DOCUMENTATION | Exhibitions: 1648 - War and Peace in Europe | |
| Essay Volumes > Tome II: Art and culture |
| STEFAN HANHEIDE Musical Lamentations of the Thirty Years' War |
In the general public consciousness, music opposing the war — music whose themes are the corruption of war and the people's longing for freedom — is immediately and almost exclusively associated with World War II. There is no need to point out the most well-known works of this genre — Britten's "War Requiem," Penderecki's "Threnos," Luigi Nono's "Canti di vita e d'amore - Sul Ponte di Hiroshima" and, widening the focus to violence in general, Schönberg's "Survivor from Warsaw." Yet all of these compositions were written after the Second World War, Penderecki's, Britten's and Nono's around 1960. During the war, at a time when it was nearly impossible to perform them, composers such as Hanns Eisler and Karl Amadeus Hartmann created works of this kind. The compositions written to date on the subject of the Second World War number more than 100. [1]
If we retrace the history of anti-war music backwards from this point in time, we notice that the appearance of such works decreases drastically before the mid-1930s. World War I and the war of 1870-71 against France inspired few composers to musical expression, except those who expressed their patriotism in favour of their own nation, for example Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner. In this context two operas written by Heinrich Zöllner in celebration of the 1870-71 war should also be mentioned: "Bei Sedan" op. 64 and "Der Überfall" op. 65. None of these last-mentioned works conveyed anti-war sentiment; quite to the contrary, they advocated the violent assertion of national power claims. Musical response to the Napoleonic wars was different again. Echoes of the war can be heard particularly in the late masses of Joseph Haydn, and at the end of the "Agnus Dei" the "dona nobis pacem" is an explicit plea for political peace. The influence of this new musical means of dealing with the "dona nobis pacem" is still felt in Beethoven's "Missa solemnis" of 1823. In Vienna both Haydn and Beethoven directly experienced the Napoleonic threat to Austria, while Brahms and Wagner had no contact whatever to the events of war — for example those at Sedan — and accordingly sensed no danger to themselves and their direct surroundings.
Political Music of the Thirty Years War
Thus we become aware of a tendency which applies in general to anti-war music: Works of this kind are evoked primarily through the direct personal confrontation of the artist with the effects of war. This realisation leads us in turn to suspect that the war which — aside from the Second World War — most strongly affected the population, the Thirty Years' War, inspired a number of compositional expressions. There are concrete reasons for the fact that these compositions hardly managed to reach the musical public. The musical circles of the Protestant Church have displayed considerable interest in the works of the first half of the 17 [th] century, but focused above all on the Schütz-Schein-Scheidt trio. And as might be expected, the attention of the Protestant Church has been directed primarily toward sacred works. Having been published in 1648, the — sacred — motet by Heinrich Schütz, "Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich" SWV 372 has often been linked with the Peace of Westphalia; there is, however, no evidence to support this assumption. Those of court orchestra director Schütz' — secular — compositions explicitly connected to the political events of the time have attracted only marginal attention despite their availability in the complete edition of this composer's works. Yet their very existence supports the theory that musical works dealing with the period of the Thirty Years' War were also created by other composers in other places. A comprehensive search for such works has revealed that at least seventy compositions bear a connection to this subject in their titles or texts alone. [2] This number does not include works which could have been used to mourn the war or celebrate peace — for example the setting of the Lamentations of Jeremiah on the one hand, or of the chorale "Nun danket alle Gott" of the 150 [th] Psalm on the other hand — but lack direct proof of connection with the war.
These seventy compositions can be divided into the two basic categories of music for the lamentation of war and music for the celebration of peace. The latter category comprises above all works composed between 1649 and 1651 for commemorations of the Peace of Westphalia. These are accompanied by works written on the occasion of interim peace treaties concluded before 1648. The classification is not always straightforward since many of the compositions celebrating peace sing chiefly of the plagues of war, by merit of which they belong — with regard to content — to the genre of the lamentation. Their link to concrete historical pacts, however, makes it appear most sensible to classify them as music for the celebration of peace. A special sub-category is formed by the compositions paying homage to Gustav Adolf, particularly those commemorating his death in 1632.
