Jesuit music seminaries in Poland and Lithuania during the 17th and 18th centuries
ENIn the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus there was an explicit prohibition of musical instruments, singing at mass and reciting the Hours in choir. Ignatius was convinced if the Jesuits sing mass and the Hours this would take them away from their proper duties. However, the first generation of Jesuits already had taken notice to the fact that the singing of the Mass and the chanting of the Hours could serve as an important instrument within their mission work. The Rules of the Society prohibited sternly and strictly the development of every type of music within its houses but not upon what took place in music on the outside. The Regulations banned the storage and utilization of musical instruments in the Jesuit houses. From the early beginnings of the Society of Jesus there existed an internal dissension among its members with regard to the strict policies relating to the use of chant and music. Ignatius gradually permitted the singing of vespers on certain days for a good reason – in some places the people practically demanded it. The first Jesuits in Latin America, India and later in the Germanic and Slavonic countries performed extraordinary music in their churches. They knew all too well their mission could not be successful without the presence of music and chant in their churches. In Poland and Lithuania, the Jesuits soon after opening their schools, commenced with the organization of choirs. Those who sang in these choirs did so during the ceremonies held in the Jesuit churches and schools. During some of the performances, which took place in the theatre, some bands played music and sang songs. Those bands were trained and maintained by the Jesuits. Chant was obligatory at the school in the three lowest classes. It was usually taught after the normal structured school classes for one-half of an hour.
