Abstract
Located in Bologna’s Biblioteca Universitaria (MS 1937, ff. 9–14) is a draft of the libretto for Ercole
Corazzi’s oratorio Il trionfo della carità, overo Santa Caterina da Bologna, first performed (with music by Giuseppe Maria Nelvi) in the oratory of Madonna di Galliera in Bologna in 1721. The manuscript is unusual because it was produced at a point when Corazzi did not yet know who would set his text to music; he thus provides detailed annotations specifying how he wished his text to be set. Each line of poetry is given an indication of mood, including terms more usually associated with composers than librettists, such as “allegro” and “grave e maestoso.” This source provides a unique insight into the creative process of producing vocal works at this time, and leads to a wider discussion of the relationship between librettist and composer in Baroque Italy.
Corazzi’s oratorio Il trionfo della carità, overo Santa Caterina da Bologna, first performed (with music by Giuseppe Maria Nelvi) in the oratory of Madonna di Galliera in Bologna in 1721. The manuscript is unusual because it was produced at a point when Corazzi did not yet know who would set his text to music; he thus provides detailed annotations specifying how he wished his text to be set. Each line of poetry is given an indication of mood, including terms more usually associated with composers than librettists, such as “allegro” and “grave e maestoso.” This source provides a unique insight into the creative process of producing vocal works at this time, and leads to a wider discussion of the relationship between librettist and composer in Baroque Italy.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1-16 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Ars Lyrica: Journal of the Lyrica Society for Word-Music Relations |
Volume | 21 |
Publication status | Published (VoR) - 2012 |