Antiphonarium Ecclesiae Parochialis Urbis Kranj 1. (Musicalia Danubiana 23.)
Each medieval chant book is a well-ordered composition of universal, regional and local features. Thus all individual manuscripts, especially if they are complete and correctly notated, are worthy of attention. This is eminently true of the Antiphoner published here: the book manifests the liturgical and musical customs of a local church situated at the meeting point of three regions. In the Middle Ages the territory of present-day Slovenia fell under the patriarchate of Aquileia, and through this ecclesiastical center Italian elements found their way into local custom. During some historical periods the south German (Austrian) region had a strong impact on Aquileia itself, and especially on Kranj (as is immediately apparent in the notation of the codex). On the East it was bordered by the Kingdom of Hungary, whose ecclesiastical life and culture was influenced from the outset by the Christian Carniola. In light of this, the editorial board of the Musicalia Danubiana readily accepted the proposal to produce a facsimile edition of a full Antiphonary, remarkable in terms of chant history, regional music culture and the history of Hungary. First our thanks are due to the Archbishop of Ljubljana, Msgr. Alojz Uran, and to Dr. France M. Dolinar, the head of the Ljubljana Archiepiscopal Archives, who have approval to the edition. The plan could not have been realized without the Institute of Musicology, Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, giving permission to their outstanding researcher Jurij Snoj to complete the preparatory work. Similarly, the Institute for Musicology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Early Music Department) made it possible for Gabriella Gilányi to dedicate sufficient time to the Hungarian contribution as agreed. Our thanks to Zsolt Kemecsei who produced the photographs of the manuscript. The publication is an exemplary success in international scholarly cooperation. True success, however, will be achieved if the material in this source takes its worthy place in chant scholarship, if research colleagues take it in their hands and by further analysis they extend our knowledge. László Dobszay Doctor of Musicology Hungarian Academy of Sciences Head of the Editorial Board