''Il Serpente di Bronzo, ZWV 61'' is a sacred
cantata composed by the
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
composer Jan Dismas Zelenka
Jan Dismas Zelenka (16 October 1679 – 23 December 1745), baptised Jan Lukáš Zelenka was a Czech composer and musician of the Baroque period. His music is admired for its harmonic inventiveness and mastery of counterpoint.
Zelenka was rais ...
(1679–1745).
It was composed in 1730 and was first performed in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
. The
libretto used is a
Biblical story slightly modified by Zelenka. It is sung in
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
and it is untraditional in the fact that God has several passages in the cantata. The story is of the
Jewish people
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
travelling from
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
to the
Promised Land
The Promised Land ( he, הארץ המובטחת, translit.: ''ha'aretz hamuvtakhat''; ar, أرض الميعاد, translit.: ''ard al-mi'ad; also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey"'') is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew ...
.
Three Jews – Azaria, Egla and Namuel are fatigued by having to go on such a long journey and start complaining about their burden. This angers God, who sends one thousand snakes down to plague the blasphemers.
Moses begs for forgiveness and is told by God to cast a snake out of
bronze, hence the name ''Il Serpente di Bronzo'' – serpent of bronze. Anyone who is bitten by a snake and sees the bronze serpent will be saved. The end of the cantata is a repetition of the
chorus from the beginning.
Parts
* Azaria –
Alto
* Egla –
Soprano
* Namuel – Alto
* Mosè –
Tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
* Dio –
Bass
Structure
:I. Coro
:II. Recitativo (Azaria, Namuel)
:III. Aria (Namuel)
:IV. Recitativo (Egla)
:V. Aria (Egla)
:VI. Recitativo (Dio)
:VII. Aria (Dio)
:VIII. Recitativo (Azaria, Eglia, Namuel)
:IX. Aria (Azaria)
:X. Recitativo (Egla, Namuel)
:XI. Aria a due (Egla, Namuel)
:XII. Recitativo (Mosè)
:XIII. Aria (Mosè)
:XIV. Recitativo (Dio)
:XV. Recitativo (Egla)
:XVI. Arietta con recitativo (Egla, Azaria)
:XVII. Aria (Azaria)
:XVIII. Recitativo (Mosè)
:XIX. Coro
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serpente di bronzo, Il
Compositions by Jan Dismas Zelenka
Cantatas
1730 compositions