Juditha triumphans

Juditha triumphans

More than any of his other works, Vivaldi's only surviving oratorio, Juditha triumphans, was single-mindedly focused on promoting the image of the Venetian Republic in a military alliance involving Austria and the Papacy. In synchrony with the launch of several new warships and a major battle for the defense of the Adriatic island of Corfù, Juditha triumphans rested entirely on an analogy. In it Juditha represents Venice, while her nemisis Holofernes represents the Turks (who at the time were menacing the boundaries of Austro-Hungary on land and the Venetian Republic at sea).

The specification of the work's genre as a "sacred military oratorio" was no mistake. Giacomo Cassetti's libretto reaffirmed its aim through its dedication to Johann Mattheus, count of Schulenburg. Schulenburg was the marshal of the forces made available by the coalition to defend Corfù, which one of the Republic's last remaining holdings of its diminishing maritime empire.

What exactly does a "sacred military oratorio" contain? In its overall structure the work is not noticeably different from other oratorios. It has two structural parts, the first of which is unusual in that that does not include a sinfonia. This seems to have been no accident: the creators were eager to get down to the business of flexing their military muscles. Each half of the oratorio begins and ends with a chorus. Trumpets and drums underscore the forthright intention of the protagonist.

One is aware from the first few notes that this is a staunchly militaristic work: the trumpets greet us almost brazenly, the chorus reminds us at intervals that this is a work with the purpose, and it all ends as militantly as it began.

Yet Juditha triumphans is full of tender, affective writing. Abra is a fictional "nurse" who demurely follows the widowed Bethulian queen Juditha on her murderous mission. Cassetti derived the tale from the Apocrypha. Many of these more tender moments, such as Judith's aria "Veni, veni, mi sequere fide," are highlighted by an instrumental obbligato. In the architecture of the whole instrumental color plays a significant role in delineating changes of mood and also in symbolizing diverse universal conceptions--the passage of time (theorboes), fidelity (the oboe), rusticity (the recorder), and so forth.

Historical Background

Despite the label "Most Serene Republic," Venice in the 1710s was not serene. A gradual decline in its maritime empire was reflected in a growing economic disadvantage. The Venetian concentrated all their naval defenses on the island of Corfù (which they had held since 1396) in 1715 and prepared for a rigorous defense. The Venetian Arsenal prepared several new galleys. Schulenburg recruited several tens of thousands of troops. The fleet sailed early in February 1716.

The Oratorio of Vivaldi's Time

Juditha is the only oratorio by Vivaldi that survives, but written evidence documents a long history for the genre in Venice's four orphanage-conservatories (ospedali).

Many oratorios are survived only by anonymous written texts. We do know, though, that the Ospedale of the Pietà was a home to the oratorio for a century (from the late seventeenth century). Francesco Gasparini, Vivaldi's first superior there, was among the composers, as were Carlo Francesco Pollarolo at the Incurabili, and the slightly earlier figures Giovanni Legrenzi and Carlo Pallavicino at the Mendicanti and Ospedaletto.

The ospedali were most likely to present oratorios on the Sunday afternoons of Advent and Lent (the penitential seasons preceding Christmas and Easter).

Performer's Guide to Juditha triumphans

While in many ways Juditha triumphans is straightfoward, its instrumental parts confront the would-be performer with several usual requirements. The oratorio is a showcase for the most unusual instruments of the time. A number of them are intended to imitate the umfamiliar sounds of Turkish Janissary bands.

The CCARH Edition of Judith triumphans

The CCARH edition of Juditha triumphans, edited by Frances Bennion, Edmund Correia, Jr., and Eleanor Selfrdige-Field, was drafted in 2008 for use by Venice Baroque, one of whose performances may be available here. The edition has subsequently been revised and corrected for use by Philharmonia Baroque (2014).

The libretto (in Latin) is included in the PDF for Part One.