František Matúš

Doc. PhDr. František Matúš, CSc. was a Slovak musicologist, university lecturer, publisher, and organizer of musical life. In his scholarly work, he focused on music history, ethnomusicology, and ethnoorganology.

Thematically, František Matúš concentrated on the musical culture of the Spiš and Šariš regions during the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque periods; on historical and contemporary musical figures (Zachariáš Zarevúcky, Samuel Marckfelner, Béla Kéler, Anton Cíger, Monika Kandráčová); and on the development of music-theoretical thinking in Slovakia in the 16th century.

In the field of ethnomusicology, he focused on the folk songs of the Šariš region, which inspired his collecting and processing activities. His research resulted in three collections of Šariš folk songs (more than 500 songs) published in the 1980s under the title Krása životu (The Beauty of Life) and two volumes titled Piesne zo Sedlíc (Songs from Sedlice).

Among Matúš’s contributions to Slovak ethnoorganology is the original discovery of a traditional folk instrument called gajdica, originating from the Šariš village of Potoky near Lipany. He documented the instrument’s structure, analyzed its playing technique, and wrote a biography of its maker, Andrej Mizerák, in several studies that gained significant recognition among the folklorist community.

One of his most important musicological discoveries was the oldest music textbook found on Slovak territory, De Musica by Leonard Stöckel, which he discovered in the Lutheran Lyceum Library in Kežmarok in 1987, 420 years after its creation.

On the occasion of the Year of Slovak Music, he published an extensive monograph about Anton Cíger titled S hudbou v srdci Tatier (With Music in the Heart of the Tatras) in 1996.

František Matúš spent almost his entire professional life at the university in Prešov, where he passed on his knowledge to future generations. He was a founding member of the Department of Music Education, and from the beginning, his pedagogical and academic focus was on music history subjects, although he also taught violin. Matúš played in the teachers’ orchestra, served as the department secretary, was the program guarantor for music education, chaired final examination committees, and was a member of the Academic Council of the Faculty of Education at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University. He also wrote several teaching texts on music history for students. Under his supervision, three volumes of student music reflections titled PREDZNAMENANIA (Accidentals) were published.

František Matúš was the founder of the Torysa folklore ensemble and the author of the dramaturgical concept for the spring and autumn concert series, as well as for international music-pedagogical and scholarly events in Prešov. He was also a founding member (in 2000) and chairman of the Prešov Music Society Súzvuk, and a member and head of organizing committees for several musicological conferences.

At his initiative, the concept and realization of the project Moyzesov hudobný rok (Moyzes's Musical Year, 6 December 1993 – 6 December 1994) took place, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Mikuláš Moyzes. He also initiated the Moyzesiana project, an international vocal competition for students of pedagogy-focused universities.

František Matúš was also active in publishing. In 1991, he founded his own music publishing house, Matúš music, with the goal of bringing forgotten Slovak musical figures to the public, drawing from historical and folkloristic source materials. His publishing output was extensive – between 1991 and 2000 alone, he published 21 works, including five volumes from the folk song series Šariš v zrkadle svojho poznania (Šariš in the Mirror of Its Knowledge), which included titles such as: Šarišani jak, jak še mace?; A od Prešova v tim poľu; Na Ľevockej hure dzvon se oziva; Dze si, sosňičko, rosla; V Sedľici budzem. He also published several dozen books and sheet music in collaboration with other publishers and associations, particularly with the Súzvuk society (in series such as Vedecké spisy o hudbe – Scholarly Writings on Music, Cesty do sveta hudby – Journeys into the World of Music, and Inšpirácie umením ľudu – Inspired by Folk Art). As a scholarly editor, he participated in the publication of the critical edition Musica Scepusii Veteris / Stará hudba na Spiši (Early Music of Spiš) from 2003 onward.