Hus-Hussite Themes and Other Repertoire in the Manuscript Songbook “Písně Baborovy” (Babor’s Songs)

Abstract

The study deals with a manuscript source, the content of which was heretofore known only to a small extent thanks to J. V. Šmejkal’s book Piseň pisni narodu českeho (Song of Songs of the Czech Nation, 1935). The collection known as “Pisně Baborovy” (Babor’s Songs) was rediscovered by the author in the collections of the Czech Museum of Music, and he focused on summarising existing information about the songbook and introducing the authors (including the Babor family tree) and the notated repertoire in it, which he examines from the perspective of a musical historiographer. There is a detailed probe of the source’s Hus-Hussite elements. At its conclusion, the study outlines the manuscript’s importance in the context of similar sources (printed and manuscript).