On 5-6 February 2016 an international musicological conference titled The musical repertoire of the Society of Jesus in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1565-1773): the source – editions – cataloging was held at Library of the University of Warsaw. The meeting was the first activity of an international group of scientists, which will be realized the project of the National Programme for the Development of Humanities, funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The project concerning the musical heritage of the Jesuits is headed by Dr. hab. Tomasz Jeż from the Institute of Musicology, University of Warsaw.
Among others, edition of source series and source directories was planned as a part of the project, which is why the conference has identified areas of research and its participants has presented their planned work and set joint editorial standards. The aims of the event were realized not only by discussion, but also during workshops.
The project has a chance to make an important contribution to the history of the Polish music, as well as to the history of the Jesuits’ participation in the development of Poland’s culture. Particularly important seems to be an interdisciplinary and multi-dimensional approach to the study of the history of music, which takes into account the wide cultural context ot the analyzed sources. We hope that the next chapter of the history of Polish music will be written in the next five years.
Text and photos: Dominika Grabiec