MOZART AND THE PRACTICE OF SACRED MUSIC, 1781-91 a ...

official ceremonies. By the late 1730s, however, the court’s splendour had become tarnished
by increasingly serious military and financial difficulties in which the Empire found itself.
With her father’s unexpected death in 1740, Maria Theresia assumed control of a realm
suffering heavy territorial losses from the Prussians, Bavarians and Turks, and the birth of
Joseph five months into her reign was a rare piece of good fortune in an otherwise bleak
environment.
During her first decade as Empress, Maria Theresia issued a number of decrees
designed to strengthen the bond between church and state, expand Imperial supervision of
religious matters, and reduce “unnecessary” liturgical celebration. In 1745, she ordered the
introduction of prayers for the royal family during mass, initially in Tirol and
Vorderösterreich, and eventually for the entire Monarchy. 12 That same year, strict
punishments were introduced for those who behaved inappropriately on Sundays and holy
days. 13 More importantly, from the musical perspective, a new service order for funerals was
introduced in April 1747. The Trauerordnung permitted the singing of “ein hoches
musicalisches oder Choral-Ambt” only on the first of three days prescribed for the exequies,
and further regulations banned masses in the room of the deceased and restricted the
decoration of the tomb. 14
Maria Theresia again turned her attention to religious matters in 1752-3. Processions
in Tirol were restricted, new restrictions introduced on concerts and plays during Advent
and official mourning periods, and fasting was encouraged. At the same time, more than 20
holy days had their status downgraded to Halbfeiertagen, which necessarily had an indirect
negative influence on the performance of concerted church music. The reform of the
12 RGZJ, 54.
13 Ibid., 60.
14 Ibid., 55.
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