Hofmusiker und Lakaien. Über die Stellung eines Musikers an einem böhmischen Adelshof in der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts

Abstract

The starting point of the study is the division of private Kapellen maintained by Bohemian aristocracy into those consisting of servants (‘servant orchestras’) as opposed to ensembles featuring professional musicians (‘independent orchestras’) introduced by Helfert in his book on music at the court of Count Questenberg in Jaroměřice. The status of a musician in a nobleman’s service is exemplified by three Kapellen from Bohemia in the 1720s; attention is paid especially to the origin of the musicians, their salaries and their positions in the hierarchy of court employees. While the private band of Count Franz Anton Sporck was a typical servant ensemble, counts Wenzel Morzin and Franz Joseph Czernin employed professional musicians more extensively. Some of these occupied rather high posts with salaries comparable to that of the Hofmeister. In the case of Morzin’s orchestra, we can identify both groups of professional ‘Hofmusici’ and musicians among his lackeys. In the example of Czernin’s music, it was possible to follow a transformation of an ‘independent’ into a ‘servant ensemble’ motivated by the count’s effort to cut the expenses.