THREE POINTS OF A TRIANGLE. ITALIAN, LATIN AND GERMAN ORATORIOS AND SEPOLCROS IN THE EARLY 18TH CENTURY CENTRAL EUROPE

THREE POINTS OF A TRIANGLE. ITALIAN, LATIN AND GERMAN ORATORIOS AND SEPOLCROS IN THE EARLY 18TH CENTURY CENTRAL EUROPE In the 18th century Bohemian Lands, the oratorios were produced not only in Italian (commonly understood, according to the period sources), but also in German and Latin; the most interesting examples here are the anonymous Deus propter scelera (Prague 1727), La passione d‘Abele innocente by Diogenio Bigaglia (Prague 1729) and the Latin version of Leonardo Leo‘s Sant‘Elena al Calvario (Prague 1734).

The title page of the libretto of Deus propter scelera, published by the Prague Jesuit Clementinum printing office, offers no hint as to the direction which the researcher should take in identifying the composer: Ferdinandeae in Collegio S.J. ad S. Clem. 10 The clue is to be found in Dresden, where an identical copy of the same text, also published by the Prague Jesuits (Typis Universitatis Carolo-Ferdinandae in Collegio S. J. ad S. Clem.) is in the Sächsische Landesbibliothek.The wording of the title page of the Dresden libretto differs slightly: along with the Prague Kreuzherren Diarium Domesticum it suggests that this sepolcro was written for the Catholic Court Church in Dresden: Deus propter scelera populi sui mortuus: Juxta illud Isaiae 53.v. 8. Propter scelus populi mei percussi eum.Musicali Dramate parentatus in Regia Ecclesia Dresdnensi. 11 No corresponding scores can be found, either in the Sächsische Landesbiblothek nor, seemingly, anywhere else.Nor is any such composition known to have been written for the Dresden Court by Antonio Lotti, Jan Dismas Zelenka, Johann Adolf Hasse, Giovanni Alberto Ristori or Johann Georg Schürer.Around 1727, Tobias Butz (in 1727) and Johann David Heinichen (1725 and 1726) did write Latin oratorios for the Dresden Court. 12Generally speaking, foreign oratorios were performed in Prague between one and several more years after they were composed.Therefore, Deus propter scelera might have been Johann David Heinichen's work; however, no composition of his, aligning with this text is currently known.
The libretto of Leonardo Leo's Sant' Elena al Calvario in the National Library in Prague (1734), is a striking example of a Latin translation of Pietro Metastasio's text. 13However true to the original, it lacks its poetic elegance -a feature characteristic for most of the Prague Latin and German oratorio translations.There are two additional da capo arias -Sollicitus fossor (inserted into the first act of the oratorio) and Barbara dira effera (in the second act of the surviving Sant' Elena scores, held in Berlin, 14 Brussels, 15 Dresden, 16 Hamburg 17 and Naples. 18Until now, the texts of these arias were known only from two motets by Jan Dismas Zelenka -Sollicitus fossor (ZWV 209) and Barbara dira effera (ZVW 164), both currently among the holdings of the Sächsische Landesbibliothek in Dresden; no other settings of these texts by another composer are known at present.In the Dresden version, Barbara dira effera is extended by a recitave Vicit leo followed by Alleluia, which are missing from the Prague version; the second and third movement might have been added later for a performance in the Dresden Court Church.Both texts are related to Saint Helen's invention of the Holy Cross.Sollicitus fossor and Barbara dira effera might have been originally composed as insertions in Leonardo Leo's oratorio; if this was true, Jan Dismas