Apostolo Zeno: Die kritische Ausgabe der Poesie sacre

Projekt: Forschungsförderung

Projektdetails

Abstract

The sociopolitical conditions brought about by the catholic Counter Reformation give rise to a very specific form of cultural activities at the Viennese imperial court. These are based on what is called the Pietas austriaca and comprehend – apart, of course, from the religious practices – various musical genres initially brought from Mantua to the Viennese court by Empress Eleonora Gonzaga II. Within the sacred music, the so called Sacre rappresentazioni, especially the Sepolcri (performed during the Holy Week, in front of an image of the Holy Sepulcher) developed their own very characteristic form and generated a wide resonance in all neighboring countries, including Italy. Recent publications prove the importance of these libretti whose theological dimension has, until now, been as much underestimated as the way contemporary political events are interwoven into the otherwise religious texts. However, one of the major assessments in the field is yet the lack of basic data; only few of the sacred music libretti are available and often the scientific quality of these publications is sadly deficient. Without a reliable critical edition, we have no basis for further research into the humanistic and philosophical background of these works.
Together with Nicolò Minato (thanks to whom, in the second half of the 17th century, the genre reached its first apogee in Vienna) and Pietro Metastasio (who, by bestowing the ideas of early Christian enlightenment upon his oratorios, lead it to its culmination), Apostolo Zeno is one of the most important cesarean poets, not only in the field of sacred music: most of his 17 oratorio-libretti were set to music by Antonio Caldara and represented at the Viennese imperial court. One of these libretti’s most interesting aspect is their intertextuality, not only with reference to the Old and the New Testament, but also in relation to contemporary cultural and religious values and events; thus the double incentive to study Zeno’s texts in their undisputable literary quality, combined with the fact, that they constitute a precious testimony of the reigning mentality of the time in Austria and at the imperial court. A well-documented edition will therefore not only allow to research the development of the religious libretti and their transposition into or their imitation in German libretti; it will also give new insights into various cultural aspects, among them the philosophical positions on which the libretti are based.
The aim of the project is a critical and commented edition of all 17 oratorios in one volume, based on the same scientific criteria as the complete edition of the Drammi per musica in three volumes, which was the main theme of the preceding Zeno-project. In this way all Zeno’s libretti will be finally available in a modern edition.
The methodological approach will consist in a philological treatment of the texts based on the complete edition of 1744: diplomatic-interpretative Edition with careful adaptation to the modern Orthography and the correction of obvious mistakes, a commentary (aiming especially at the verification and – if necessary – the clarification of the author’s references to passages of the Vulgate), the documentation of alternative versions in the various editions as well as a bibliographic documentation of the subsequent editions.
The project will be headed by Prof. Alfred Noe and Dr. Adriana De Feo as co-author for the edition.
StatusAbgeschlossen
Tatsächlicher Beginn/ -es Ende9/01/208/01/22

Schlagwörter

  • Libretto
  • Apostolo Zeno
  • Spiritual Music
  • Habsburg Monarchy
  • Baroque Oratorio
  • Italian Literature