Serenata

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The serenata (it. Sereno clear night sky, incorrectly often derived from sera evening) describes a vocal-instrumental tribute music, as it was mainly performed in the 17th and 18th centuries in the evening for coronations, weddings, birthdays and name days. Depending on the size of the occasion and the court to be celebrated, the range ranged from secular cantatas to grand operas (mostly of the opera seria type ). Allegorical figures often appear to glorify a prince.

designation

The concept of serenata should not be confused with that of serenade . Both were used interchangeably in the early phase, but the serenade later marks a purely instrumental form of composition.

Other frequently used contemporary names for the serenata are Azione teatrale , Festa teatrale , Complimento , Componimento , Dramma per musica , Scena da camera or evening music . Some poets used special names as their own trademark. The performance time scheduled for the evening and the semi-dramatic character are always typical.

layout

Costanza e fortezza by Johann Joseph Fux , on August 28, 1723 in Prague for the coronation of Charles VI. listed as King of Bohemia. Theater architecture and sets by Giuseppe Galli da Bibiena . The specially built theater in the riding school, view of the stage.
Costanza e fortezza . Stage design: Landscape through which the river Tiber flows at Pons Sublicius near Rome.
Costanza e fortezza . Stage design: camp of the Etruscan army in front of Rome.
Costanza e fortezza . Set design: the royal gardens of the Tarquinians on the Gianicolo
Costanza e fortezza . Stage sets for the finale: a large body of water rises from the Tiber. She transforms into the realm of the river god. A magnificent grotto that turns into the great triumphal arch of the Genius of Rome.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the serenata was viewed as a dramatic genre in the sense of Aristotle , in which the characters converse directly with one another in dialogues . As a rule, there was no recognizable progressive action. The serenata looked like a hybrid between a cantata and a small opera . However, it is a separate genre that shares some characteristics with the chamber cantata, oratorio and opera.

Like the chamber cantata, these works were usually performed privately in front of an invited audience. There were also university performances, and in Venice and England some serenatas such as operas were performed publicly in theaters. Usually they were part of a larger celebration. As in a concert performance, the singers stood stationary on the stage, but were often in costumes.

The musical style and the cast are reminiscent of the opera. Because the history of its genesis coincides with that of the modern orchestra, the Serenata was accompanied by an orchestra almost from the start. Wealthy clients like to use particularly large orchestras out of opulence. The Serenata La contesa de 'numi by Leonardo Vinci , performed in 1729 to celebrate the birth of the Dauphin, required 130 instrumentalists. The movements known as the choir, on the other hand, were usually performed with the soloists.

Dramaturgically, most of the similarities arise with the baroque oratorio. Many serenatas contain allegorical characters who personify concepts such as duty or honor and whose texts are highly moralizing. A progressive action is usually missing. That meant that the work had to be heading for a dramaturgical climax. Often this was the unveiling of the object to be celebrated. In the texts, word games and paraphrases were common. Typically certain terms have been replaced by others, e.g. B. "Kaiser" through "augusto" or "Venice" through "L'Adria".

The works often consist of two parts of roughly the same length, although the total length can vary greatly. In contrast to the opera, the characters are usually treated equally. Arias are often grouped into rounds in which each role is given an aria.

Because the performances often did not take place in theater buildings, elaborate constructions were created for such scenes. A popular motif was the contrast between land and water. For example, either the musicians or the audience could sit in boats while the other group was on the bank.

Due to the tight time frame and the need to get to know the client, secondary local poets and composers were often commissioned. The texts were rarely used more than once. Pietro Metastasio , whose libretti (e.g. L'isola disabitata ) were widespread, is an exception here .

development

The origin of the serenata lies in the Mediterranean custom of spending the heat of midday in the house and moving social life to the evening. In the 17th century, a focus of early Serenata practice was in Venice, where, according to contemporary reports, it was difficult to move around the city in the evening without listening to music. Initially, the serenata served primarily as an artistic musical advertisement offered by an admirer of the woman he loved. In the course of time it developed into homage music for higher-ranking people. Occasionally higher nobles commissioned serenates for their own glorification.

Early references to the serenade practice of the evening open-air performance can already be found in medieval verses and in the chansons of the 15th century. The Italian Frottola literature by Leonardo Giustiniani , Bartolomeo Tromboncino and others can be seen as a direct forerunner. A particularly popular serenade text of this early period was Francesco Petrarca's Hor che'l ciel et la terra e'l vento tace ("Now that heaven, earth and wind are silent"), which was set to music many times, last in 1638 by Claudio Monteverdi . The first words of this sonnet were used in the 17th century - also in other languages ​​- for numerous Serenata texts.

Musically, there was originally no distinction between the serenata and the cantata. Both forms then developed strongly between 1640 and 1680, especially in Rome . Cantatas were often performed there during the day and had only a small line-up of a single solo part with basso continuo. The works performed in the evenings, on the other hand, had a larger audience and were accordingly more cast. The scope of these works also increased significantly.

In addition to Rome, Naples became another stronghold of Serenata care. Alessandro Scarlatti composed more than 25 works here alone. The shape was introduced in Spain and Portugal by his son Domenico Scarlatti . The Serenata then quickly spread to Northern Europe. Johann Sebastian Bach's secular cantatas are formally German-language serenatas. The same applies to the English birthday and New Year odes as well as to the works, usually referred to as festa teatrale , which were performed in Vienna . Only in France did the serenata not gain in importance.

The period from 1680 to 1740 is considered to be the heyday of the Serenata. The differences to the cantata continued to grow. While the cantata was basically not staged, the Serenata featured a dialogue between different people and a small act at the end of which the personalities to be honored were particularly praised. The performers appeared in costume and there was occasional set design. Sometimes stage machines were also used for special effects.

The outdoor performance also evolved the instrumentation. Brass, percussion and additional woodwinds were added, and the size of the orchestra grew beyond that of the usual opera orchestra. The arias were also often more extensive than in contemporary opera, where the need for progressive action limited the length of the individual arias.

The English music historian Charles Burney gave a contemporary description of the genre called secular cantata :

“Cantatas of considerable length, accompanied by a numerous band are usually performed in Italy on great occasions of festivity: as the reconciliation of princes after long disunion, or the arrival of great personages in the capital of a state. [...] But these differ essentially from what is usually meant by a cantata or monologue for a single voice, consisting of short recitatives, and two or three airs at most; as they are occasional poems in which several singers are employed; but though in dialogue, they are performed, like oratorios, without change of scene, or action. "

“Cantatas of considerable length, accompanied by a large number of musicians, are usually performed in Italy at great festivities: at the reconciliation of princes after long disagreements or when high-ranking personalities arrive in the capital of a country. [...] But these differ essentially from cantatas or monologues for a single part, which consist of short recitatives and at most two or three arias; they are occasional poems in which several singers appear; but although they consist of dialogues, they are performed like oratorios without changing the scene or plot. "

- Charles Burney : A General History of Music, Volume IV, London 1789.

During the 18th century, interest in the serenata waned. At first they began to integrate more plot here, too, which was not shown directly, but mostly told by a choir. From the middle of the century, the works began to resemble short operas more and more. Examples are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Ascanio in Alba (Milan 1771) and Il sogno di Scipione (Salzburg 1772). Due to the effects of the French Revolution , the associated rejection of pomp and self-glorification of the nobility and the strengthening of the bourgeois class, the genre finally disappeared.

Examples

Works explicitly designated as Serenata :

Secular cantatas of homage:

Homage operas:

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Talbot:  Serenata. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  2. ^ Charles Burney: A General History of Music , Volume IV, London 1789, pp. 606f ( online at archive.org).