The political compositions dealing with the Thirty Years' War and the Peace of Westphalia have never yet managed to rouse the interest of musicologists. Accordingly, there are no new editions of most of the works; in most cases only one complete sample of any given historical edition has been preserved in one of the libraries of Europe. The compositions of Heinrich Schütz on this theme form an exception, being included in the new Schütz edition. In addition, the works of Heinrich Alberts are to be found in the Denkmäler der deutschen Tonkunst and those of Kindermann in the Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Bayern, both published in the early 20 [th] century. Recordings have been made only of the works of Schütz. In 1998, however, a recording of a series of works connected with the Thirty Years' War and the Peace of Westphalia is to be released.
Thirty of the some seventy war-related compositions can be designated as war lamentations. That is a mere trifle in view of the great abundance of musical works produced in the early 17 [th] century: The complete index of Heinrich Schütz' works, for instance, greatly exceeds 500 numbers, and Melchior Franck wrote more than 600 compositions of sacred music alone, as well as numerous secular vocal and instrumental pieces. Nonetheless, a large proportion of the most important composers of the time participated in this form of musical war lamentation — Heinrich Schütz in Dresden, Samuel Scheidt in Halle, Johann Erasmus Kindermann and Johann Staden in Nuremberg, Melchior Franck in Coburg, Heinrich Albert in Königsberg, Andreas Hammerschmidt in Zittau, Erasmus Widmann in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Johannes Werlin in Lindau and Johann Hildebrandt in Eilenburg. This survey serves to illustrate the fact that the lamentations of war emerged exclusively from the Protestant sphere, which with regard to musical composition was superior to the Catholic in Europe at this time.
While within the spectrum of contemporary music production these lamentations of war are completely insignificant quantitatively, their qualitative standard is worthy of attention. Heinrich Schütz' motet "Da pacem, Domine" has even been described as "one of his very strongest pieces." [3] In their effort to lend expressive power to lamentations of the effects of war, the composers arrived at quite individual musical conceptions.
It is difficult to judge the circulation and the numbers published of the various works of music. A certain degree of circulation may well have been achieved by those pieces included in the fair catalogues for the spring and autumn fairs for printed works in Frankfurt and Leipzig. For this reason, specific reference will be made here to entries in the fair catalogues. [4]
Johann Staden's War Lamentations
Quite an early war lamentation, written by the Sebald organist Johann Staden (1581-1634) appeared in Nuremberg in 1622 under the title "Drey Christliche Bet = Gesäng / zu diesen gefährlichen unnd betrübten Zeiten sehr notwendig zu gebrauchen. Mit 4. Stimmen Auff ihre gewöhnliche Melodey komponiert" [roughly translatable as: Three Christian prayers = songs, greatly needed in these dangerous and afflicted times. For four parts composed to their usual melody]. [5] The three songs reflect the early phase of the war. The first begins: "Gib Fried zu unser Zeit o Herr / Groß noth ist jetzt vorhanden" [Give peace to our times o Lord, Great need now exists]. In the second stanza we hear: "Gib Fried den wir verloren han / Durch unglaub und böß leben" [Give peace which we have lost, Through lack of faith and evil living]. Even this early lamentation expresses an understanding of war as the consequence of human sin. The second song, "Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein" [When our need is greatest], expresses need in a generalised form. The third song consists of the second stanza of Martin Luther's "Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich" [Bestow peace upon us mercifully], in which he prays for "Fried und gut Regiment" [peace and good regiment] for the authorities.
Petitions for peace are also a recurring theme in the individual songs of Staden's four-part collection "Hauß Music," for example in Part I of 1623, in the setting of "Da pacem, Domine," in Part III of 1628 in the prayer for peace and in Part IV, of the same year, in the "Gebet um Abwendung von allerhand Landstrafen" [Prayer for the prevention of all forms of retribution of the land]. Staden also set the Rist text "O welch ein Übel ist der Krieg" [O what an evil thing is war] to music. [6]
Heinrich Schütz: DA PACEM; DOMINE, 1627
In 1621 the court orchestra director of Dresden, Heinrich Schütz, wrote two compositions paying tribute to his prince elector in Breslau. These works already allude to the war newly commenced and the peace longed for (cp. my article on music written for celebrations of peace as well as the contribution by Wolfram Steudes contained in this volume).
