On March 2, 2026, the Ceremonial Hall of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences hosted the grand presentation of Gábriel Szoliva’s volume Breviarium notatum Strigoniense saeculi XIII – Pars sanctoralis. The three-hour event featured a film screening, scholarly lectures, and a concert, highlighting a landmark achievement in Hungarian musicology and Gregorian chant research.

In 2019, Gábriel Szoliva discovered a long-lost second volume of a unique 13th-century Hungarian liturgical chant manuscript in the rare-books collection of the Archdiocesan Library (Metropolitanska knjižnica Zagrebačke nadbiskupije) in Zagreb. The fragments, which had been repurposed for bookbinding in the 17th century, were painstakingly reconstructed over six years. The result provides unparalleled insight into the repertory of the divine office – Proper of Saints – celebrated in the 13th-century Esztergom Cathedral, including the earliest known musical “compositions” written in medieval Hungary.

The facsimile edition of the fragments, accompanied by a detailed introductory study, marks a milestone in cultural-historical research. The presentation concluded with performances of the most remarkable chants by the Schola Academica choir of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, conducted by György Merczel and Zoltán Mizsei. The project and its celebration were made possible with the support of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. For further details and access to the digital edition, see https://bns.zti.hu

Gabriella Gilányi