Reconstructing the Hvar Theatre Music Repertoire (17th-19th Century)

Glazba kakva se njegovala u ranijoj prošlosti prvog europskog komunalnog kazališta, Teotra forskega – u vremenu od njegova osnutka 1612. do privremenog zatvaranja 1888. (radi obnove dovršene dvanaest godina poslije) – do danas je ostala potpuno nepoznatim aspektom kulturne povijesti grada Hvara. Rasvjetljavanje ondašnje prakse i uloge javnog, svjetovnog muziciranja uvelike je otežano nedostatkom relevantnih arhivskih izvora, ponajprije notnih, koji bi eksplicite osvjedočili glazbeni, odnosno glazbeno-scenski repertoar, što su ga hvarskoj publici i posjetiteljima mogli predstavljati ponajprije gostujući talijanski glazbenici i operne družine, ali i lokalni glazbenici koji su se okupljali u vokalno-instrumentalne ansamble. Glazbenu praksu u krugu Hvarskoga kazališta posredno stoga sugeriraju do sada malobrojni, ali raznorodni (novo)otkriveni arhivski izvori, počevši od popisa danas izgubljenih notnih izdanja svjetovne (i crkvene) glazbe, dostupnih u Hvaru sredinom 17. stoljeća, preko zabilježbi pokojeg suvremenika o (glazbenim) priredbama u 18. stoljeću, pa do sačuvanih libreta, ponajprije talijanskih opera 19. stoljeća, što se danas čuvaju u Muzeju hvarske baštine. Na njihovu će se temelju u ovome radu ponuditi prvi pokušaj rekonstrukcije glazbene prakse i repertoara u hvarskom teatru unutar šireg vremenskog i društveno-političkog okvira, obilježenog u Hvaru najprije mletačkom, zatim kratkotrajnom francuskom, a potom i austrijskom vlašću, ponajviše kao poticaj za daljnja istraživanja ovog zanemarenog ali značajnog segmenta hvarske glazbene i uopće kulturne prošlosti.The music nurtured in the earlier past of the first European community theatre, i.e. the Theatre of Hvar – from the time of its establishment in 1612 to its temporary closure in 1888 (due to renovation finished twelve years later) – until today, has remained an entirely unfamiliar aspect of cultural history of the town of Hvar. Illuminating its practice of the time and the role of the public, secular music-making has been severely hindered by the lack of relevant archival sources, primarily of sheet music which would explicitly testify the musical, i.e. music and stage repertoire, that might have been represented to the audience of Hvar and its visitors by the guest Italian musicians and opera companies, as well as the local musicians gathered into vocal and musical ensembles. The musical practice within the theatre of Hvar has so far been represented by merely few, but diverse (newly) discovered archival sources, starting from the list of today lost sheet music publications of secular (and church) music, available in Hvar in the mid-17th century through the annotations made by contemporaries on (music) events in the 18th century, as well as preserved librettos, primarily of 19th century Italian operas, today preserved at the Hvar Heritage Museum. They were used as a foundation for this paper, which is a first attempt at a reconstruction of the musical practice and repertoire of the Hvar theatre within a wider chronological and social and political frame, characterised by the Venetian at first, then briefly French, and finally Austrian rule, mostly as an incentive for further research of this neglected but significant segment of Hvar’s musical and cultural history