La Resurrezione

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La Resurrezione (Italian 'the resurrection') ( HWV  47) is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel .

Origin and first performances

Handel wrote the “Oratorio per la resurrettione di Nostro Signor Giesù Cristo” (Oratorio on the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ) in Rome in 1708, where it was performed in the Palazzo Bonelli des Marchese Ruspoli on Easter Sunday, April 8, under the direction of Arcangelo Corelli premiered and repeated the following day ( Francesco Valesio , Diario di Roma ). Numerous invoices in the Archivio Segreto Vaticano show that several craft businesses were commissioned with the construction of a stage and decorations, so that the work was staged. Around 1500 printed libretti show that, including three public rehearsals, around 300 listeners were present per performance.

The performance fell in the period between 1702 and 1709, in which Pope Clement XI. in order to increase the religiousness in the city and to combat the general moral decline, following a petition from the circle of conservators, banned all theater or opera performances. However, this ordinance was not implemented consistently: There were exceptions, especially for foreign state representatives. Nevertheless, public performances were not welcomed, especially since several earthquakes in 1703 were interpreted as divine omens of a coming downfall.

Despite the private nature of the production, Handel's oratorio aroused papal suspicions because a woman was involved as a singer ( Margherita Durastanti ). It had to be replaced by the castrato Filippo at the repeat performance on Easter Monday . On the other hand, the work was accused of being an oratorio that hardly differs musically from an opera .

Libretto and plot

The libretto is by Carlo Sigismondo Capece , who was the secretary of the Polish ex-Queen Maria Casimira , who lived in Rome . The text book has five characters: Angelo ( angel , soprano ) and Lucifer ( bass ), who wrestle in disputes and philosophical discourses about the meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ, as well as the three Mary Magdalene (soprano), Mary of Cleophas, who mourn Jesus ( Alto ) and the disciple Johannes ( tenor ).

The first part takes place in the night from Holy Saturday to Easter Sunday, with the trial of strength between angel and Lucifer in the foreground. Capece uses the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus , which tells of Christ's descent into hell, which brings light into darkness - against which Lucifer fiercely fights. He believes that with Jesus' death he prevented his salvation from being announced. The second part is all about the rising sun, the divine light of the resurrection, which is announced with a tremor of the earth.

The music

Ten arias each form the first and second part of the oratorio, with two arias per singer being composed in the first part, Lucifer only received one and Mary Magdalene three arias in the second part (the remaining characters two each). The two final scenes culminate in ensemble scenes that can also be performed by a choir. Choirs are not otherwise planned, as the work lacks the narrator / evangelist. In this respect, this work is actually more like an opera than an oratorio as we know it today (and as it was only developed by Handel himself in later years). The orchestra is made up of wind instruments ( recorders , oboes , trumpets ), strings and figured bass .

style

The oratorio La Resurrezione is unmistakably an early work by the 23-year-old composer. Bold harmonic progressions do not yet fit into the musical context as elegantly as in later years. In terms of the composition and the recitatives, not everything is perfectly designed. A rich and often surprising musical expression is at the center, and all other aspects seem subordinate to it. Italian influences (frequent quintals ) can be felt, but Handel's own handwriting is already unmistakable.

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