Memorial prize Gallus
Jacobus Handl – Gallus or Jakob Petelin (1550–1591) is a patron symbol of Slovenian choral music: our choirs learn by his madrigals and motets, and the awards for achievements in the Slovenian choral field are named after him. His assembled works have been printed in 20 books and since its beginnings, the national competition, as well as the international one later, has been in charge of his revived presence on the concert stages. Both of the acclaimed events are carried out under Gallus’ moto MUSICA NOSTER AMOR – MUSIC, OUR LOVE and Gallus has resounded on the stage in Union hall for a thousand and a thousand times, performed by home and foreign choirs. His bronze portrait in the lobby of the Union hall, created by sculptor Metka Kavčič Tekač and which was disclosed at the beginning of the 11th International Choral Competition Maribor 2011, bears witness to the fact that this is a place dedicated to Gallus.
Sculptor Metka Kavčič Takač has created »Gallus« for the every-year winner of International Choral Competition Maribor after the woodcut orbituary from July 18, 1591, printed by Jurij Nigrin.
Memorial prize »Maribor plaques«
All the finalists of the International Choral Competition Maribor receive the seal.
THE COMPETITION ANTHEM
»Musica noster amor!«
Jacobus Handl – Gallus (1550–1591):
MUSICA NOSTER AMOR
(Source: Institute of Musicology ZRC SAZU)
Jacobus Handl – Gallus
(1550–1591)
Jacobus Handl – Gallus, Slovenian late Renaissance composer, Kapellmeister and humanist, who was considered a Carniolan (Carniolus), is an undisputed giant of 16th-century European music. His huge printed opus of motets (374), masses (16) and Latin secular songs (100) is one of the most vibrant and evolutionary significant pillars of Renaissance music.
Jacobus Handl – Gallus or Jacobus Gallus Carniolus (1550–1591), was born on the territory of present-day Slovenia, in the then Carniola (end of July 1550, most probably at Šentviška Gora or in Ribnica), at that time a part of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by the Habsburgs. He spent the second half of his life living and working in Moravia and Bohemia. He was reportedly educated at the Stična monastery in Carniola, and in his youth he travelled throughout Lower Austria, staying in the monasteries of Zwettl and Melk in the Danube region. His later travels took him to Prague, Breslau and Olomouc († 18 July 1591, Prague, Bohemia).
Gallus authored many motets, the most famous being a collection of 374 motets for singing on each day of the ecclesial year. Another major collection of works is Harmoniae morales, a selection of 53 madrigals. Gallus was a contemporary of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Orlando di Lasso. During his lifetime he was a successful and respected composer, although he faded into obscurity in his native land over the centuries. In Slovenia, composers Kamilo Mašek (1831–1859) and Josip Mantuani (1860–1933) have brought him back to the public attention. Between 1985 and 1996, Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts has published his collected works in twenty volumes.
In honour of Gallus, the central hall of the Slovenia’s main cultural and congress centre Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana was named after him – »Gallus hall«. Also, a section of the right bank of the Ljubljanica River in the city centre of Ljubljana, from the St. James Bridge to the Cobblers’ (Shoemakers’) Bridge, is called Gallus Embankment (»Gallusovo nabrežje«). The left bank of the Bistrica River in Ribnica, his birthplace, is called the same. There, a monument with a bronze bust of the composer, the work of architect Jože Plečnik and sculptor Lojze Dolinar from 1932, and a stone plaque from 1973 are dedicated to his memory as well. Originally erected in 1933, the plaque was destroyed during the Second World War. Gallus was also depicted on the obverse of the former 200-tolar banknote of the Republic of Slovenia.
Anually, The Public Fund for Cultural Activities of the Republic of Slovenia awards Gallus plaques and Gallus certificates to deserving choral musicians, and gold, silver or bronze Gallus badges to long-term choral singers. The International Choral Competition Gallus – Maribor, which has been organised by The Public Fund for Cultural Activities of the Republic of Slovenia for 30 years, is named after him, too.