Six years later, on the occasion of the Electoral Day of 1627 in Mühlhausen, he wrote a third work devoted to this subject. It was much differently conceived with regard to form, a piece which can now justifiably be referred to as a lamentation of war: the motet for two choirs "Da pacem, Domine," [7] As had been the case in Breslau in 1621, Schütz was in the entourage of Johann Georg I, this time with eighteen members of the court orchestra whose names appear individually on a list which has been preserved to the present day. [8] Once again the task was to compose a welcoming tribute to the potentates arriving for the celebration. In the meantime, however, the consequences of the lasting war for the population had become obvious. Accordingly, Schütz was not satisfied with merely honouring the prince electors, but incorporated the text of the medieval antiphon "Da pacem, Domine" into the work. The first chorus begins: "Gib Frieden, Herr" [Give peace, Lord] and expresses the belief that only God can bestow peace. This chorus was to be played by five violas accompanied by one or two voice parts sung by descanters. Chorus II, on the other hand, addresses the prince electors with salutes of acclamation in Latin: "Es lebe der Mainzer, es lebe der Trierer, es lebe der Kölner, sie leben, die drei Begründer des Friedens; es lebe Ferdinand, der unbesiegbare Kaiser! Es lebe der Sachse, es lebe der Bayer, es lebe der Brandenburger, sie leben, die drei Beschützer des Friedens" [Long live the prince of Mayence, long live the prince of Treves, long live the prince of Cologne, long may they live, the three founders of peace; long live Ferdinand, the unconquerable emperor! Long live the prince of Saxony, long live the prince of Bavaria, long live the prince of Brandenburg, long may they live, the three protectors of peace]. In this work Schütz is obviously combining the required formulae of homage to the potentates with the urgent request for peace, which he addresses to God. The interpolation of the old Da pacem text into a text concerned with the current political situation is a method also found on contemporary leaflets. [9] According to Schütz' instructions, this second chorus was to be sung by a four-part choir, "welche die Wort mit feiner gratiâ aussprechen und sonst stark singen, und kann dieser Chor Von dem ersten absonderlich gestellet werden" [who pronounce the words with fine grace and otherwise sing strongly, and this choir can be set apart from the first]. [10] Martin Gregor-Dellin's claim that the second choir sang out its tributes from the church portal, while the first choir executed its calls of Da pacem from within the church interior, [11] is a logical interpretation which unfortunately lacks substantiation by a historical source. We gather from Schütz' performance instructions, "Ordinantz" as he called them, that he was particularly concerned with the audibility of the phrases of welcome and tribute. The natural assumption that the paying of homage to the potentates constitutes the essence of this composition is contradicted, however, by the work's formal conception. The beginning, the first twenty-four measures, and the conclusion, the final twenty-nine measures, are devoted exclusively to the recitation of the request for peace. What is more, passages of the Da pacem are repeatedly incorporated into the middle section, containing the tributes, and in the final section of the composition the two choirs join to sing "Gib Frieden, Herr, in unseren Tagen" [Give peace, Lord, in our days] in Latin. Thus the work does not conclude with cheers of homage but with a quite sombrely expressed petition for peace. Schütz makes it clear by these means that the chief concern of the gathering at Mühlhausen was not the paying of homage to the prince electors but the generation of peace. Yet the petition is not directed towards those politically responsible, but to God. If one should thus attempt to conclude, however, that Schütz no longer deemed the rulers capable of attaining peace, one would be treading thin ice, for too little is known about Schütz' stance on the politics of his time. [12] Interestingly, his conception of the Da pacem exhibits a characteristic already seen in Staden's works and applicable to all later war lamentations: The lamentation of the war and the petition for peace were not possible outside a religious framework. The war was understood as just deserts for sins committed and freedom could only be attained through God's forgiveness of these sins and the exemption from punishment.
