La riforma ceciliana in Trentino tra Italia e Germania (1890-1920)
Creators: name: Delama, Cecilia
Publisher: name: Universit� degli studi di Trento
Year: 2022

description: This doctoral thesis investigates the dynamics of reform of liturgical sacred music - the so-called "Cecilian" period - which affected the European Catholic world from the end of the 19th century, and In Trentino it was characterized by an intense and peculiar dialogue between Germany - place of origin of the main inspirers of the reform - and Italy. The research was based on several aspects. The assumption on which this thesis is based is the knowledge of the diocesan music collections kept at the Vigilianum Diocesan Library, of which the candidate personally oversaw the cataloging. These are four musical collections that in total they cover a time span of almost two centuries (from the end of the 18th century to the mid-twentieth century) and testify to the nature and consistency of musical training in the ecclesiastical circles of Trentino, but also the dynamics and results of the Cecilian reform. Initially it was necessary to carry out a census of the sources - never dealt with before - which brought to light, on the one hand, the documents kept in the archives and libraries of Trentino concerning the activity of the Cecilian Society of Trentino, of the Musical Chapel of the Trento Cathedral, of the Local Cecilian societies and other institutions involved. On the other hand the correspondence relating to exchanges with the Trentino and Italian environment preserved in the Bisch�fliches Zentralarchiv und Bisch�fliche Zentralbibliothek Regensburg. Fundamental to the historical reconstruction of this reform was, moreover, the systematic analysis of the main newspapers of the time in the period in question, i.e. from 1889 to 1920, which made it possible to create a conspicuous archive of musical chronicles, of news of reception of the reform and performance of various kinds of music in Trentino. Finally, to complete this musicological thesis, some of the many passages of the sacred and liturgical popular tradition in use at the time were collected and transcribed. Part of this rich documentation has been collected in the second volume (documentary appendix) and in the third volume (musical appendix) that complete the dissertation. The actual treatment (volume I) approaches the research subject with a multidisciplinary look: the Cecilian reform itself, in fact, did not limit itself to reforming liturgical chant, sacred music and organ building, but in fact intertwined with the history of institutions, with school, theater and popular singing. The setting of the thesis takes into account the supranational dimension of the reform (introduction) with which the small local societies had to confront, and then deepen, with a reading from the particular to the general, the history of the Trentino Cecilian Society, one of the longest-lived Cecilian associations (chapter I), the specific areas of activity of the reformers from Trentino, namely Christian liturgical chant, polyphony and sacred music and organ building (chapter II). Chapter III explores some collateral areas with which the reform interacted and investigates more deeply the relationship with the German environment from an institutional, ideological point of view and about the spread of the repertoire. Finally, the closing epilogue outlines the subsequent outcomes of the reform in the first half of the twentieth century, which remains, however, a partially unexplored era, with possible traces for new research.