Laudato si' (oratorio)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

is an
oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...
composed in 2016 by
Peter Reulein Peter Reulein (born 1966) is a German composer, organ improviser, academic teacher and church musician, from 2000 at the church Liebfrauen in Frankfurt am Main. In 2016 he composed for the Catholic Diocese of Limburg the Franciscan oratorio ''La ...
on a
libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
by Helmut Schlegel. Subtitled (a
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
Magnificat), it includes the full Latin text of the Magnificat, expanded by writings of
Clare of Assisi Clare of Assisi (born Chiara Offreduccio and sometimes spelled Clara, Clair, Claire, Sinclair; 16 July 1194 – 11 August 1253) was an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladie ...
,
Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...
and
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
. The composer set it for five soloists, children's choir,
Choralschola A Choralschola, known simply as ''schola'', is a choir for singing Gregorian chant or plainsong. It consists traditionally of only men, but more recent groups sometimes also include female voices. A schola often performs in uniform. The group may ...
, mixed choir, symphony orchestra and organ. It was published in 2016 by the Dehm Verlag, and was premiered on 6 November 2016 at the
Limburg Cathedral Limburg Cathedral (german: Limburger Dom, also known as ''Georgsdom'' ("George's Cathedral") after its dedication to Saint George, is located above the old town of Limburg in Hesse, Germany. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Limburg ...
, conducted by the composer.


History

The work was commissioned by the Referat Kirchenmusik im Bistum Limburg (RKM), the division of church music of the Diocese of Limburg, to celebrate the organization's 50th anniversary. The work was requested to include many different musical groups and styles, to represent the activities of the church musicians in the diocese, such as
Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...
, choral singing of children and adults, organ solo music, and
Neues Geistliches Lied ''Neues Geistliches Lied'' (, ''new spiritual song''), abbreviated NGL, is a music genre of songs in German intended for church usage, and based on contemporary lyrics and with music by contemporary composers. History The idea to reach youn ...
. The text was planned to contain writings by
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
from his Apostolic exhortation '' Evangelii gaudium'' (2013) and his
encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...
'' Laudato si''' (2015), and the Magnificat in the traditional Latin. The librettist, the
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
Helmut Schlegel, introduced additional writings by
Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...
and
Clare of Assisi Clare of Assisi (born Chiara Offreduccio and sometimes spelled Clara, Clair, Claire, Sinclair; 16 July 1194 – 11 August 1253) was an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladie ...
, and focused on mercy corresponding to the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2016.
Peter Reulein Peter Reulein (born 1966) is a German composer, organ improviser, academic teacher and church musician, from 2000 at the church Liebfrauen in Frankfurt am Main. In 2016 he composed for the Catholic Diocese of Limburg the Franciscan oratorio ''La ...
was commissioned to compose the music. The oratorio was published in 2016 by the Dehm Verlag. The composer conducted the premiere in a concert at the
Limburg Cathedral Limburg Cathedral (german: Limburger Dom, also known as ''Georgsdom'' ("George's Cathedral") after its dedication to Saint George, is located above the old town of Limburg in Hesse, Germany. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Limburg ...
on 6 November 2016.


Structure

The work is structured in a prologue and five scenes: * Prologue: (Time is fulfilled) * Scene 1: (Creation dances – Creation mourns) * Scene 2: (God's new beginning) * Scene 3: (He gave you breath, gave you dignity) * Scene 4: (Life celebrates uproar) * Scene 5: (Every moment is beginning)


Table

In the following table, the characters are abbreviated, and background colours highlight the text of the Magnificat (green), texts in Italian (brown), and texts in Hebrew (blue).