Melchior Franck: SUSPIRIUM GERMANIAE PUBLICUM, 1628
One year later, in 1628, Melchior Franck (1579-1639) published a war lamentation entitled "Suspirium Germaniae Publicum, Das ist: Allgemeine des betrübten Vaterlandes Seufftzerlein, Bey instehenden und gefährlichen Leufften, auß dem Propheten Daniel am 9. und ersten Buch Mos. am 18. Cap. erhaben [...] Übersetzet durch Melchior Francken, Fürstl. Sächs. Capellmeister" [Suspirium Germaniae Publicum, or: General suspirations of the afflicted fatherland, during ... dangerous times, ... [here a humble dedication to the Burgomaster and Council of the City of Nuremberg follows], translated by Melchior Francken, Royal Saxon Orchestra Conductor]. [13] The bilingualism of the title is reflected in the composition. The work begins with a six-part choir homophonically reciting the Latin words for: "So that you shall not fear the attack of the enemy." In the twenty-eighth measure the tenor continues this sentence in the recitative form, accompanied by the basso continuo, with the words: "sollt ihr eingedenk sein, auf welche Weise unsere Väter bewahrt worden sind, und nun laßt uns unsere Stimme zum Himmel erheben" [be mindful of the way in which our fathers were saved, and let us now raise our voices to heaven]. In a succession of chords the six-part choir then chants a German text based on verses 18 and 19 of Daniel 9, alternating responsorially with the tenor (fig. 1). In conclusion the entire choir sings in Latin: "And our God will have mercy upon us." The second part of the composition consists of an eight-stanza, four-part polyphonic cantional movement modelled on the contents of the 18 [th] chapter of the First Book of Moses (Genesis). Melchior Franck links the Catholic and the Protestant spheres in this compositions by two means: The language of the Catholic liturgy, Latin, is combined with the predominate language of the Protestant liturgy, German, in a single composition. The mixture is also carried out musically: Franck employs an element of the Catholic liturgy, the Gregorian responsorial singing of psalms, alongside one of the Protestant liturgy, the spiritual strophic song. He designs his composition in the form of an alternation between a cantor and a congregation, thus illustrating the actual setting of a prayer for peace.
The circumstances surrounding Franck's composition reveals significant information regarding the treatment of such works: As mentioned above, Franck dedicated the work to the Council of the City of Nuremberg. Dedications of this kind occurred frequently at that time; both Johann Hermann Schein and Samuel Scheidt dedicated works to the Council of Nuremberg. The council submitted such works to its most competent musicians, in this case the Sebald organist Johann Staden and the Lorenz organist Valentin Dretzel, for appraisal. If judged positively, the dedicator received a certain sum of money from the city, as was also the case with Franck. The written documents concerning these practices have been preserved (fig. 2). [14]
Erasmus Widmann: PIORUM SUSPIRIA, 1629
In the year 1629, Erasmus Widmann (1572-1634), cantor and organist in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, edited a collection of polyphonic songs which he entitled "Piorum suspiria. Andechtige Seufftzen unnd Gebet umb den lieben Frieden und abwendung aller Hauptplagen und Straffen: Gesangsweiß gestellt: Darbey auch egliche nach der newen Viadanischen Art gesetzten Moteten unnd Gesäng auff die hohen Fest bey der Communion und Copulationen zu musiciren" [Piorum suspiria. Devout suspirations and prayers for peace and the prevention of all great afflictions and punishment: In song form, including several motets and songs set according to the new Viadanic method, to be performed on the high holidays, at the Communion and during espousements]. [15] This collection consists of thirty individual vocal works divided into three groups. The first part, to be investigated more closely below, is followed by a series of nine relatively short three-part motets, each with both a Latin and a German text. The songs of this second part are prayers to Jesus and contain no explicit reference to the times. Part III consists of thirteen somewhat longer individual three and four-part motets accompanied by the basso continuo. Their texts are all Latin and taken primarily from the Song of Solomon. The utilisation of the second and third parts can be derived from the foreword: The second group serves as music accompanying the Communion; here nine shorter pieces are arranged successively to fill the duration of the Communion, while the singing can cease at the conclusion of any one of them. The intention of the third part as wedding music is made evident by the use of texts from the Song of Songs. Preceding these two parts, Widmann placed a first part containing references to contemporary events. It consists of seven cantional movements, some with as many as thirty-eight stanzas, revolving around the tribulations of war and the ardently longed-for peace. The first two of these movements are designated "Prayer of Nuremberg" and "Prayer of Rothenburg." In the foreword Widmann mentions that these prayers have been ordained by the churches "welche ich in reymen Gesangsweise verfast und mit vier vocibus hierinnen vornan gesetzt" [which I composed in rhymes as songs with four voices, and put them at the front of this collection]. Here Widmann reveals himself as a clever contemporary who knew how to take advantage of the political events. He wrote rhymed versions of the texts to be recited — the "Prayer of Nuremberg" has thirty-eight eight-line stanzas, the "Prayer of Rothenburg" twelve twelve-line stanzas — and composed simple melodies for them. He also named even plainer melodies to which the texts could be sung should his newly composed setting prove too difficult. The "Piorum suspiria" appeared in the catalogues of the 1629 autumn fairs of Frankfurt and Leipzig.
