Crossing Confessional Boundaries : The Patronage of Italian Sacred Music in Seventeenth-Century Dresden

Shortly after assuming the Saxon throne in 1656, Lutheran Elector Johann Georg II (r. 1656-80) replaced the elder Kapellmeister Heinrich Sch???tz with younger Italian Catholic composers. Seemingly overnight, sacred music in the most modern Italian style, first by Vincenzo Albrici (1631-90/96) and later by Giuseppe Peranda (ca. 1625-75) supplanted the more traditional Sch???tzian sacred concerto and Spruchmotette, effecting a change in musical and spiritual life both within the walls of the Dresden court and beyond. Drawing on extensive research in primary source materials, Frandsen explores the elector's "Italianization" of the Hofkapelle with castrati and other Italian virtuosi, and examines the larger confessional conflict that gripped the city of Dresden and its implications for the Catholic-leaning elector's musical agenda. She then examines the Latin texts set by Albrici and Peranda, a body of works dominated by expressions of mystical devotion typical of the repertoire then heard in Italy. However, drawing upon recent studies of the phenomenon of "new piety" in seventeenth-century Lutheranism, Frandsen locates these texts squarely within the realm of contemporary Lutheran spirituality, and demonstrates their congruity with devotional materials used by Lutherans since the mid-sixteenth century. In her discussion of the sacred concertos of Albrici and Peranda, she takes the concept of musica pathetica as a point of departure, and also explores the formal and stylistic relationships between the Roman motet and the new sacred concerto in Dresden. Finally, with the help of liturgies recorded in court diaries, she reintegrates this music into its original performance environment, and demonstrates how tightly the works of these Italians were woven into the Gospel-determined thematic fabric of the services celebrated during the church year. A fascinating account of the uneasy alliance of two confessions at the prominent seventeenth-century court of Dresden, this book provides fresh insights into a neglected but influential repertoire. Frandsen's research will be of interest to scholars and students interested in Baroque music, the intellectual and cultural history of European courts, the history of liturgy and church history, and the Early Modern era in general. Contents......Page 11 Abbreviations......Page 13 List of Musical Examples......Page 15 Prologue: The Forgotten Mäzen Johann Georg II......Page 19 1 The Advent of the Italians, 1651–56......Page 22 2 The Italianate Hofkapelle of Johann Georg II, 1656–80......Page 48 3 Johann Georg II and the Problem of Catholicism......Page 92 4 Piety, Penitence, and Praise: The Dresden Textual Repertoire......Page 117 5 Roma trapiantata: The New Sacred Concerto in Dresden......Page 188 6 Musica pathetica: Style and Affect in the Dresden Concerto......Page 261 7 Johann Georg’s Vision for Worship......Page 357 8 Musik im Gottesdienst: The Liturgical Year at the Dresden Court......Page 378 Epilogue: Johann Georg II Remembered......Page 454 Appendix I: Source Documents......Page 459 Appendix II: Sacred Vocal Works of the Principal Dresden Court Composers......Page 471 Bibliography of Primary Sources......Page 497 Bibliography of Secondary Sources......Page 503 A......Page 517 B......Page 518 C......Page 519 D......Page 520 G......Page 521 J......Page 522 L......Page 523 M......Page 525 P......Page 526 R......Page 527 S......Page 528 V......Page 529 Z......Page 530 Prologue : the forgotten Mäzen Johann Georg II The advent of the Italians, 1651-56 The Italianate Hofkapelle of Johann Georg II, 1656-80 Crossing confessional boundaries : Johann Georg II and the problem of Catholicism Piety, penitence, and praise : the Dresden textual repertoire Roma trapiantata : the new sacred concerto in Dresden Musica pathetica : style and affect in the Dresden concerto Johann Georg's vision for worship Musik im Gottesdienst : the liturgical year in Dresden Epilogue : Johann Georg II remembered. ## Abstract This book is an examination of the uneasy alliance of two confessions, Lutheran and Catholic, at the prominent seventeenth-century Germany court of Dresden. It examines the implications of this alliance for the repertoire of sacred art music cultivated there; an influential repertoire that has received only scant attention from scholars. This book is an examination of the uneasy alliance of two confessions, Lutheran and Catholic, at the prominent seventeenth-century court of Dresden, and the implications of this alliance for the repertoire of sacred art music cultivated there, an influential repertoire that has received only scant attention from scholars. This volume examines the uneasy alliance of two confessions, Lutheran and Catholic, at the prominent 17th century court of Dresden, and the implications of this alliance for the repertoire of sacred art music cultivated there, an influential repertoire that has received only scant attention from scholars