ANTONIO CALDARA

(1670? - 1736)

Born at Venice in 1670 (?) Antonio Caldara received his earliest musical training as a chorister of the Cappella Ducale at St Mark's and, probably, as a pupil of Giovanni Legrenzi. By 1689 he was known as a cellist and his growing number of compositions included operas, sonatas da chiesa and da camera, and solo cantatas. Performances of his operas had been given at Venice and Rome by the early 1690s and a personal visit made to Rome about this time implies an acquaintance with and perhaps instruction from Corelli, Aless, Scarlatti and Pasquini.

His first secure appointment was as Maestro di Cappella (1700-1707) to the Princes of Mantua. There were, however, opportunities for further visits to Rome and the composition of church music and oratorios for Cardinal Ottoboni. This contact was again strengthened in the early part of 1708 after Caldara's return from Mantua and prior to his departure for Barcelona and his first association with the Habsburg dynasty in the person of the Archduke Charles (Charles III). The performance of Caldara's Componimento da camera per musica: Il più bel nome nei festeggiarsi il Nome Felicissimo di Sua Maesta Cattolica Elisabetha Christina Regina delle Spagne at the celebration of Charles' marriage to Elisabeth Christine of Braunschweig-Lüneburg (Barcelona, August 1708) firmly established him as a favourite and despite his return to Rome to take up the position as Maestro di Cappella to Prince Ruspoli (1709), contact with the Spanish Court was not broken. Indeed, as later developments proved, it was a most fortunate connection.

In the light of Ruspoli's eminence as a patron of the arts, Caldara's appointment as director of the noblemans, distinguished band of virtuosi di canto e suono is proof of an established fame. This is confirmed by a succession of fine oratorios, secular cantates and church music.

Yet despite en obviously secure position, the news of the death of the Habsburg Emporer Joseph I (April, 1711) and the proclamation of his brother Charles III of Spain as Charles VI, Holy Roman Emporer, brought Caldara to Vienna hoping that the earlier favouritism would secure a court appointment. In the event, the present Vice-Kapellmeister Marc' Antonio Ziani had been made Kapellmeister before Caldara's arrival; Johann Joseph Fux secured the post of Vice-Kapellmeister. Caldara returned to his position in Rome - retained by means of a steady flow of compositions from Vienna - but not before making a detour through Salzburg to court the favour of Franz Anton von Harrach, the Prince-archbishop.

A reshuffling of posts at the Imperial Court upon Ziani's death in 1715 and a more or less firm promise of an appointment brought about Caldara's final break with Rome. He was appointed Vice-Kapellmeister to Charles VI in 1717 (Fux became Kapellmeister) - a position he was to hold until his death in December 1736. The compositions of these last twenty years were prolific in number, diverse in genre, often brilliant and certainly never less than highly competent in quality, mature and personal in expression and style, and above all, secured for Caldara a European fame that lasted long after his death.

Today, manuscripts of Caldara's music are widely dispersed across Europe but his compositions which record so valuable a picture of the late Baroque in Italy and Austria are comparatively unknown to performers and little studied by scholars ¹. This Confitebor tibi Domine illustraties many facets of Caldara's style - the easy-flowing lyricism of the Italian cantilena (in the first movement); an impeccable contrapuntal technique, whether in the stil antico (Memor erit) or the stil moderne (Et in saecula); a masterly handling of instrumental writing and in the Ut det Illis a fine flair for the impetuous driving rhythms of the ltalian concerto style. Realistic interpretations of phrases of the text are not lacking and the striking chromaticism of the Sanctum et terribile heralds a feature that was to become one of the most distinctive traits of Caldara's later church music.

The Confitebor is undated but it probably comes from his last years with Ruspoli. His Viennese church music is more integrated and compact than this expansive 'Neapolitan cantata' type of lay-out; the extensive and exposing soprano part points to a virtuoso singer - and Ruspoli's court attracted such, including Margarita Durastante and Orsola Sticotti end, finally, the opening movement bears more than a passing resemblance to the material of a Laudate Pueri (similarly scored for solo soprano, S.A.T.B. and strings) written at Rome in 1716 ².

SOURCES

A: Londo, British Museum, Add Ms. 31,550: the second item (ff. 9-57b) in a composite volume. It is preceded by a Magnificat for two choirs (ff. 1-8b) also by Caldara, and followed by a set of twelve trio sonates (ff. 58-100) originally attributed to Caldara but subsequently identified as being by Giovanni Battista Bassani. The three compositions are in different hands, the score of the Confitebor in that of an annonymous eighteenth-century copyist. It has been written on music paper, oblong folio, ten staves per page and without watermark. The edges have been trimmed in the course of binding and a separate set of foliation numbering (ff. 1-49) indicaties that the Confitebor score had an earlier existence independent of its present companions.