Already in 1620, against the background of the war, Widmann composed an allegorical drama with musical interludes. [16] Like many of his colleagues, he regarded himself as a writer and composer in personal union. In 1633 he came out with two further works: a "Danckh- und Lobgesang für die Erlösung auß Päpstischen Trangsal der hochlöblichen Stadt Augspurg" [Song of thanks and praise for the release of the most praiseworthy City of Augsburg from the papal affliction], as well as a collection of epic songs for Gustav Adolf, discussed in greater detail elsewhere (see the article on compositions for celebrations of peace included in this volume). It is perhaps not inadmissible to refer to Widmann as a musical war profiteer in view of his good business sense. In any case it can be said that he procured income he would have earned by other means in times of peace. Due to the steady expansion of the war, musicians' salaries were reduced or even temporarily cancelled in many places in Germany. The material hardship that ensued could be relieved through earnings from compositions such as the ones Widmann wrote. [17] He would assumably have published further works alluding to contemporary events had he not died of the plague a year later, in 1634.
Political References in the Arias of Heinrich Albert
The extent to which the song production of the time was dependent on immediate current political events is also evident in two arias of 1635 by the cantor of Königsberg, Heinrich Albert (1604-1651). One of them, composed as the setting of a text by Simon Dach, bears the title "Als die hochlöblichen Crohnen, Pohlen und Schweden nach abgelauffenem Sechsjährigen Stillstand in Preussen, sich wiederumb zum Krieg rüsteten, Im Jahr 1635" [When in the year 1635 the most praiseworthy crowns of Poland and Sweden armed for war again upon the expiration of the six-year truce in Prussia]. [18] The title refers to the truce agreed upon between the Poles and the Swedes on September 26, 1629 in Altmark. Albert composed a three-part imitative aria with four stanzas, expressing the lamentation that "Das Leid ist hier, das sehen wir, was Krieg und Schlacht uns denn für großen Jammer macht" [The suffering is here, and we see what great distress is caused us by war and battle]. Albert's next work, composed for a text by Andreas Adersbach, is entitled "Da, durch Gottes Gnade, zwischen höchstermeldten beyden löblichen Crohnen der Sechs und Zwantzig-jährige Stillstand geschlossen worden den 12. Septembris selbigen Jahres" [Because through God's mercy the twenty-six-year truce was signed by the two highly praiseworthy crowns on September 12 of the same year]. [19] Here Albert is referring to the treaty of Stuhmsdorf. In the text of the five-part polyphonic composition containing seven stanzas we hear the words: "Gott sei Dank für solches Gnadenwerk, Nun ist Fried in allen Ständen, Fried ist hier an allen Enden: Fried ist über ganzes Königsberg, Friede rufen allzumal, Fried in Preußen überall" [Thanks be to god for such an act of mercy, Now there is peace in all diets, Peace is here on all sides: Peace is over all of Königsberg, Shout peace altogether, Peace in Prussia everywhere].
Johann Erasmus Kindermann: Musikalische Friedens Seufftzer, 1642
The Nuremberg Egidien organist Erasmus Kindermann (1616-1655) demonstrated a great concern for music dedicated to peace, although his commitment was not necessarily attributable to a special love for peace. By the 1640s at the latest, compositions which lent expression to the people's longing for peace after so many years of war were "en vogue." The young musician could therefore justifiably reckon with a fair amount of interest, especially in a city which played a major role both for the war itself and for peace negotiations, and was furthermore the stronghold of Protestant church music and the centre of German music publication. In 1640 Kindermann edited the collection entitled "Friedensklag" [Lamentations for Peace], of which no complete copy has survived. [20] Three other composers were also involved in the publication of this volume, the most noteworthy among them being the Liebfrauen organist of the time, Johann Andreas Herbst (1588-1666). Two years later Kindermann published a collection of his own works, which he called "Musikalische FriedensSeufftzer" [Musical Suspirations for Peace]. [21] These are early examples of a form of publication which applied to the war lamentations that followed: Such works no longer appeared singly but in collections, an indication that they enjoyed a certain popularity, that such music was in demand.
