Jolanta Bujas

Although nowadays the output of Johann Baptist Schiedermayr is almost completely forgotten, in the 19th century the composer was widely recognized as an author of both sacred and secular music. His compositions were performed mostly in Central Europe, but it should be underlined that the preserved manuscripts display an impressive area in which he must have been known. There are thousands preserved sources that confirm his popularity in the past; therefore, it is disturbing as well as intriguing that Schiedermayr is usually overlooked by scholars investigating music of the early 19th century. In my paper, I present life of the composer, including existing literature that concerns this topic, and I make an attempt to reconstruct his output as hitherto no one have done it. It appears that  Johann Baptist Schiedermayr was well-educated and played a crucial role in the musical life of Linz at his time. Besides his achievements as a musician, conductor and teacher, he composed a vast variety of musical pieces, although he focused mostly on church music. Based on the studies done so far, we can assume that he created hundreds of compositions presenting his excellent compositional technique as well as musicality; many of them were also printed. Nevertheless. further research is absolutely necessary in order to broaden knowledge of this brilliant persona and his oeuvre.

Introduction to Life and Output of Johann Baptist Schiedermayr

Although nowadays the output of Johann Baptist Schiedermayr is almost completely forgotten, in the 19th century the composer was widely recognized as an author of both sacred and secular music. His compositions were performed mostly in Central Europe, but it should be underlined that the preserved manuscripts display an impressive area in which he must have been known. There are thousands preserved sources that confirm his popularity in the past; therefore, it is disturbing as well as intriguing that Schiedermayr is usually overlooked by scholars investigating music of the early 19th century. In my paper, I present life of the composer, in­cluding existing literature that concerns this topic, and I make an attempt to reconstruct his output as hitherto no one have done it. It appears that Johann Baptist Schiedermayr was well-educated and played a crucial role in the musical life of Linz at his time. Besides his achievements as a musi­cian, conductor and teacher, he composed a vast variety of musical pieces, although he focused mostly on church music. Based on the studies done so far, we can assume that he created hundreds of compositions presenting his excellent compositional technique as well as musicality; many of them were also printed. Nevertheless, further research is absolutely necessary in order to broaden knowledge of this brilliant persona and his oeuvre.

Missa in Dis by Antoni Milwid (1755–1837) in the Context of the Repertoire of the Monastery’s Chapel from Czerwińsk

The musical life of Czerwińsk nad Wisłą at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries was strictly connected with the artistic activity of Antoni Milwid (1755–1837), a composer and organist. Although there are ten compositions signed with his name preserved in the collection of the monastery’s chapel as well as other manuscripts seemingly written with his hand, the religious output of the composer has not been investigated so far.

The article discusses briefly the activity of Czerwińsk’s chapel during the difficult time of the partitions of Poland and secularisation of the monastery, sketching its repertoire based on preserved manuscripts. Then, Antoni Milwid’s life and art is presented in the light of accessible sources. Finally, Missa in Dis CZs Rps 5 from Czerwinsk’s collection is analysed in terms of its form, melody, rhythm, harmony and instrumentation, what allows the author to draw general conclusions concerning the compositional workshop of Antoni Milwid.