A History of the Oratorio

Vol. 1: The Oratorio in the Baroque Era: Italy, Vienna, Paris

Howard E. Smither

• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9780807837733
• Topic: Medios de comunicación y artes escénicas
• Subtopic: Historia y crítica de la música

Howard Smither has written the first definitive work on the history of the oratorio since Arnold Schering published his Geschichte des Oratoriums in 1911. This volume is the first of a four-volume comprehensive study that offers a new synthesis of what is known to date about the oratorio. Volume 1, divided into three parts, opens with the examination of the medieval, Renaissance, and early Baroque antecedents and origins of the oratorio, with emphasis on Rome and Philip Neri's Congregation of the Oratory and with special attention to the earliest works for which the term oratorio seems appropriate. The second part recounts the development of the oratorio in Italy, circa 1640-1720. It reviews the social contexts, patrons, composers, poets, librettos, and music of the oratorio in Italy, especially in Vienna and Paris. The procedure adapted throughout the work is to treat first the social context, particularly the circumstances of performance of the oratorio in a given area and period, then to treat the libretto, and finally the music. For each geographic area and period, the author has selected for special attention a few oratorios that appear to be particularly important or representative. He has verified the information offered in the specialized literature whenever possible by reference to the music or documents. In a number of areas, particular seventeenth-century Italy, in which relatively few previous studies have been undertaken or secondary sources have proven to be inadequate, the author has examined the primary sources in manuscript and printed form -- music, librettos, and documents of early oratorio history. Impressive research and intelligent integration of disparate elements make this complicated, diffuse subject both readable and accessible to the student of music. Volume 2, The Oratorio in the Baroque Era: Protestant Germany and England, and Volume 3, The Oratorio in the Classical Era, continue and expand the study of oratorio history. Although this series was originally announced as a three-volume study, Smither will conclude with a fourth volume. This new work--the first English-language study of the history of the oratorio will become the standard work on its subject and an enduring contribution to music and scholarship. Originally published in 1977. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

A History of the Oratorio
VOLUME 1

 

THE ORATORIO IN THE BAROQUE ERA
Italy Vienna Paris

 

by Howard E. Smither

The University of North Carolina Press
Chapel Hill

Music Examples by Helen Jenner

© 1977 by The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America

02 01 00 99 98 8 7 6 5 4

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Smither, Howard E.
   A history of the oratorio.

   Bibliography: v. 1, p.
   CONTENTS: v. 1. The oratorio in the baroque era:
Italy, Vienna, Paris.
   1. Oratorio—History and criticism. I. Title.
ML 3201.S6 782.8′2′09 76-43980
ISBN 0-8078-1274-9

To my father and the memory of my mother

Contents

• Preface
• Abbreviations
• I. Introduction
• PART I: The Antecedents and Origins of the Oratorio
• II. The Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Roman Catholic Reform
  • Some Antecedents of the Oratorio
    • Unstaged Sacred Dramatic Genres
    • Staged Sacred Dramatic Genres
  • The Oratorians and Their Social Context
    • Italian Politics, the Papacy, and Roman Catholic Reform
    • Philip Neri and His Oratory
    • The Congregation of the Oratory and the Spiritual Exercises
  • Antecedents of the Oratorio in Neri’s Oratory
    • Books of Laude Printed for the Oratory
    • Other Music in the Oratory
  • A Reappraisal of Some Oratorio Antecedents
• III. The Early Baroque: Antecedents and Incunabula of the Oratorio
  • Antecedents
    • Music and Musicians in Neri’s Oratory
    • The Dramatic Dialogue
      • Texts of the Dialogue
      • Music of the Dialogue
  • Anerio’s Teatro and Some Incunabula of the Oratorio
    • Anerio’s Life and Work
    • The Teatro
    • Incunabula of the Oratorio
      • Dialogo dell’Anima, [San Michele, e l’Angelo Custode]
      • Dialogo del Figliuol Prodigo
      • Dialogo di David
      • Dialogo della Conversione di San Paolo
• PART II: The Oratorio in Italy, Circa 1640–1720
• IV. Mid-Century Rome I: The Oratorio Volgare
  • Social, Artistic, and Literary Background
    • Rome’s Patrons of the Arts and Literature
    • The Visual Arts and Borromini’s Oratory
    • Poetic Styles and the Oratorio
  • Musical Background
  • The Oratories and Their Music
    • The Musical Prominence of the Oratories
    • Musical Genres in the Oratories
  • Examples of the Oratorio Volgare
    • Domenico Mazzocchi
    • Pietro Della Valle
    • Francesco Balducci
    • Giacomo Carissimi
    • An Anonymous Daniele
    • Marco Marazzoli
    • Oratorios Attributed to Luigi Rossi
  • The Chief Characteristics of the Oratorio Volgare
• V. Mid-Century Rome II: Carissimi and the Oratorio Latino
  • Rome’s Latin Oratory and Its Music
  • Giacomo Carissimi
    • Biography and Environment
    • Latin Oratorios
      • Terminology and Classification
      • Texts
      • Music
      • Jephte
  • Some ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• A History of the Oratorio: Volume 1
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Illustrations
• Preface
• CHAPTER I Introduction
• PART I The Antecedents and Origins of the Oratorio
• PART II The Oratorio in Italy, Circa 1640–1720
• PART III The Italian Oratorio Outside Italy
• Bibliography
• Index
• Map