In the preface to his "Musikalische FriedensSeufftzer" Kindermann comments upon the circumstances surrounding the collection's publication — the devastation caused by the Thirty Years' War. He makes reference to "Deme / von so vielen Jahren her / mit Aufopfferung vieler millionen Seelen geführten Christen=Krieg" [the Christian war of so many years, accompanied by the sacrifice of many millions of souls] and directs his gaze toward "unser liebes / von Blut=Wellen gleichsam überschwemmtes / an Land und Leut unnd Städten ganz verösetes / auch an Volck und Geld entblöstes Vatterland teutscher Nation" [our dear fatherland, the German nation, virtually inundated with waves of blood, devoid of land and people and towns, stripped of population and wealth]. Kindermann continues by voicing the intent of his composition: "bey anstellung unterschiedener Reichs-Convent, Deputation, Kriegs, und anderer, diesen Edlen so lang begehrten Frieden zu erlangen, angestellten Tägen" [when various imperial conventions, deputations, war congresses, etc. are undertaken to attain the noble peace so long desired]. In other words, the music has been composed to accompany negotiations for peace. Kindermann mentions "nunmehr widerumb angestellten Tägen" [congresses henceforth undertaken]; the preface is dated November 27, the work was printed in 1642. The author relates not only the outward circumstances, but also the inward intention of the music: "Wann aber derer Wort mit Beysetzung einer lieblichen Harmonia viel annehmlicher gemacht und deß Menschen Hertz zu mehrer auffgemuntert unnd beweget wird" [if their words are made more acceptable through the accompaniment of a beautiful harmony and the human heart is cheered and moved to more]. Here we detect a conception of music present from the Middle Ages to late Bach, its origins dating back to Greek antiquity. It revolves around the idea that music is influenced by laws of order. Within the seven liberal arts dominating the educational system of the time, musica joined geometry, arithmetic and astronomy to form the higher division, the quadrivium of disciplines concerned with the concept of order. The remaining three arts were language-related — rhetoric, logic and grammar — and formed the trivium. According to the quadrivial theory, music exercises an influence on the human soul — that which we now designate as the psyche — by virtue of its inner order, harmonia. When the soul is in a state of disorder, music returns it to order by means of its inherent harmony. The human being is thus led away from evil and sin and towards goodness. In our particular case, the presence of music during the peace negotiations was meant to encourage the participants' peace-loving tendencies and restrain their warmongering and vindictive intentions. Thus music is devoted to the direct service of creating peace.
In addition to its performance during political negotiations, Kindermann alludes to a further use for the music: He has devoted the work to Margrave Albrecht von Brandenburg Ansbach and Count Joachim Albrecht of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, who have established rogation services for peace on their territory. Kindermann is thus banking on the performance of his pieces during these services.
Kindermann's collection "Musikalische FriedensSeufftzer" consists of eight individual pieces with texts of varying import and compositions of varying structure. The first five are spiritual concertos for three voices with basso continuo; the sixth and seventh are four-part strophic songs and the final piece is a two-part choral movement in five stanzas with violin ritornelli. The texts which have been set to music in Nos. 1 - 5 are among the most significant texts related to war and peace: Chapter 9 of Daniel, also employed by Melchior Franck, the antiphon "Da pacem, Domine" also found in the work by Schütz, and the Lamentations of Jeremiah, which have been enlisted again and again in the course of history and well into the 20 [th] century. The texts of the strophic songs Nos. 6 and 7 refer to the contemporary war and give expression to the trials and tribulations of war and the longing for peace. The text of No. 8 "Verzage nicht, du Häuflein klein" [Despair not, small troop] is likewise of contemporary significance, having been written by Michael Altenburg on the occasion of the battle at Breitenfeld in 1631. This particular song text was regarded as the "banner song of the Protestant cause" and enjoyed great popularity. [22] The "FriedensSeufftzer" were advertised in the catalogues of the spring fairs of 1643 in Frankfurt and Leipzig.
