Cavalli, Francesco: Il Xerse -Dramma per musica- (Venice 1655)
Dramma per musica
score
Among the strengths of the drama are the comedy and drama of daring situations and surprising turns of the plot. The comic element essentially consists of capricious Xerse's efforts to win over the beautiful vassal Romilda but she is deeply in love with Arsamene, the King's brother. The inevitable intrigues unleash a rich world of emotions in all those involved, depicted by stylistically extremely varied music.
Each character, whether serious or comic, never corresponds to a mere stereotype, but always reacts individually with a psychological complexity to the events, which are entirely human and easily accessible even to a contemporary audience.
The judiciously prepared scholarly-critical edition of 'Il Xerse' forms part of the 'Francesco Cavalli - Opere' series and is intended as a basis for research and performance of the opera. The editors Sara Elisa Stangalino and Hendrik Schulze have evaluated numerous historical sources, especially on the libretto of the opera. In addition to the meticulously edited texts of the work they provide a detailed Introduction to the time of the work's genesis, the historical subject matter, the cooperation between librettist and composer, the sources, and the performance practice of this special music.
In the autumn of 1923, a young man produced the first music editions of his newly founded publishing house in his parents’ living room. He named his company Bärenreiter. In the spring of 1924 when Karl Vötterle came of age, he was able to register it with the German Publishers and Booksellers Association. At first, he mainly put out folk song collections, church as well as organ music including early music by Leonhard Lechner and Heinrich Schütz, at the time primarily known in specialist circles.
During the last months of the Second World War, the publishing house in Kassel was destroyed and once more a fresh beginning had to be made. With the start of the extensive German music encyclopaedia MGG – "Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart" – as well as numerous series of scholarly-critical complete editions such as the “New Mozart Edition” and the “New Bach Edition”, the visionary founder of the publisher created the basis for the further development of Bärenreiter. The musicological editions increasingly aroused interest abroad, and Bärenreiter found itself on an expansion course.
When Karl Votterle died in 1975, his daughter Barbara took over the helm, supported by her husband Leonhard Scheuch. Under their leadership, the catalogue grew significantly and the brand BÄRENREITER URTEXT was established. Finally, in 2003, their son Clemens Scheuch joined the publisher which today he is managing together with his parents. Thus Bärenreiter has remained a family business to this day and has become a company of international standing in the world of classical music.
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