Wagner Peter Joseph, *19 August 1865 Kürenz (near Trier), †17 October 1931 Fribourg (Switzerland), German musicologist. In 1876–86, he studied at the gymnasium and the cathedral music school in Trier with M. Hermesdorff, at the same time being a chorister and then an organist in the local cathedral church. In 1886-90, he initially studied history and classical philology, and later musicology at the University of Strasbourg, where in 1890, he received the degree of PhD on the basis of the dissertation Palestrina als weltlicher Komponist written under the supervision of G. Jacobsthal. In 1890–93, he continued his studies with H. Bellermann and Ph. Spitta at the University of Berlin. In 1893, after habilitation at the then-established University of Freiburg, he was employed there as a lecturer in the history of music and church music, from 1897 an associate professor, and from 1902 a full professor; there he was as a rector in 1920–21. In 1901, he organised the Académie Grégorienne within the university, established under the auspices of Pope Leo XIII for research on the theory and practice of liturgical singing, and for many years he directed its publishing activities; in 1904, he became a member of the commission appointed by Pope Pius X, whose aim was to prepare the Vatican edition of Gregorian chant. He was the first president of the International Musicological Society (MTM) (1927–30), honorary member of the Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien in Stockholm, Deutsche Akademie in Munich, chairman of the musicological committee of the Allgemeiner Cäcilienverein; he received many awards and distinctions.
Wagner is one of the most outstanding representatives of musical medievalism of the last century. His main research interests focused on broad issues related to the genesis and development of the liturgical chorale of the Roman Church, musical palaeography, and above all, notational systems and methods of their interpretation, as well as the formal systematics of the liturgical chorale repertoire. He took up all these threads in his basic, three-volume work Einführung in die gregorianischen Melodien, containing a synthetic, fully exhaustive discussion of liturgical chorale based on modern research methods, which to this day constitutes a convenient and in many respects necessary starting point for further studies and research in this area. In this work – by approaching the various issues of liturgical chant in a strictly historical context, especially the history of religion, the Church and the liturgy – not only the history, evolution and historical variability of the functions of Gregorian chant are presented, but also a logical systematisation and classification of forms diverse in style and genre. chorale music. Taking into account many aspects of medieval musical culture in his own, modern source research allowed him to significantly expand the range of issues and enrich the methodological basis of his existing research, including his teacher M. Hermesdorff, as well as A. Schubiger, G. Jacobsthal, Ph. Spitta and H. Bellermann. Wagner’s works created the foundations for the modern study of liturgical chant in the Western Church. Source research undertaken during research trips to various European centres, especially German and Spanish, of numerous manuscript materials, especially variants and differences in the notation and melodic shape of the same pieces, led Wagner to discover the so-called Germanic chorale dialect. As a result of comparative research on the musical palaeography of medieval codices, Wagner became interested in the rhythms of the chorale in detail, and his views in this area evolved from a free rhythmic interpretation of chorale melody, propagated from the times of J. Pothier by A. Mocquereau and other representatives of the equalist trend of the Solesmes school, to taking a leading position among the supporters of menzuralism, adopting fixed rhythmic values for individual neumatic signs, but without specifying the meter. Wagner, however, was liberal in his views, as he allowed both free shaping of rhythm (especially in syllabic songs), depending only on the structure of the text, as well as the possibility of rhythmic interpretation of neumes, especially in works which text structure was based on metrical feet. After all, he was far from the concept of isomodalism – the schematic repetition of simple modes and rhythm. Great importance is also attributed to Wagner’s research into early medieval Mozarabic chorale, undertaken at the end of his life, and the Spanish liturgical music created under its influence. Wagner drew attention to the possibilities of using the results of scientific research in liturgical practice, which was one of the basic forms of activity of the Académie Grégorienne he founded and the research conducted there, independently of the Benedictines from Solesmes. He also actively joined the trend of chorale restoration, promoted by the Cecilian movement. As a member of the papal commission, he sought to revive old traditions in the Vatican editions, while maintaining the modifications and diversity represented by the source records of old chorale melodies. Wagner composed the organ accompaniment to the Vatican edition’s Vesperale and Cantiones Sacrae.
Literature: Festschrift Peter Wagner zum 60. Geburtstag, ed. K. Weinmann, Leipzig 1926, reprint Farnborough 1969; J. Handschin Peter Wagner und die Choralwissenschaft, “Schweizerische Musikzeitung und Sängerblatt” LXXI, 1931, reprint in Gedenkschrift J. Handschin, ed. H. Oesch, Berno 1957; P Schuh Peter Wagner, ein Trierer von internationalem Ruf, “Trierisches Jahrbuch” 1962, reprint in “Musica sacra” LXXXIII, 1963.