Johannes Werlin: IRENODIAE, 1643
Johannes Werlin (†1680) brought out what is considered to be the most important and most comprehensive collection of war lamentations under the title "Irenodiae, Oder Friedens-Gesäng. Das ist: Newe Geistliche Concert, bey diesen noch continuirlich grassirenden hochgefährlichen Kriegsläufften / umb gnädige Abwendung solcher langwürigen Plag / und Vätterliche Widerschenckung deß so offt gewünschten guldenen Friedens / und hochwerthen thewren Kleinods / zu vermehrung der Andacht / und auffmunterung der hertzen / Heilsam und Christlich zu gebrauchen" [Irenodiae, or songs of peace, i.e.: New spiritual concerts, to be used during these still continually raging, highly dangerous times of war, for the merciful prevention of this so interminable affliction, and the fatherly return of the so often longed-for golden peace, and precious treasure, to magnify the devotion, and cheer the hearts, in a salutary and Christian manner]. [23] The collection was published in Ulm in 1643 — the basso continuo part is dated 1644, indicating that the work was printed around the turn of the year — the preface is dated July 17, 1643. The composer is not to be confused with the Catholic composer Werlin of the Seeon Cloister. The editor of the "Irenodiae" is the Protestant Werlin of Oettingen, active from ca. 1640 until his death in 1680 as a teacher and "Director Chori musici" at the Latin school in Lindau on the Lake of Constance. The publication is dedicated to the Council of the City of Lindau. Werlin expresses his gratitude for his recent employment as a "Praeceptor" at the Latin school and as the director of the "Chori musici." He also voices his thanks for the instruction imparted him by an "in omni Musica hocherfahrnen und excellirenden Itali" [in omni Musica highly experienced and excellent Italian], the insertion of the word "allhier" referring to the fact that Werlin did not embark upon a study trip to Italy, as was otherwise common practice, but that the instruction took place in Lindau. The above-quoted publication title further informs us that the work employs the "auff jetzo gebräuchliche Italiänische Invention mit 2, 3 und 4 Stimmen neben dem Basso Continuo" [now commonly used Italian invention with 2, 3 and 4 voices in addition to the basso continuo].
The collection contains thirty-one sacred concertos, of which the first ten are for two voices, the next ten for three voices and the final eleven for four. In structure they resemble Heinrich Schütz' "Kleine Geistliche Konzerte" of the years 1636 and 1639, but the Werlin texts concentrate exclusively on war and peace, whereas Schütz had set a variety of biblical passages and choral texts to music. The term "Italian invention" points to the origins of this type of composition, to be found in the "Centi Concerti Ecclesiastici" written by Ludovico da Viadana in 1620. Werlin's arrangements are quite diverse, making use of all manner of vocal combinations, for example two sopranos and two basses, or three tenors and bass. The voices are set polyphonically throughout, often imitatively. Werlin frequently employs changes of metre and introduces tempo modifications, particularly as a means of intensifying the import of the text. Above words such as "moaning" and "weeping" he writes the tempo mark "adagio" (No. 29). The movement "Wende das Weinen in Lachen, das Herzleid in Freud" [Turn the tears into laughter, suffering into joy], calls for adagio for the "tears," allegro for the "laughter," adagio again for the "suffering" and allegro for the "joy," all within a few measures (No. 23, see fig. 3). Werlin also utilises compositional aids for the musical presentation of the text as developed in the Italian madrigal of the 16 [th] century and used extensively in the Protestant church music of the following period.
The author of the text remains anonymous, but we can assume that he is identical with the composer. This can be derived from the fact that Werlin closes his foreword with six lines of verse which appear again in the final concerto. In the illustration, wishes of good luck are bestowed upon the lime tree of the City of Lindau (fig. 4). The work was listed in the fair catalogues of the 1644 spring fair of Frankfurt as well as the spring and autumn fairs of Leipzig of the same year. [24]
Johann Hildebrand: KRIEGES-ANGST-SEUFFTZER, 1645
A further collection of war lamentations was printed in 1645 in Leipzig as a work by the Nicolai organist of Eilenburg, Johann Hildebrand (1614-1684), under the title "Krieges-Angst-Seufftzer." [25] The first section of this two-part composition consists of a monody for one voice accompanied by the basso continuo, designated "Krieges-Angst-Seufftzer I - VI." "Hierauf folgt die göttliche Friedens - Vertröstung" [Now follows the divine consolation of peace] is the heading of the subsequent song, structured musically in the same manner. The second part of Hildebrand's collection comprises five four-part cantional movements of several stanzas each, one of them with two texts. They are referred to as "Zugabe an die gesambte Friedens-Begierige Bürgerschaft" [Encore for the entire peace-desiring population], Part One having been dedicated to the spiritual and secular dignitaries of Eilenburg, referred to by name in the preface.
In 1845 Carl von Winterfeld characterised the work as follows: