Zenei írásbeliségünk a XII. században: Új vizsgálatok, új eredmények

The twelfth century marked a turning point in the history of musical notation in Hungary. After a brief period of using borrowed but unsingable German neumes, a new music theory and a modern method of melody writing emerged in the Carpathian Basin. Along with the introduction of the staff system, a distinctive set of signs for notation was developed in the Hungarian Church. This advanced notation was a century ahead of its time compared to the Central European tradition of German neume writing.

The history of Hungarian liturgical music notation, commonly known as Esztergom notation, was uncovered through the meticulous research of the renowned musicologist Janka Szendrei in the 1980s. However, the most incomplete part of her research is the reconstruction of the origin of Esztergom notation. Today, for several reasons, it seems timely to revisit the topic, incorporating new sources and tools into the research.

How can we characterize our liturgical musical literacy in the twelfth century? Where have the first examples of Esztergom music notation survived? What circumstances, influences, and models led the development of our Gregorian notation to diverge from its original German path? New studies may bring us closer to answering these interconnected questions.