The fly-leaf to the volume bears the inscription: Joseph Warren. the gift of his Friend/ Edward F Rimbault, July 30 1840 Rimbault himself may have been responsible for the compilation end binding of the volume but there are no clues as to where or how the antiquarian first acquired the manuscripts. Subsequentiy, the volume seems to have been bought by Julian Marshall ³ at one the sales of Warren's collection. Marshall's bookplate, bearing the number '148' is pasted inside the cover and a printed notice facing f. 1, probably cut from a Puttick and Simpson sale catalogue ⁴, describes the contents. Finally, in 1880-81 this volume, together with other manuscripts was acquired privately from Marshall by the British Museum..

B: Washington, Library of Congress, M2021 C25C6 Case. The score is written on oblong music paper (trimmed in the course of binding), ten staves per page. It occupies 85 pages; there is no pagination. Again there is no title page; the left hand side of the first page of the score, this time containing four bars of music, bears an inscription identical with A. The manuscript appears to have been written at a later date than A and probably was copied from it.

Both sources are clearly readable and are comparatively free of errors: those that do occur are quite obvious. All editorial corrections are noted in the Commentary.

EDITORIAL METHOD

In this edition, bowing and phrasing slurs, dynamic markings, ornaments and the figuring of the continuo (unless shown as editorial additions) represent a combination of the respective indications found in both sources.

Editorial bowing and phrasing marks are distinguished from original markings thus: . In general they have been added only to avoid ambiguities in syllable division in the vocal parts and to provide consistency in the articulation of obvious patterns in the instrumental parts often only spasmodically indicated by the original markings.

Accidentals repeated within the bar in the originals have been omitted without comment; editorial accidentals are printed above the stave.

Original dynamic markings appear: forte, piano; editorial suggestions: f, p.

The time signature has been altered to in the memor erit and Initium sapientiæ sections; to in the Sanctum et terribile and Ut det Illis movements. All metronome and some tempi indications are editorial; these are enclosed in square brackets. All other additions are similarly distinguished.

In the continuo the more modern and replace the onder #6 and #3; inaccurate figuring has been corrected (see Commentary) but inadequate figuring has been left as it is given in the sources. My realization, confined to the right hand stave, has been kept simple and is intended as a guide rather than as a definitive version. A violoncello and contrabass should reinforce the Organo line.

Original instrumentation headings and performance descriptions found at the beginning of each movement are reproduced in the Commentary.

The spelling of the text has been modernized (iustorum = justorum) and punctuated in conformity with the Liber Usualis.

PERFORMANCE

The beauties of this work wilt best be realised in a performance by choir and orchestra of chamber proportions (about 30 voices and 15 instruments), skill and accuracy rather than weight of volume being of paramount importance.

Solo instrumental playing is rarely demanded and nearly always is clearly indicated in the sources. However it could conceivably be ergued that the 'solo' marking in the oboe part (first movement) should extend beyond bar 52 and up to bar 85.

lt should also be noted that the cues for solo end tutti entries are reproduced in the continuo exactiy as they appear in the sources (VV. = Violini I e II). Tutti indicates that all three fundamental instruments are required: editorial suggestions for refinements of this combination at specific points in various movements are given in square brackets. Soli can scarcely mean solo instruments but rather must be taken as an indication to the organist that the instruments only are sounding and to be particularty careful with registration.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am indebted to the Trustees of the British Museum, London, for making available a microfilm of Add Ms.31,550, and to the Officials of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., for providing a microfilm of M2021 C25C6 Case. Both institutions have generously granted permission for the publication of this edition. The Library, University of Canterbury has assisted with the purchase of the microfilms.

My sincere thanks are due to Mr H. M. T. Cobbe, Assistant Keeper of Manuscripts, British Museum, for his vatuable comments on the provenance of Source A, and to Dr. William Lichtenwanger, Head of Reference Section, Library of Congress; for his helpful remarks about Source B. The practical assistance of Prof. H. J. Steele, University of Otago, New Zealand and Mr J. M. Jennings, University of Canterbury, New Zealand, has been much appreciated as also has been the assistance of Mr B. L. Greenwood, Christchurch, New Zealand, with the location of manuscripts, and of my wife with translations.

Dit stuk is in 1999 uitgevoerd worden door het