; Vespers; High Mass
Hrčak ID:
251997
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2020.
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