Music in Vyšší Brod Monastery
Maybe it was a wonder
that the Cistercian Vyšší
Brod Monastery stayed untouched by disasters of history because
most of monasteries in Bohemia were not so lucky. Thanks to this
fact a number of unique music sources were preserved in its
library. For example the manuscript No. 42 that was written in the
monastery by brother Přibík in 1410 contains remarkable primitive
work of the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, included are Latin
and Czech spiritual lyrics (Jezu Kriste Ščedrý Kněže, Otep Myrrhy,
Doroto Panno Čistá) and vocal songs. In general it is the oldest
existing source in this field. The German hymn-book - the so-called
"Hohenfurter Liederbuch" - was written after the middle of the 15th
century. It contains 79 hymns dedicated to private prayers. Some of
the hymns are indicated as penitent's and the author wrote about
himself that he lived for 30 years as a bad sinner having plenty of
the pleasures of secular life. Then he converted and his hymns
could help others to improve.
(mho)
Further information:
History
of Music in the Český Krumlov Region