[9] Litaniae lauretanae

The nine Litanies to Saint Teresa of Ávila from 1718 Brk Coll. 7 were re-texted to Litanies of Loreto no later than 1728, when the former Jesuit P. Johannes Jungwirth (1663–1737) copied the collection as a gift for his successor in the role of the leader of the music ensemble at the Catholic court church (and Jesuit mission) in Dresden P. Joannes Frantze, SJ. The Dresden source contains a total of thirteen compositions, but palaeographic analysis clearly shows that Jungwirth’s original manuscript, with calligraphically lettered title pages for the individual parts containing the title of the collection, its dedication, and dating in the form of chronograms, contained nine compositions only. The remaining four litanies were apparently copied later by different copyists, and they are probably the works of different composers (see Brk Ap. 9, Brk Ap. 7, Brk Ap. 8 and Brk Ap. 10).

It seems likely that the composer himself adapted the music, since several litanies from the set survived also separately in other collections, such as Brk 15, Brk 16 and Brk 22 (dated as early as 1727). The title of the manuscript calls into question for which purpose the collection was intended. The Litanies are dedicated to “Gloriosissimae ac Totius Urbis & Orbis Thaumaturgae Florentinae Virgini ab Angelo Salutatae” (see the detailed description in the RISM record). The title Virgo Florentina suggests that collection may be connected with / ), an important Marian pilgrimage site in the Ore Mountains near , whose Czech name bears reference to flowers.

Composition: Not after 1728

Last changed: 2021-01-26
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