The Hymnbook of Valentin Triller (Wrocław 1555) - Musical Past and Regionalism in Early Modern Silesia

In 1555, Valentin Triller, the Lutheran pastor of a small village in Lower Silesia, published a hymnbook entitled 'Ein Schlesich [sic] singebüchlein', printed at the workshop of Crispin Scharffenberg in Wrocław. The hymnbook contains a peculiar and markedly retrospective repertory, and it is a fundamental source for understanding sixteenth-century Silesian musical culture. The present book discusses the hymnbook's paratexts, contents, and reception history, revealing the political, religious, and musical instances that prompted Valentin Triller's editorial endeavour. Analysis of selected polyphonic hymns serves to address the reasons behind the survival of 'archaic' repertories (a phenomenon also found in other central European regions), their circulation across borders and confessions, and their role in shaping religious and regional identities.