Beyond the denominational paradigm: The motet as confessional(ising) practice in the later sixteenth century

Inspired by the seminal work of historians Ernst Walter Zeeden, Wolfgang Reinhard and Heinz Schilling in the second half of the 20th century, the early modern period is often seen as the ‘Age of Confessionalisation’. Without doubt the fragmentation of Western Christendom into different and competing churches was of such momentous import that it left no aspect of people’s lives untouched. As historians of all disciplines set out to diagnose the workings and effects of confessionalisation, this paradigm had a particularly strong hold on musicology, where Catholic and Protestant church music had traditionally been treated as totally independent territories. The chapter intends to revisit the compartmentalisation that has come to shape the received approach to sacred music of the 16th century. With regard to musical repertoire denominational barriers were in fact fairly penetrable. Although confessional diversification resulted in a differentiated topography of denominations, territories of opposing religion were not totally cut off from each other, separated by an iron curtain. Musicians were especially tolerant in this respect, since they regarded themselves as heirs to the same musical legacy and tended to appreciate the same works by the same composers. The motet, a genre not tied to any particular liturgy, was the most attractive and desirable good in the cross-confessional exchange of polyphonic compositions in Central Europe, which had to provide home for a range of opposing religious communities and churches. This phenomenon invites a systematic investigation into the extent to which the reception and performance of motets was a denominational practice. Case studies will explore the extent of sharing and trading of motet repertoire in the Holy Roman Empire, placing a particular, but not exclusive focus on the exchange between Catholics and Lutherans. Initially, the criteria determined by either side for desirable or acceptable repertoire will be established to get an understanding of the real and notional ‘boundaries’. This already creates a sense of what types of motets could be enjoyed on either side of the religious divide. Moreover, it creates a normative backdrop against which the actual sharing of musical repertoire can be traced and ascertained. Drawing on a range of examples, the chapter will present a systematic overview and taxonomy of the different ways into which repertoire could have crossed the borders, from disobedience at grass root level to the active ‘appropriation’ of works with an unmistakeable identity from the enemy camp. This will result in an richer, deeper and more colourful, if perplexingly complex picture of the motet and its usage(s) in the Tridentine and Post-Tridentine years.