Frömmigkeit und Musik

This paper is dedicated to explaining how the term Piety was used with respect to Music. The most important document concerning liturgical music within the Roman Catholic Church in the 18th century was the Encyclica Annus qui, published by Pope Benedikt XIV in 1749 for the jubilee year of 1750. This document represents the somewhat delayed official reaction of the church to the so-called "stile nuovo" and opera. Its aim was to weaken the impact of musical innovations developed within secular music on liturgical music. This document was apparently not published in the Habsburg Empire in 1750, because the prohibition of trumpets and kettle drums in church music was not declared by the empress Maria Theresia until 1754.