Scenes

Different actions comment on the verses of the Magnificat. The prologue introduces an angel announcing that God sent his Son when the time was fulfilled, the Choralschola emphasizes that the Son shows God's face of mercy, and the choir concludes that the time is fulfilled. Scene 1 introduces Clare and Francis of Assisi singing "" in tarantella rhythm, ultimately joined by the choirs. The schola intones the Dies irae expanded by Pope Francis, singing of the saddening situation of the environment caused by humans, in an to honour the Pope's home country. The scene ends with the
Neues Geistliches Lied ''Neues Geistliches Lied'' (, ''new spiritual song''), abbreviated NGL, is a music genre of songs in German intended for church usage, and based on contemporary lyrics and with music by contemporary composers. History The idea to reach youn ...
"." In scene 2, Mary tells of her experience of the
Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
and begins the Magnificat, joined by the choirs. The scene is concluded with the 2009 song "" by Schlegel with a melody by
Joachim Raabe Joachim Raabe (born 1974) is a German church musician and a composer of sacred music, especially of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied. Career Born in Haiger, Raabe studied church music from 1997 to 2002 at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold. He wa ...
( GL 885 in the regional part for Limburg). Scene 3 is focused on the Marriage at Cana, portrayed in
Klezmer music Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...
. Pope Francis stresses the importance of the female voice in society and church. Mary sings "" (And his mercy), now from the Magnificat, joined by the choir. Scene 4 opens with the schola singing
Stabat Mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Sabatier, Paul ''Life o ...
, facing the Crucifixion. Pope Francis connects in recitative to drama of 2016, such as poverty, wars, and refugees, and forced prostitution. The verses from the Magnificat that focus on God's strong arm creating justice are given to choral
fugues In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...
, interrupted by Clare and Francis reminding the listener to reflect who he is. The children open Halleluja as an African call and response, joined by all soloists and the mixed choir. Scene 5 opens with the schola singing the final line from the Magnificat, "" (As was spoken), to which Francis, the Pope, and Clare respond with a praising God. The choir answers with the doxology "Gloria Patri" which recalls motifs from earlier scenes. A new element is a third song, "," with the audience joining the singing. The work is concluded with a
double fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...
on Amen/Halleluja.


Scoring

The oratorio is scored for five solo voices representing characters, children's choir, Choralschola, a large mixed choir divided in up to eight parts, a symphony orchestra, and organ. The characters are: * Angel (soprano) * Maria (soprano) * Clare of Assisi (alto) * Francis of Assisi (tenor) * Pope Francis (baritone) The orchestra features flute (also playing descant recorder), clarinet, oboe, bassoon, two trumpets, two horns, trombone, tuba (ad lib.), timpani, percussion (including tambourine, drums, suspended cymbal, triangle, chimes, tuned glasses, marimba, djembé, glockenspiel), harp and strings.


Premiere and reception

In the premiere, the children's and youth choir was from Maria Rosenkranz, conducted by Karin Mayle-Polivka. The mixed choir combined four groups, two from the composer's
Liebfrauen, Frankfurt Liebfrauenkirche ("Our Lady", literally "Dear Lady") is a Gothic-style Catholic parish church, located in the centre of Frankfurt, Germany. It was built in several phases from the 14th to the 16th century and serves today as a monastery church. Cl ...
, vocal ensemble and the youth choir Cappuccinis, and two from
St. Martin, Idstein St. Martin is the name of a Catholic parish and church in Idstein, Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, Germany. The official name of the church is . The name of the parish became St. Martin Idsteiner Land on 1 January 2017, when it was merged with five other ...
, Chor St. Martin and the youth choir Martinis. The Schola was formed by singers from groups in the diocese, conducted by Franz Fink, and sang from the organ loft at the back of the cathedral. often introduced and accompanied by the organ. The orchestra for the occasion was the ensemble colorito, and the cathedral organ was played by Johannes Schröder, the organist at the Westerwälder Dom. The soloists were sopranos Marina Herrmann (Mary) and Janina Moeller (Angel), mezzo-soprano Anna Metzen (Clare of Assisi), tenor André Khamasmie (Francis of Assisi) and baritone Johannes Hill (Pope Francis). More than 250 musical performers contributed to the premiere. A reviewer of the ''
Nassauische Neue Presse ''Nassauische Neue Presse'' (''Nassau New Press'') is a newspaper in the Nassau region in western Germany, covering the area of the historical state of Nassau. It has a circulation of over 20,000, and was founded in 1948. It is owned by Frankfurter ...
'' noted the successful premiere, describing the work as a musical collage of biblical verses, action and meditative impulses ("musikalische Collage mit Bibelversen, erzählerischen Elementen, und meditativen Impulsen"). The reviewer, who listed the many performers and commented on several scenes, called the final hymnus a message of peace and joy.


References


External links

* * * * * * {{italic title 2016 compositions Christianity in Hesse Culture of Hesse Franciscan spirituality Francis of Assisi Mary, mother of Jesus Oratorios Pope Francis