The music and culture of the sixteenth century Meistersinger is the central topic of Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg , his only operatic comedy. Wagner turned to Johann Christoph Wagenseil’s Von der Meister-Singer... more
The music and culture of the sixteenth century Meistersinger is the central topic of Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg , his only operatic comedy. Wagner turned to Johann Christoph Wagenseil’s Von der Meister-Singer Holdseligen Kunst for information on the customs of the Meistersinger , and many scenarios within the opera are based on information from this treatise. The inclusion of the famous historical Meistersinger Hans Sachs as a central character further strengthened the drama’s connection with the historical guild. The use of distinct set pieces, a seeming departure from the endliche Melodie of earlier operas, also helped Wagner create an air of authenticity within the music of Die Meistersinger . As much as Die Meistersinger invokes the sixteenth century, Wagner does not present an accurate musical depiction of Meistergesang in this work. Though Hans Sachs and his role as a Meistersinger is an important element in his drama, Wagner only superficially observed th...
The Protestant polemic of the 16th century against the Roman Church and especially the papacy is generally considered more as an aspect of theological affront than as a fundamental communicative mode of the Reformation movement. Using the... more
The Protestant polemic of the 16th century against the Roman Church and especially the papacy is generally considered more as an aspect of theological affront than as a fundamental communicative mode of the Reformation movement. Using the example of Hans Sachs’s poem ›The Wittenberg Nightingale‹ of 1523, which has contributed significantly to the literarization and popularization of the figure of the reformer and his teachings, the present article discusses the connection between Protestant Luther stylization, anti-Roman invectives and the formation of the Reformation movement. Their key messages, in their confrontational exclusiveness to the alleged falsification of the Christian doctrine by the papacy, turn out to be central elements of a fundamentally invective communication that establishes the new, Protestant doctrine.
Taking Karl Stackmann's dictum of the 'mastery of laymen' as a starting point, the article looks onto the connection of art and theology, especially how they are represented in the Colmar Liederhandschrift. The songs in the manuscripts... more
Taking Karl Stackmann's dictum of the 'mastery of laymen' as a starting point, the article looks onto the connection of art and theology, especially how they are represented in the Colmar Liederhandschrift. The songs in the manuscripts are analyzed according to aspects of lay theology and to how the institutional framework and theological contents fit into the performative action. It is concluded that the Meistersänger of the 14th and 15th century employed a concept of lay theology that was a precursor for the later Meistergesang during the Reformation. In the Colmar manuscript, several texts employ the motif of divine inspiration as the predominant way to legitimize this form of art.
