The War of the Spanish Succession Reflected in Works of Antonio Caldara

Author(s): Ursula Kirkendale

Source: Acta Musicologica, Vol. 36, Fasc. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1964), pp. 221-233
Published by: International Musicological Society
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H. Husmann:Notre-Dameund Saint-Victor 221

Bei Cordevoce pulsa celos benutzt Vc die Teile A, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5/6, 8. 9 und 11 von
Laudescrucis,wihrendND gleichmit dem Doppelversikel2 beginntund mit 3, 4, 6, 5, 8, 9
und 11 fortfihrt.Die Melodienvon lat. 1086 undAss II stimmennur in der 1. Zeile iiberein.
Sit 78 ist das jiingste der SittenerProsareaus dem 16. Jhdt., das hier eine eigene Melodie
ilberliefert.
Bei Lauserumpatkommtdie FassungND, Vc in einerverkiirztenFassungauchim Kodex
Egerton2601 (aus Poissy, siehe oben) vor. Die Melodienvon lat. 1086, Arn und Sit weisen
unter sich gr6BereDifferenzenauf. Im lat. 1339 ist das Stilckauf ganze 4 Doppelversikel
gekilrzt.

Alle diese Tabellen zeigen, wie iltere Melodien durch neue ersetzt werden, wo-
bei man entweder neue Melodien komponiert oder besonders beliebte Melodien mit
entsprechenden Verainderungenadaptiert. Dabei ist es ein besonderer Ehrgeiz ver-
schiedener europiischer Gegenden einerseits wie einzelner religidser Orden anderer-
seits, selbst bei weitverbreiteten Melodien doch noch wieder eine eigene besondere
Melodie zu besitzen. Besonders auffallig sind hier die beiden Repertoire Arn und
Ass II, die je zu zwei Dritteln neue Melodien bringen, so daB man annehmen kann,
daBhier einzelne PersdnlichkeitengrB3ereMelodiezyklen anfertigten, - beim Arnol-
duskodex vielleicht auf besondere Bestellung ffir eine bestimmte Gelegenheit. Jeden-
falls aber sind die beiden Zentren der Neukomposition von Melodien die Kathedrale
Notre-Dame und das Augustinerkloster Saint-Victor in Paris, wobei es wahrschein-
lich ist, daB die Originalmelodien und damit auch die Texte des Grundkorpus der
gereimten Prosen aus Notre-Dame stammen, wdihrenddie musikalische Kontrafak-
turtechnik eine Sch6pfungvon Saint-Victor ist.

The Warof the SpanishSuccession

Reflectedin Worksof AntonioCaldara'
URSULA KIRKENDALE (LOS ANGELES)

On the first of November 1700 King Charles II of Spain died without issue.
A few months later the quarrel over his succession became a world war.2 In con-
tradiction to the Second Treaty of Partition Louis XIV, husband of Charles'
halfsister, now claimed Spain for his second grandson, