Antonio Caldara (1670-1736)

Author(s): Cecil Gray

Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 70, No. 1033 (Mar. 1, 1929), pp. 212-218
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/917247
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212 THE MUSICAL TIMES-MARCH 1 1929

is the last person whom one could reproachCaldara's music, that he is one of the most
withartisticindolence. importantfiguresof the period immediately
The silence of Rachmaninovand Glazounov precedingBach and Handel, and one of the
breathes of tragedy. Is it only the personalgreatest,ifnot the verygreatest,of the Italian
tragedyof two composerswho are behind the masters at the end of the 17th and the
times,who have said theirsay and feel the beginningof the 18thcenturies.
uselessnessof repeatingthemselves, or can we Of his life we know extremelylittle, and
foreseein it still more tragicalprospectsfor whatwe do knowis not of great interest. He
art in general? The silence of these great was born at Venice in 1670, and became a
musiciansis accompaniednot only by a sense pupil of Legrenzi,one of the leadingcomposers
of the inutilityof theirown creativework,but and teachersof the day. His firstopera was
also by an unmistakableperplexity withregard producedin his native city with great success
to the whole of the contemporaryoutput. at the early age of eighteen,and the next
Has music really advanced, and do only the thirtyyears or so of his life were spent in
laggardsfailto understandthe paths which it various Italian cities-Rome, Milan, Mantua,
follows,or has it merelygone astray,with the Bologna, &c.-in the course of which he
connivanceof thoseby whomit is surrounded ? acquired a great reputationboth as a 'cellist,
It is very difficultto find an answer at the in whichcapacity he was reckonedamong the
moment,but it is significantthat more and foremostvirtuosiof his day, and as a composer
morefrequentlyI have occasionto witnessthe of operasand chambermusic. In 1712we find
frankand naive enthusiasmof musiciansand him at Vienna,in 1715 at Madrid,and finally
audiences at performancesof Glazounov's at Vienna again,wherehe occupiedthe post of
symphonies,which above all things are vice-chapelmaster underthe celebratedcontra-
musically beautiful; they seem like a new puntistFux to the EmperorCharlesVI., a post
revelation, a vision of paradise, after the whichhe continuedto occupy untilhis death,
torturesto whichthe ears of the patientand in 1736.
submissiveherd of listenersare subjectedby The greater part of his work is equally
modernistcomposers. Glazounovmay or may unknownto us, and like thatof so many other
not have grownold with his music,but we do composers of the period lies scattered in
knowthat he has a niche in the Pantheonof manuscriptin various libraries and private
history. How the contemporaryexperimentscollectionsthroughoutthe whole of Europe.
on our much-enduring ears will end, and what Consequently,to become acquainted with his
place is preparedfor them in history,we are entireoutput,comprisingover seventyoperas,
quite unable to say, and we cannotlook foran thirty oratorios, Massesbotha cappellaand
thirty
answeruntil ten, twenty,or even more years instrumentally accompanied,to say nothingof
have elapsed. a vast quantityof chambermusic and miscel-
(Translated by S. W. Pring.) laneous compositions for church purposes,
would in itself be the task of a lifetime.
According to the most recent edition of
ANTONIO CALDARA (1670-1736) Riemann's' Musik-Lexikon ' (1922), a German
musicologist,HerrFelix von Kraus, is actually
BY CECIL GRAY engaged on the task, but up to the present
One of the most serious blemishesin the time, so far as I am aware, his promised
thirdeditionof Grove's 'Dictionary of Music monographhas not yet appeared.
and Musicians'is undoubtedlythe omissionof In default,therefore, of the data providedby
any reference to AntonioCaldara. Whetherit a reliable,first-hand examinationof the exist-
is to be regardedas intentionalor due merelyingworksin manuscript,we are compelledto
to some unaccountableoversightis difficultrelyexclusivelyupon the meagrefare afforded
to say, but seeingthat his name appeared in by such of Caldara's worksas were published
the previous editions of the work we shall in his lifetime,and those that have been re-
probablybe rightin assumingthe former. In printedin moderneditions. The firstcategory
eithercase, however,it is to be hoped that this would seem to consistof merelytwenty-four
defectwillbe remediedin the next edition,for Sonatas fortwoviolinsand bass (1700-01),and a
althoughhis admirablearia 'Come raggiodel collectionof two- and three-voiceMotetswith
Sol' may be the only specimenof his art that bassocontinuo(1715); to whichmay be added a
has capriciously survivedup to thepresentday book of Masses with instrumental accompani-
in our concertprogrammes, Caldara is by no mentpublishedshortlyafterhisdeath. Modern
means an obscureor unknowncomposer. On reprints, apart from innumerablearrange-
the contrary, his best work,and notablythat ments of the aria already mentioned(' Come
of it writtenforthe Church,has alwaysreceived raggiodel Sol '), are practicallyconfinedto the
the respectfulattentionit deserves from all invaluable large volume of his Churchmusic
studentsof the age in whichhe lived. Indeed, publishedintheseries' DenkmalerderTonkunst
therecan be littledoubtin themindof any one in Osterreich'(XIII. Jahrgang, ErsterTeil), by
who is acquainted,howeversuperficially, with Eusebius Mandyczewsky in 1906, a fineFugue

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 THE MUSICAL TIMES-MARcH 1 1929 213

for accompanied voices in the 'Auswahl vor- forhis superb melodies,'of which the noble,
ziiglicherMusik-Werke' (No. 41), and two soaringlines,thearchitectural construction, and
specimensof his chambermusic containedin the deep expressivenessof the words,stamp
Riemann's 'Collegium Musicum' (No. 44) them as belongingto the finestof a period
and in the same editor's 'Musikgeschichtein exceptionallyrichin melody.' That thisis not
Beispielen.' excessivepraise can be readilyascertainedby
This may perhaps seem to be too small an any one willingto take the troubleof looking
amountof materialon whichto base even so at the works for himself; to give sufficient
modestand unpretentious a studyas thisof the quotations in justificationof this contention
workofsuch an exceptionallyprolificcomposerwould require more space than can be here
as Caldara. It maylegitimately be questioned,afforded,for it is not a question of an out-
however,whetherit is ever really necessaryto standingphrasehereand there,which could be
knowall, or even most of,any man's work in easilydetachedfromits contextlikean epigram,
orderto forma reliableestimateofhis talent. but of a consistent, homogeneousmelodicflow
We do not need to wade conscientiouslyfromfirstbar to last of each composition.
throughthe completeworksof a Beethovenor Mandyczewskigoes on to say that the
a Schubertin orderto appreciatetheirgreat- rhythmicand harmonicinterestof Caldara's
ness or the nature of theirintrinsicqualities. workis, on the contrary, comparativelysmall.
In each case a fewselectedworkswillservejust The firstpart of this statementis probably
as well-perhaps even better,whenwe considerjustified;nowherein his work do we findthe
the'vast amount of inferiorstuffthat each rhythmicvitalityand inventiveness ofsome of
turnedout whichwould be betterforgotten- his compatriotssuch as Vivaldi or Marcello.
and the same applieswitheven greatercogency This deficiency, however,is to a great extent
to lessermen. In the secondplace it must be only the outcome of his qualities,for a high
remembered thatit is a characteristicof theage degree of rhythmicinterestis incompatible
in which Caldara lived that composers,in with the particular vein of mysticismand
contra-distinction to those mentionedabove, introspection which is characteristic of all his
maintaineda remarkablyconsistentlevel of best work, in this selection at least. This
accomplishment, and that not until the second quality,incidentally,distinguishes him sharply
the 18th from all his Italian colleagues, save occasion-
part of century,generally speak-
for
be a few exceptions), do we ally Lotti, and might perhaps be accounted
ing (there may and his
finda wide gulfseparating the best of a man's by his long residence in Vienna,
workfromhisworst. Consequently, even ifwe consequentabsorptionto a certain extent of
had theentireoutputof Caldara at ourdisposal Teutonic characteristics.On the other hand
it is improbablethat the final impressionwe it must be remembered at this tim9
appreci- Vienna was the reverse of Teutonic in its
tf,i
wouldreceiveofhis talentwould differ
ably fromthat based upon a mere handfulof cultureand artisticideals, and we shall con-
compositionschosen more or less at random. sequently be safer in assuming that this
It is true that what we have of it does not strikingfeatureof Caldara'sworkis essentially
enable us to form any idea concerninghis individualand personal.
meritsas a composerof operas,but seeing that That Mandyczewskishould,however,finda
there is general agreementamong those who lack of harmonicinterestin Caldara's music is
have most closely studied his music to the distinctlysurprising, to say the least,forit is
effectthathe is firstand foremosta composerpreciselythe strengthand audacity of his
of Church music, this deficiencyneed not harmonicwriting,and in particularhis great
troubleus overmuch. Certainlywhatwe know masteryof chromaticresource,that strikeone
ofhis chambermusic-and thatis a good deal most stronglyon lookingat his work for the
-bears out this contention, for admirable firsttime. Not that he is exceptionalin this
thoughmanyof his trio sonatas may be, they respect; indeed,thebest Italian mastersof the
cannot be said to equal the finestchamberperiod are often extremelyinterestinghar-
worksof such predecessorsand contemporariesmonically,and not at all the mere insipid
as Corelli,Veracini, Locatelli,or Vivaldi. In melodiststhey are commonlysupposed to be.
whatwe knowofhis Churchmusic,on theother Caldara's chromaticism, however,* is peculiarly
hand,he can stand comparisonwith any com- individual,and not confinedsimply to the
poserofhis age. The 'Denkm~iler'volume of exploitationof the semi-tonallydescending-
his Church music may thereforebe said to or,lessfrequently, ascending-bass,whichis one
supplyus withsufficient materialto enable us of the most popular and fruitful formulasof
to form at least a rough idea of the general the period beginningwith Purcell (or even
characteristicsof his art, and to serve as the earlier) and endingwith Bach. He certainly
basis for a comparisonbetweenhim and his makes use of it to a certainextent,and with
most eminentcontemporariesin respect of greateffect, like all his colleagues,but his more
statureand significance. highlypersonalprogressions are arrivedat very
In his eruditeintroductionto the volume in differently, in a more deliberatelycolouristic
question,Mandyczewskijustlypraises Caldara manner. Particularly characteristicof his

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 214 THE MUSICAL TIMES-MARCH 1 1929

style, for example,is his predilectionfor the of an intricateand finely -wroughtpolyphonic

progressionfrom the flattenedsixth of the texturethat constitutesCaldara's chieftitleto
scale to the augmentedfourth,generallyin the lasting fame. In this respecthis 'Crucifixus'
bass part,as in the following extracts:* in sixteenreal partsis one of themostremark-
Ex. I. 'O sacrum convivium.' (Motet.) able worksever written. For it is not as if,
like practicallyall othercontrapuntalfeatsin a
largenumberof parts,it was a mereexhibition
I4p of barren mathematicalingenuity,consisting
-00- almost entirely of a perpetual oscillation
between tonic and dominantharmonies,and
entirelydevoidofmusical interestof any kind.
Ex. 2. 'Stabat Mater.' On the contrary,it is a work of intrinsic
beauty,all technicalconsiderationsapart,and
it is difficult
to say whichto admirethe most:
the beauty and expressivenessof the themes,
the superbharmonicstructure, or the consum-
mate ease and masterywithwhichhe handles
such a vast numberof voices. It is only at
the cadences(whereit is obviouslyunavoidable)
that any strainor artificialityin the movement
of the individualpartsmakesitselffelt; other-
wise they progressas naturally,logically,and
inevitablyas if therewere only fouror fiveof
Stabat Mater.' them to consider. The stupendousnature of
such an achievementfromthe technicalpoint
of view can perhapsbe fullyappreciatedonly
by thosewho retainpainfulrecollections oftheir
efforts in studentdays to writestrictscholastic
counterpointin even such a comparatively
smallnumberof parts as seven or eight. For
He is also extremelyfond of a chain of Caldara takes no libertieswith the strictstyle
unresolved,descendingchromaticsevenths,as save for the employmentof hidden fifthsor
indicatedin the following figuredbass : octaves,and consecutivesby contrarymotion.
(Two partsmovingfroma unisonto an octave,
Ex. 4.

