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abstracts 
With this issue CM embarks on abstracting dissertations which are written 

in languages not generally accessible to English-speaking readers. That is, 
CM will not print abstracts of dissertations in French, German, Italian, 
Spanish, or English. Authors of dissertations in languages other than those 
cited are invited to contribute abstracts of their work . 

For dissertations written in Yugoslavia, our readers should consult the 
Muzikoloski Zbornik (Musicological Annual), edited by the Department of 
Musicology, University of Ljubljana. This Annual, of which there are two 
volumes now available, prints abstracts of Yugoslav dissertations along with 
an English summary. 

Primol:, Kuret 
Musical Instruments in the Medieval Frescoes of Slovenia 

Defended April 6, 1965 
Cniversity of Ljubljana 

In their depiction of musical scenes the visual arts have provided the music 
historian with priceless information concerning those periods for which other 
sources arc either rare or non-existent. Since medieval texts on instruments 
arc especially few, the specialist in this field is particularly dependent on 
paintings and on manuscripts with representational art. 

Slovene church frescoes picture instruments played in the same manner as 
elsewhere in Europe from the 16th century to the mid-17th century. Impor-
tant subjects of the era are portrayed, such as, the Last Judgment and proces-
sional Epiphany scenes. Of greatest interest is the painted Carniolan choir, a 
motif which flourished particularly in Carniola, Littoral, and Carinthia, and 
which usually included angels playing musical instruments. These frescoes 
reveal developments in form and technique of the full range of instruments: 
trombones, trumpets and wind instruments of all kinds, lutes, shawms, porta-
tive organs, harps, bagpipes, fiddles, and horns, among others. 

The musical instruments in these medieval frescoes bear out the evidence 
of written sources that instrumental music was perpetrated by traveling art-
ists from whose ranks permanently employed musicians descended. Written 
documents include the first printed handbook of musical instruments wri tten 
and published in 1511 by Sebastian Virdung, and the Itinerario of Paolo 
Santonino, secretary to the Visiting Bishop Pietro Carlo da Caorla, com-
posed during the latter's journeys through Slovenia between 1485 and J 4B7 
and amply describing musical practices in the regions visited. 

Andrej Rijavec 
Music in Slovenia in the Protestant Era 

Defl>ndcdJune 22,1964 
LJ niversity of Ljubljana 

The Protestant Era, that is, the middle and latter part of the 16th century, 
is of special importance for Slovene culture and in particular ICJr its music. 

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The religious movement had the powerful dfect of weakening the stylistic 
continuity vvhich Slovene music had achieved \\,ith vVestem European musical 
de\Tlopment since the acceptance of Christianity, Rijavec's dissertation seeks 
to e\"aluate the chief musical achievements of the period and to examine style 
\\,ithin both Catholic and Protestant music. Ample attention is given Slo\'ene 
Catholic music. particularly as found in the institutions of Ljubljana. ;\fone-
thekss, the main conccm of the work is thc actiyity of the Protestants. 

Primo:!' Trubar and others incorporated Luther's vie\\'s on music into the 
framcwork of Slm"Cne Protestantism. The musical ideas of the former are set 
forth in his Cerkovna Ordninga (Church Order) and in his introductions to 
hymnbooks which playcd vital roles in the spreading and consolidation of 
the faith. The acti\'ity of the Ljubljana Protestant circlc, especially of its 
gymnasium, is seen to be of great importance. Rijavec describes the functions 
of rectors, cantors and their assistants, two sun'iving school curricula, choral 
and instrumental instruction, and the connection between the musical duties 
of the school and the Ljubljana Protestant Church. Discussion of town and 
prmincial musicians, and of domt'stic music-making, completes the picture 
of Ljubljana. Rijavec then proceeds to im"Cstigate associations of the Cami-
olan nobility with musicians such as Annibale de Perini, Giacomo Gorzanis, 
and Phillip Duc. as well as Protcstant musical acti\'ity in other parts ofSloYenia. 

The author's analysis of musical compositions and performance rC\Tals 
stylistic influences from Protestant Germany, alongside persistent connections 
\I,ith the Italian Renaissance. Ht' concludes that the Reformation had both 
bmdicial and detrimental eff('Cts on Slovene music, and that after the triumph 
of the Counter-Reformation at the beginning of the 17th century, Slo\"ene 
music took a considerably different course from what was the case in regions 
where Protestantism took permanent root. 

Levre Zupanovic 
Achievements and Characteristics of the J1lork 
Tatroslav Lisinski 

Ddc:nded February 25, 1965 
Cni\Trsity of Ljubljana 

. [he Croatian composer Vatroslav Lisinski (1819-1854) has been the subjcct 
of a substantial literature, in which tne monograph by Franjo Ksaver Kuhai' 
( 1887; 2d ed. 1904) is ou tstanding. Nevertheless, his biography has remained 
incomplete, and a thorough analysis and evaluation of his music has been left 
untouched. ZupanoviC's study is an important supplement to present bio-
graphical knowledge. Furthermore, his bibliography of Lisinski's works in-
cludes four hitherto unknown picces and discloses that two compositions, 
formerly attributed to Lisinski, are works of other composcrs. 

ZupanoyiCs analyse'S shO\\, Lisinski to haH' bccn schooled in tht' carl, 
Romantic stde. His compositions can be di\,idcd roughly into three' period;: 
the carl\' years, the sojourn in Prague from 1847 to 1850, the later years in 

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Zagreb. It was during the Prague years that Lisinski was exposed to the 
activities of his Gnman contemporaries and the new concepts of Berlioz. 
His harmonic idiom is characteristic of the early romantics, especially in its 
treatment of dissonance and syncopation. Id('!1tical or slightly modifIed 
melodic formulas often appear in his music; in the opera Porin one finds an 
anticipation of the usc of leitmotif. A substantial number of compositions 
draw their inspiration from fillk music and from nature (e.g .. the idyll ncr 
Abend). Included in Lisinski's output arc S('\Tn OYlTtures. S('\'(']1 chamber 
works, thirty-three piano pieces, sixty-eight songs. 

Lisinski was the founder ora nationally-oriented school of Croatian music; 
however, he far surpassed his fCllO\\- Croatians in the integration of diverse 
inOuences. The just balance of structure and expression of several late works 
place him on a level with his European contemporaries, such as, ;\,;lendclssohn, 
Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Glinka, and Verdi. 

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