Francesco Petrarcas Vergini in der Komposition des Cipriano de Rore, Leipzig 1893
Einführung in die gregorianischen Melodien. Ein Handbuch der Choralwissenschaft, 3 volumes, vol.1: Ursprung und Entwicklung der liturgischen Gesangsformen bis zum Ausgang des Mittelalters, Fribourg 1895, Leipzig 3rd ed. 1911, reprint Hildesheim 1962, French ed. Tournai 1904, English ed. London 1907, Italian ed. Siena 1910, vol. 2: Neumenkunde. Paläographie des liturgischen Gesanges, Fribourg 1905, Leipzig 2nd ed. 1912, reprint Hildesheim 1962, vol. 3: Gregorianische Formenlehre. Eine choralische Stilkunde, Leipzig 1921, reprint Hildesheim 1962
Über traditionellen Choral und traditionellen Choralvortrag, Strasbourg 1905
Der Kampf gegen die Editio Vaticana, Graz 1907
Elemente des gregorianischen Gesanges. Zur Einführung in die vatikanische Choralausgabe, «Kirchenmusik» II, ed. K. Weinmann, Regensburg 1909, 2nd ed. 1917
Geschichte der Messe, part 1: Bis 1600, Leipzig 1913, reprint Hildesheim 1963
Einführung in die katholische Kirchenmusik, Düsseldorf 1919
Universität und Musikwissenschaft, rector’s speech, Leipzig 1921
Das Madrigal und Palestrina, “Vierteljahrsschrift für Musikwissenschaft” VIII, 1892
Ein italienisches Stabat Mater, “Kirchenmusikalisches Jahrbuch” X, 1895
Über zwei Sequenzen zur heiligen Jungfrau, “Gregorius-Blatt” XX, 1896
Über Psalmen und Psalm-Gesang im christlichen Altertum, “Römische Quartalschrift” XII, 1898
Le manuscrit 383 de la Bibliothèque de Saint-Gall, “Revue d’histoire et de critique musicales” II, 1902
Die beiden Melodien des “Ave Maris Stella” and Das Gradual “Viderunt” der dritten Weihnachtsmesse, “Gregorianische Rundschau” I, 1902 and I–II, 1902–03
Das Dreikönigsspiel zu Freiburg in der Schweiz, “Freiburger Geschichts-Blätter” X, 1903
Alte Erklärung des Choralrhythmus, “Rassegna Gregoriana” III, 1904
Die Diatonisierung des gregorianischen Gesangs durch das Liniensystem and Das Te Deum, “Gregorianische Rundschau” III, 1904 and VI, 1907
Über den gegenwärtigen Stand der mittelalterlichen Musikforschung, in the book of the 2nd MTM congress in 1906 in Basel, Leipzig 1907
Zur mittelalterlichen Offiziumskomposition, “Kirchenmusikalisches Jahrbuch” XXI, 1908
O Roma nobilis, “Kirchenmusikalisches Jahrbuch” XXII, 1909
Zur Rhythmik der Neumen, “Jahrbuch der Musikbibliothek Peters” XVII, 1911
Über die Messen des Jakob Handl, “Musica divina” I, 1913
Palestrina, “Gregorius-Blatt” XXXVII, 1913
Die Koloraturen im mittelalterlichen Kirchengesang, “Jahrbuch der Musikbibliothek Peters” XXV, 1918
Die konzertierende Messe in Bologna, in H. Kretzschmar’s festschrist, Leipzig 1918
Rheinisches Osterspiel in einer Handschrift des 17. Jahrhunderts, “Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum” LVI, 1918
Ein bedeutsamer Fund zur Neumengeschichte, “Archiv für Musikwissenschaft” I, 1918/19
Zur Musikgeschichte der Universität, “Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft” III, 1922/23
St. Gallen in der Musikgeschichte, in: S. Singer Die Dichterschule von St. Gallen, Leipzig 1922
Der gregorianische Gesang, in: Handbuch der Musikgeschichte, vol. 1, ed. G. Adler, Frankfurt am Main 1924, Berlin 2nd ed. 1930
Das Media vita, “Schweizerisches Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft” I, 1924
Zu den liturgischen Organa oraz Zum Organum Crucifixum in carne, “Archiv für Musikwissenschaft” VI, 1924
Germanisches und Romanisches im frühmittelalterlichen Kirchengesang, in the book of the musicological congress in 1925 in Leipzig, Leipzig 1926
Aus der Frühzeit des Liniensystems, “Archiv für Musikwissenschaft” VIII, 1926
Über die Anfänge des mehrstimmigen Gesanges, “Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft” IX, 1926/27
Über die Beziehung zwischen Morgenland und Abendland in der mittelalterlichen Musik, “Kyrko-historisk Årsskrift”, Uppsala 1926, also in “Stimmen der Zeit” CXIV, 1927
Über den altspanischen, mozarabischen Kirchengesang, in: Beethoven-Zentenarfeier, congress’s book 1927 in Vienna, Vienna 1927
Über AgnusDei-Tropen, “Musica divina” XV, 1927
Ästhetik des gregorianischen Gesanges, in the book of the 1927 congress on church music in Berlin, Kassel 1928
Der mozarabische Kirchengesang und seine Überlieferung oraz Untersuchungen zu den Gesangstexten und zur responsorialen Psalmodie der altspanischen Liturgie, «Spanische Forschungen der Görresgesellschaft» 1st series: Gesamtliche Aufsätze zur Kulturgeschichte Spaniens, vol. 1 and vol. 2, ed. H. Finke, Münster 1928, 1930
Eine unbekannte Singweise der Pfingstsequenz, “Kirchenmusikalisches Jahrbuch” XXV, 1930
Zur mittelalterlichen Tonartenlehre, in: Studien zur Musikgeschichte, G. Adler’s festschrift, Leipzig 1930
Ein vierstimmiger Agnus-Tropus, “Kirchenmusikalisches Jahrbuch” XXVI, 1931
Ist der Wortakzent im gregorianischen Choral eine Länge und eine Kürze?, “Kirchenmusikalisches Jahrbuch” XXVII, 1932
Editions:
Das Graduale der St. Thomaskirche zu Leipzig (14. Jahrhundert) als Zeuge deutscher Choralüberlieferung, “Publikationen älterer Musik” V, VII, Leipzig 1930, 1932, reprint Hildesheim 1957
Die Gesänge der Jakobusliturgie zu Santiago de Compostela aus dem sogennanten Codex Calixtinus, «Collectanea Friburgiensia» new series, XX, Fribourg 1931