forexample,or viceversad.)The concludingbars

2 452 '4
4 234 6
and a more elaborate and truly magnificent
5 ~65 of thissuperb compositionare reprintedon the
pages followingthis article. It is givenin full
score,as, owingto the continualand intricate
example of the use of the device is to be crossing of parts, its linear beauty can be
foundat the end of his ' Crucifixus,'which is properlyappreciatedonlywhenthusset forth.
quoted on p. 215 etseq. Althoughhis fine Te Deum for two four-
It wouldobviouslybe absurdto suggestthat part choirs and orchestral
theseprogressions accompanimentof
arein anywayunique,oreven clarini, trumpets,drums, first and second
that theyare not to be foundfrequently enough violins,violas, and trombones,shows that he
in the work of other composersof the same was, on occasions,
capable of greatbrilliance,it
period. Thereis probablyno singleharmonicwill generallybe foundthat Caldara excels in
progressionin the whole of music, any more the treatment of rather sombre themes,
than there is an isolated melodic phrase or
especially those associated with the Passion.
rhythmicalformula,that has never been used Particularlynoteworthy in this respectare the
save by one man alone-or if thereis it is fairlynobly expressivemotets'Laboravi in gemitu
safe to say that it must be a very bad one. meo' and 'Miserere mei Domine,' for three
The fact remainsthat the habitual and con- voices and basso continuo,while his 'Stabat
sistentemployment ofsuchprogressions as those Mater,'fromwhichtheopeninghas beenquoted
quoted above, and the highlypersonalway in above, is a consummate masterpiece from
which they are handled, impart a curiouslybeginningto end, and
worthyto be placed
poignantexpressiveness and a particularshade among the finestworks of the period. The
ofmysticalintensityto Caldara'sworkthat one 'Missa Dolorosa' also,
does not easilyfindelsewhere. though slightlymore
floridin style,is scarcelyif at all inferior. All
Nevertheless, despitethegreat beauty of his things considered,however,it is undoubtedly
melodyand the powerand individualityof his the great 'Crucifixus' that representsthe
harmonyit is probablyhisabilitytoreconcilethe highestpointto whichCaldara attains; a work
claimsofboththeseelementswiththeexigencieswhich,in
nobilityand grandeurof conception
The organ part, indicated by a bass part only in the original, is and sheer technical
omitted forreasons of space. It merely serves to fill in the chords and mastery,has few if any
double the vocal parts, parallelsin theentireliteratureofmusic.

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 THE MUSICAL TIMES-MARCH 1 1929 215

Sest,
cru - - ci i - xus e- - ti-am prono- -bis,
. - -

est, et se pul - tus, e - ti- am pro

est, et se-pul - tus, cru-

no - bis: sub Pon- ti - o Pi - la -to pas . sus, et se - pul - tus, e -

-

est, sub Pon- ti - o Pi-la-to pas - - sus, et se

-

est, subPon-ti-o Pi - to pas sas subPon- ti - o Pi

- - -

- tus est, Cru - ci i-

- - -

est, e. - ti-ampro no - bis: pas-

est,

pultus
est,

est,
est- sub

est,

est,

est
est,

est,

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216 THE MUSICAL TIMES-MARCH 1 1929

e ti am pro no - is: et se - pul - tusest, pas - - sus,

no - bis: et se - pul - tus, ps - sus, pas

ci""- - xUS, et se-pul tusest,

- ti am pro o bis: et se -
pul - tus, et

pul tus, et se - pul - tus, pas - - sus,

la to, et se pul
-tus, - s-su
pas
xus e - ti-am pro no - bis: pas - sus, et

sus, pas - - sus, et se - pul-tus,

et se - pul tus, pas - - isus, et se-

- se -
Pon- ti-o Pi-la-to pas sus, et pul - tus, et se

sub n- ti -o i - la-to, et se pal - tus,

xu e - ia
ueP r o -bs a

sub on-ti -o i-la-to pas - sus, et se - pul tus

et e-pul - - tus est, et pal - - tus est,

se--

et e - pul tus est, et se-pul - tus

et se- pul - tus est, e se p tusest.

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 THE MUSICAL TIMES-MARCH 1 1929 217

I0
et se - -pul
-
- sus, et se

- -sus,et se
-
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pas
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II ...
se ......
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pul
.- . .tus,

et se pul -
.
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- .

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se-pul tusest, pas sus, se-pul tus,
pul

et se 1 pul tus pas et p ts est, pas sus,

-sus, se-.ul

pul- tus
est, e se pul tus, et - tusest,
se-pul et se - pul- tus, et

et se-pul - tus et se tul

est, ts, pas gus,

-tus, etse-pul
pul -tus
.......
est,-sus,passus,
pas- trv b. ....

pas et se - pul tus, se

sus,

pasSUS,etse
-pul etse-pul
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s
et se ul ts, ss, et se

passus, etse -tus,

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pas"-

pas
et pul se .
se's -t.sse .

g
I"9-
,,, ".

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218 THE MUSICAL TIMES-MARCH 1 1929

tus, et se - pul ts est.

I
.

se- - pu tus, et se -pul tus est.

pul tus, et se pul tus est.

tus, et se- est, ot se-pul
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tus, et se - pul - tus est.
Ti
t - tus, et se - - pul - - tus est.
- -

et et
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est, et
et se se - pul - - tus
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est.
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