Zelenka supplied Prague Jesuits with new music as late as the 1730s.There is, however, no source to support this hypothesis; further research is required here. 19ranslating Sant' Elena al Calvario into Latin for the Prague performance in the Kreuzherren church, appears to have been a straightforward process.The Jesuit ways of approaching the same task were quite different.The date of the Prague production of the anonymous oratorio AMORIS IN IUDICIO VICTORIA.Oder: Die obsiegende Liebe, In dem, wider das Menschliche Beschlecht, Wegen deß grausamen Christi-Mords, Von der Göttlichen Berechtigkeit anstellten Hals-Berichte, is encoded in its title, which consists of big and small capital letters; the big capital letters form the date 1717.A note on the title page suggests the origin of the oratorio: 'Vormahls in Neapol, Anjetzo aber In der Kirchen S. Nicolai Soc: JEsu, der Koeniglichen Kleinern Statt Prag'. 20Considering the fact that Italian oratorios were produced in Prague one or two years after their premiere (see  21 and in Milan (the edition from 1725). 22The only known, fragmentary score of this work, from around 1720, is in the Universitätsbibliothek Carl von Ossietzky in Hamburg.It contains only the first part of the oratorio, and, in the 19 th century, was the property of Friedrich Chrysander. 23he opening dedication of the Prague libretto, 'An den Hoch-guenstigen, Andacht-Befliessenen Leser', explains the ways in which the original was treated to suit the requirements of the Jesuit oratorio productions: "Weil man sich enschlossen, nicht allein die Kunst-maessige Waelsche Sing-Art in gegenwaertigen Oratorio unveraendert zu behalten; sondern auch den Nachdruck der Waelschen Red-Art in Teutscher Sprache aus moeglichste nachzuaehnen: So hat doch dieses letztere ohne Zwang der Hoch-Teutschen Mund-Art nicht allerseits koennen bewerckstelliget werden: Sintemahl ein Vernuenftiger leicht erachten wird, wie schwer es falle, ein Poesie auß einer Sprache in die andere, mit gleichen Syllaben und Verstande, mit Obachtung zugleichg der Sing-Music zu ueberbringen.So dann wird der geneygte Leser desto gutwilliger entschuldigen, wann da und dort etwelche Red-Arten wider die Reinigkeit der Teutschen Sprache, wider der Poesie und Reim-Kunst vorkommen werden.Unser Vorhaben ware allen in der Andacht zu dienen.Zu dem Ende wird diese Music den Ohren, diese wenige Blaettlein den Augen deß Andacht befliessenen Zuhoerer und Lesers dienstwillig wollen gewidmet haben." In theory, the dedication suggests direct translation and usage of all music material, similar to the case of Leonardo Leo's Sant' Elena al Calvario.In practice, the rules of translation followed a different work pattern here, one which can also be seen in the re-working of Diogenio Bigaglia's Passione d'Abele Innocente (see later).The oratorio was produced 'Am H. Charfreytag Nachmittag um 12. Uhr, zu andaechtiger Betrachtung'.The Interlocutori (characters) of the original text are 'Maria, sempre vergine', 'Giustizia Divina', 'Giovanni, Apostolo', and 'Maddalena' (no music setting suggested).The Hamburg score, Il trionfo della divina Giustizia.Oratorio a Quattro voci.Maria, Giustizia, Giovanni, e Maddalena con V.V. di Niccolo Porpora, gives the characters as Maria [Alto], Giustizia [Canto], Giovanni [Basso] and Maddalena [Canto].In the Prague German translation, the Interlocutores are 'Die Liebe -Canto', 'Das Menschliche Beschlecht, unter dem Nahmen Sünder -Alto', and 'Die Berechtigkeit -Basso'.In the original the following text is given to 'Coro':

