Today I finished my work with the performance parts of Missa gratiarum which are in the Schotten Archive.

I am convinced now that the performance parts where copied at the Schotten from the autograph.  While I have already written a little about this assumption, today I compared the script on the cover to script with in the parts.  They are a match so it is safe to say the same scribe that created the parts also created the covers.  I had originally thought that these parts might be the original performing parts since the original Hofkapelle parts are missing from the Hofkapelle archive in the National Library.  I was thinking that maybe these were the original parts brought to the Schottenstift and given a new Schotten folder, but after comparing the script on the cover with the script in the parts I do not think this is the case.  The parts also seem to follow a Schotten performance practice of a slightly smaller instrumental ensemble.  A missa solenne of Caldara often has additional parts which double the voices, a sign of the opulence of the Chapel Imperial.  These additional parts include cornetto, viole, and tiorba.  While these parts are optional they do show up in the Hofkapelle parts of other masses in this style and the use of viole is indicated in the autograph score.  Using my comparison of Missa gratiarum with other Caldara missa solenne, my edition will attempt to reconstruct the original performing forces for the Hofkapelle performance of Missa gratiarum.

Since the National Library and the other archives are closed on the weekends I had some time to review notes, plan my last few days in Vienna, and email scholars regarding some of my findings.  Today was a real treat to hear a modern connection to my research by attending High Mass at the Hofburgkapelle, the chapel for which Caldara’s masses, such as Missa gratiarum, were composed.  The Hofburgkapelle is the Chapel Imperial found within the Hofburg, and in Caldara’s time would have been the court chapel for the Hapsburg Emperors, such as Charles VI.

The choir of the chapel has traditionally been a choir made up of men and boys.  Today the world knows this choir as the Vienna Boys Choir.  For High Mass the choir sang Mass in E-flat, a missa solenne in the Romantic style by the Viennese composer Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828).  It was a wonderful experience to hear this music outside of the concert hall and in the liturgical setting for which it was composed.  After the service the boys came out of the music loft and sang “Hebe deine Augen” (Lift thine eyes) from Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elias (Elijah) in front of the alter.

 

 

Today was my second day at the Archive of the Schottenstift.  The archivist there is very helpful and is always willing to open the archive to visiting scholars.  Only one person is allowed into the archive at a time so it is wonderful to be able to visit for three whole days during my time in Vienna.  I have been working with the performing parts for Missa gratiarum in detail, but today Maximilian, the archivist, let me into the actual archive.  He showed me two large rows of shelves filled with boxes of performing parts.  Of course there is more liturgical music composed by Caldara, but I also so saw shelves dedicated to the music of Michael and Joseph Haydn, Mozart, Reutter, a pupil of Caldara’s, and many other composers.  I forgot to take a picture of the archive, but I will during my next visit.

Here is the first page of the soprano concertist’s part.  A concertist sang or in the case of instrumentalists played in a small group, usually as soloists.  The larger ensemble was called the ripieno which sang and played when the composer wanted a fuller sound.  This naturally created the terraced dynamics of the Baroque and created the drama of the concertato style, a small ensemble contrasted with a larger ensemble. You can see that vocalists in Caldara’s period were only given their part to sing instead of being able to see every singer’s part as in a modern vocal score.  What I have discovered by going through these performance parts is that they were copied from the autograph score.  Certain details that are only found in the autograph score are found in these parts and not the imperial copy of the score.  So the autograph probably was copied for the Schotten sometime after Caldara’s death in 1736 and before it found its way into Archduke Rudolf’s music collection.  Here is a detailed snapshot of one of the two figured bass parts.

I also found two other missa solenne of Caldara which only exist in the parts found in the Schotten.  On Monday I will finish my work with Missa gratiarum and will have time to look at some of the features of these two masses, Missa Crucifixus (1726) and Missa Bonae spei.  My comparison of these and other missa solenne with Missa gratiarum will show if Caldara fostered a specific style referred to as Reichstile or the Imperial style.

