Central European Connections of Six Manuscript Organ Tablature Books of the Reformation Era from the Region of Zips (Szepes, Spiš)

Sixteen-century organ tablature books from the Levoča region reveal significant connections between Protestant church music and Renaissance compositions, offering invaluable insights into Central European musical practices. These manuscripts, preserved as part of the Leutschau/Lőcse/Levoča Music Collection, utilize Ammerbach’s notation—a system that facilitated the intabulation of vocal and instrumental works—and are linked to notable organists like Johann Plotz, Ján Šimbracký, and Samuel Marckfelner. The study highlights a repertoire blending contemporary Protestant music with works by Catholic Renaissance masters, including Jacob Regnart and Matthäus von Löwenstern. Crucially, these tablatures serve as the sole surviving sources for reconstructing incomplete polyphonic compositions from the 16th and 17th centuries, underscoring their historical significance in musical scholarship.

Hulková, M. (2015). Central European Connections of Six Manuscript Organ Tablature Books of the Reformation Era from the Region of Zips (Szepes, Spiš). Studia Musicologica, 56(1), 3–37. https://doi.org/10.1556/6.2015.56.1.1