The article discusses Silesian sources transmitting the works of Jacob Handl (Gallus) (1550-91), which have not so far been given adequate consideration in the literature of the subject. The composer travelled between the various music centres in Silesia after 1575 and had temporary links with them, as numerous manuscripts of Silesian provenance testify. The fact that many of them were written even before his works published in Prague by Georg Nigrinus suggests that a sizeable part of his heritage (about 70 sources) might have been created in Silesia. Jacob Handl's works preserved in manuscripts of Silesian provenance total 220 sources transmitting 106 of his compositions. Manuscripts from Wroclaw offer the richest documentation, in particular the 30 items from Emil Bohn's collections. A less representative sample of his output comes from the dispersed collection of the old Rudolfina of Legnica; here, five manuscripts deserve particular attention. A dozen or so manuscripts show traces of originating from the old library of the Gymnasium Illustre of Brzesc and the St Peter and Paul Church in Nysa (now held at Warsaw University Library). The repertory of Jacob Handl's compositions represented in these manuscripts is very varied: the majority of them are motets, Masses and German Lieder. Apart from works familiar from printed versions, local documentation contains about 20 unpublished compositions and unica: eleven motets, six contrafacta (among them four in German: three of them constitute a setting of deutsche Messe, probably by Paul Hallman), two Latin Masses and little-known compositions in German: two religious songs and two secular ones (a detailed list of the full Silesian record of Handl's compositions is given in the Appendix to the article). These works illustrate clearly, if not unambiguously, the composer's connections with the local musical tradition of Silesia of his day, revealing an aspect of his musical heritage which had gone unremarked before. Other evidence of the fact that Jacob Handl's works were known in the musical centres of Silesia is provided by extant prints containing his compositions. Also, library collections of Silesian provenance held the majority of his authorial editions which are known to us today. Moreover, the works of Gallus were popularised in Silesia through printed anthologies: these works appear in frequently used collections (e.g. Florilegium selectissimarum cantionum of Erhard Bodenschatz), and also in popular liturgical agendas, both catholic (Agenda of Hieronim Powodowski) and protestant (e.g., Liber ceremoniarum from St Mary Magdalen church in Wroclaw (now in Archiwum Panstwowe, Wroclaw), associated with the tradition of Good Friday celebrations.
Financed by the National Centre for Research and Development under grant No. SP/I/1/77065/10 by the strategic scientific research and experimental development program:
SYNAT - “Interdisciplinary System for Interactive Scientific and Scientific-Technical Information”.