Duration: 1989 to 2001

The project involved documenting the history of the Papal Chapel, which served as the central institution for church music until the 19th century. This included a historical-critical edition of sources from the Vatican Archives as well as studies on the history of the Chapel (reconstruction of the composition of the choir, studies on the choral tradition and the polyphonic repertoire of the 15th and 16th centuries). In addition, plans had been made to publish a new catalog of the chapel’s musical manuscripts and prints.

The project was completed in 2001. Since early 2021, a catalog of the Cappella Sistina (external link) has been available online. The publication as part of the International Source Lexicon of Music (RISM) (external link) was made possible, among other things, by the efforts of Prof. Dr. Klaus Pietschmann, the president of RISM, and the dedication of former project staff member Thomas Schmidt. The RISM Online Catalog (external link) now contains the majority of the catalog data compiled at that time.

Director of the Research Center

Prof. Dr. Ludwig Finscher

Staff

• Dr. Adalbert Roth
• Dr. Thomas Schmidt-Beste