Everyday life as a musician in the Baroque

Printed sheet music was once expensive. Not everyone could afford them. That's why a musician in the countryside, for example, would have bought a printed edition of the Musical sacrifice bought a copy and paid only eight groschen instead of one reichstaler. (And how much of this did the composer get in a time without Suisa and Pro Litteris?) It would have been even cheaper (about five groschen) to copy the music himself. It was worth it when you consider that a salaried musician had around eight thalers a month at his disposal for himself and his family.

Illuminating details such as these from the everyday life of musicians can always be found in this social history of Baroque music. It takes us into the lowlands of practice in an incredibly exciting way. Several authors are involved, but the two editors Peter Hersche and Siegbert Rampe have made the main contribution: to the economic situation and social order of the time, which is not easy to summarize and even less to generalize for such a heterogeneous, evolving epoch. Things were in a state of flux. So where did music take place and who performed it? What status did the musicians have and what status did their instruments have? Who built them? Who trained them? What could a musician actually afford from his salary: a little garden, a library, a maid for his wife? There are many questions.

And because it is not at all emphatically about art, but rather about the circumstances under which it is created, and especially about money, the topic is presented soberly and clearly. The focus is primarily on the conditions in German-speaking countries and is therefore somewhat blurred towards the outside world. The fact that we actually know far too little is not concealed. For a long time, musicology has hardly paid any attention to this social history. Bach was pitied when he asked for a pay rise, but the fact that this affected almost the entire musical profession was overlooked. Perhaps this is also the reason why the authors do not venture any further into anecdote or even speculation with their findings. Overall, the book is extremely informative and illustrated with many examples, but not really filled with life. This is perhaps even an advantage, because it doesn't disguise anything. It shows us the bare facts of everyday life.

Sozialgeschichte der Musik des Barock, ed. by Peter Hersche and Siegbert Rampe, (Handbuch der Musik des Barock 6), 400 p., ill., hardcover, € 108.00, Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 2017, ISBN 978-3-89007-875-5