As of the end of today, I have had the chance to work with all three sources of Missa gratiarum.  Yesterday, I was able to work with the autograph at the Gesellschaft and also handle the leather bound imperial copy found in the Austrian National Library.  It took me a good half-hour to get used to Caldara’s hand.  While the autograph is very clean and easy to read some of Caldara’s notations are more archaic than I would have imagined.  For example, his notation of common time, typically a “C,” is a backwards “S”.  When cut time is to be notated a slash is put through the “S” which looked at first glace like a treble clef.  This took me a while to comprehend when I saw the indicated clefs followed by what looked to me as a treble clef.  The intent of the sign was not clear until I drew the sign in my notebook.  Then all was made very clear.  It was very helpful and informative to view the autograph since some important instrumentation instructions are missing from the first page of the National Library’s score,  Also it is interesting to see how fluently Caldara composed.  I only came across two or three measures where he had erased and changed the music.  This is quite amazing especially when you take into account the frequent use of counterpoint.

At the National Library I have started to compare Missa gratiarum to other missa solenne (lengthy, multi-movement masses for full choir, solo quartet, and large instrumental forces composed for a Catholic feast day).  It was interesting to learn that indeed these masses were copied and bound for the imperial library in the Prunksaal.  I am hoping to discover if these masses all share a similar style or if they are all uniquely composed.  Some of the masses that I am handling are not in score, but exist as a set of performing parts.  These are official Hofkappelle parts which would have been used in the royal chapel.  These are very informative to look through since you can see what the performing forces for these large-scale masses was.  Unfortunately, I am not allowed to take photos in the Gesellschaft or in the National Library, but you can view a scan of the imperial copy from the National Library here.  Since I requested a scan in the Fall, the library has added the file to their online digital archives.

Today, I spent the whole day at the Archives of the Schottenstift where I was able to handle a set of performing parts of Missa gratiarum that were copied for use at the Abbey.  The first performance date listed on the folder is 30 May 1737, a year after Caldara died.  After looking at the parts thoroughly they seem to have been copied from the autograph.  They do give insight into the instrumentation of the piece as well as some insight into period ornamentation.  I discovered today that a soprano and an alto soloist who used these parts at one time inked in their own ornamentation.  I had hoped to discover markings such as these so this is very exciting.  Luckily, I can take pictures and make copies in the Schotten Archive so here is a picture of me holding one of the two folders for the Missa gratiarum parts …

… and here is a view of the roof of St. Stephen’s Cathedral which I passed on the way back to my hotel.

 

 

Today was my first full day in Vienna and with my research starting tomorrow I took a trek to the three sites where I will be working with manuscripts of Missa gratiarum in C and other masses of Antonio Caldara (1671 – 1736).  Antonio Caldara was the Vice-Kapellmeister to Emperor Charles VI from 1716 until his death in 1736.

The first stop was the Archive of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde.  While this is one of the world’s finest concert halls and home to the Vienna Philharmonic it is also one of the most important music archives in the world.  The archive contains the autograph score of Missa gratiarum, a manuscript brought into the collection in 1834 with the donation of the music library of Archduke Rudolf, a student of Beethoven.  You can read more about the Archive here.

The second stop on my journey across Vienna was to the Austrian National Library.

The library is part of the Hofburg Palace which was the residence of many Holy Roman Emperors and rulers of Austria until 1918.  Charles VI (1685 – 1740), the royal patron of Antonio Caldara, built the imperial library.  The Prunksaal (State Hall) is still part of the Austrian National Library.  Of course a statue of Charles VI is featured prominently in this fantastic example of Baroque architecture.

The Austrian National Library houses thousands of music manuscripts.  One of these manuscripts is a score of Missa gratiarum copied and bound for the royal library of Charles VI who himself was a composer.  Caldara was the favorite composer of Charles and the masses such as Missa gratiarum where composed for the services of the Hofkapelle, the Emperor’s Royal Chapel.

The third stop was to the Schottenstift (Scottish Abbey).

The archive of this former Benedictine Monastery houses a set of performing parts for Missa gratiarum which were copied in 1737 for use in the chapel of the abbey.  The mass was performed regularly at the Schottenstift until 1751.