Background
The origins of the oratorio cannot be dissociated from the ideals of the Counter-Reformation. The edifying objectives of this movement—to bring the faithful closer to God through the combined effects of piety, morality and beauty—were a result of the Council of Trent, which sought to reawaken a sense of the sacred in the Church, whose foundations had been severely shaken by the Protestant split. The word oratorio was probably first used to define a place of worship such as an oratory or chapel where the faithful assembled and where a sermon, meditation or singing (hymns, litanies, etc.) accompanied prayer. The word’s meaning evolved with its usage, and soon no longer defined a place, but rather the music that was heard there.
The process through which this occurred can be explained in the following way. Religious faith in Italy had always been intimately connected with the common people. Simple hymns known as laude had Franciscan connotations and were sung in the vernacular. They were first heard in Umbria and Tuscany, then in Veneto, and finally throughout Italy.
Companies of laudesi helped carry laude throughout the land, and in particular to Rome, where the chapel of the Divino Amore had been frequented since the beginning of the fourteenth century by members of religious and secular communities alike. After the sack of Rome in 1527 by the Imperial army, these para-liturgical devotions were taken up by St Philip Neri, the founder of the Congregazione dell’ Oratorio (the Congregation of the Oratory).
Philip Neri, an unusual and quick-witted saint (to a worldly person who wished to mortify himself by wearing a hair shirt, he retorted, “Of course you may, but only over your silk doublet!”), was also a true mystic. Nor did he neglect music in the layout of his programme. Although the hymns were still somewhat linked to the popular tradition of the laude at this point, it must not be forgotten that certain composers also wrote works for more sophisticated audiences. One example is Palestrina’s Madrigali spi-rituali.
Roman sacred music, which up to this time had refused all novelty, began to take on a less austere aspect, though it continued to be indissoluble from prayer. As the end of the century approached, the laude of the Oratory were gradually transformed through the influence of the secular Camerata fiorentina movement (which would simultaneously evolve into opera), and became more and more expressive, following the developments of the narration and dialogue, and drawing its inspiration from the Bible.
St Philip Neri, whose charisma strongly influenced the Oratory, died in 1595. His Oratory’s activities would prove to be a rich source of events fundamental to the story of the oratorio. And this is where Emilio de’ Cavalieri comes in.
Cavalieri: portrait of a creator
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The oratorio would eventually emerge from this period of experimentation, and would develop alongside opera. The fact that the two genres developed simultaneously can be illustrated by the fact that two premiere performances took place in 1600: Peri’s Euridice, and Cavalieri’s Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo, the work which would open the way for all future oratorios
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Emilio de’ Cavalieri (c. 1550-11 March 1602), the son of Count Tommaso de’ Cavalieri, was born into a noble Roman family (Tommasso was a handsome boy, and his friendship with Michelangelo was considered scandalous). He studied music from an early age in his native city, and, inspired by the ideas of St Philip Neri, studied the musical events of the services in the Oratory of San Marcello between 1578 and 1584. During the same period he also experienced the rappresentationi that took place during these services.
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