The first verses follow, allocated to Giustizia divina
Ecco vicina l'ora, In cui per ristorar gl'antichi danni Ch'Adamo partori; con duol profondo Convien, che mora in Creator del Mondo.By contrast, the Prague version of the oratorio opens directly with the first verses of the text of the Berechtigkeit/Gerechtigkeit (the libretto uses both variants of the word): The Hamburg score also omits the opening chorus, and, following the overture, introduces the Giustizia Divina directly.

This is followed by her first Aria
From this point on, the Italian and German version differ considerably.In the German version, the part of Giovanni is omitted, and, therefore, the original quartet setting of the concluding ensembles is changed into terzettos.In the second act (Anderter Theil), the translation omits the opening dialogues between Giustizia and Maria, and Maria and Giovanni, and only introduces Giustizia's first recitative ('Ecco l'opra gia s' appresta'), i.e.Gerechtigkeit ('Und die entbrennte Rache / Kan[!] laenger nicht verweilen') and her first aria, As no full score is available, it is difficult to fully assess the final shape of the Prague re-working of Nicola Porpora's sepolcro score.The Prague libretto suggests changes, possible replacements of original arias and ensembles by different music, relative to the performing forces available.According to its title page, the sepolcro was produced by music lovers (i.e. perhaps also the Jesuit College students): 'In Hoch-Teutscher Sprache Melodisch vorgestellet, Von Einer Edlen Music-Befliessenen Compagnie'.
Prague treatment of Nicola Porpora's Il trionfo della divina giustizia was cavalier -especially if compared to the translation of the text of Diogenio Bigaglia's oratorio Passione d'Abele innocente Prima Figura DI GIESU CHRISTO (to an anonymous text; Metastasio's La morte d'Abel is from 1732), intended for the use of the Silesian Jesuit Colleges (up to 1742, today's Polish Silesia was part of the Bohemian Lands).Three libretti are known for this oratorio, but no score.The seemingly only existing copy of the oratorio's original libretto, produced in the Prague Kreuzherren Monastery Church in 1729, 24 survives in the library of the Kreuzherren monastery in Znojmo-Hradiště (Znaim, South Moravia).In the last decades it has been difficult to access, due to the 1990s restitution of the Order collections back to the Kreuzherren. 25Its availability has been, however, vital for research on the second libretto, which originated in the Jesuit College in Brzeg/ Brieg, Silesia, and was published by the Breslau Jesuits in 1739, and also on the third libretto, from Silesian Klodzko/Glatz.Bigaglia's oratorio was produced there in 1742 in the local parish church, administered by the Jesuits.The Klodzko libretto is in Prague, in the National Museum -Czech Museum of Music, 26 the Brzeg libretto is in Wroclaw (Breslau). 27The two Silesian libretti are not fully

24
The Prague Clementinum Jesuit College printing office published for the Kreuzherren four hundred pieces of this libretto; the cost of printing and binding was altogether sixteen gulden and twenty-four kreuzer.identical; their titles, Unschuldiges Opffer Deß Vom ewigen Vatter Zum Heyl des Menschlichen Geschlechts aufgeopfferten Heylands (Brzeg) and Unschuldiges Opffer Deß Am Kreuz sterbenden Heylands (Klodzko), do not correspond directly with any listed libretto of Diogenio Bigaglia's works; nevertheless, they suggest the Passione d'Abele as their possible model.The detailed comparison of the three libretti led to interesting results.Both versions of Unschuldiges Opffer are indeed free translations of Passione d'Abele, where Adamo (Basso) was turned into the character of Christ (Christus der Erloeser der Welt in Brzeg, Christus der Welt Heyland in Klodzko), Eva (Canto) into Die buessende Seel/e (Penitent Soul), Abelle (Alto) into Die Goettliche Barmherzigkeit (God's Mercy), and Caino (Tenore) into two characters in Brieg (Die Goettliche Lieb -God's Love and Die Gerechtigkeit -Justice), and the single character of Die Himmliche Lieb in Klodzko (Heavenly Love).The German version by the end of the first act, where in the original Abelle is killed by Caino, is shortened in both libretti; Adamo's praise of Abelle's offer, his and Eva's discovery of Caino's crime, and Caino's decision to leave his parents, in the company of Abelle's soul, are omitted.The outlines of the Italian and German version of the second act correspond fully.The Brzeg libretto text is interspersed by additional Anmuethungen (Complaints) and, linked to them, Nachdrueckliche/Nachedenckliche Schrifft-Woerter (texts taken out of the Scriptures), five of these are found in the first part and three in the second part of the oratorio.Whether or not these additions were read or sung during the performance, is difficult to determine.Apart from this feature of the Brzeg libretto, the two libretti are nearly identical; the textual differences are few and marginal.
From the point of their character, the original and the translation differ considerably.Although in terms of their subjects and literary treatment, they are still strongly related.Adamo's original first aria: As in the case of the translation of Nicola Porpora's Il trionfo della divina giustizia, here the changes are structured not only for text's to the broad public (via translating the Italian text into German; in the well educated higher society circles, Italian was, in that time, commonly understood), but also in order to strenghten its mission (stressing the relation between the sin, its punishment, and God's mercy, rather than presenting a common Holy Sepulchre scene, directly or in the form of an allegorical play).This is another very interesting example of Jesuit translation of an Italian text into German; more about this matter (and the ways of repurposing original literary and musical works in general) may be revealed through future research.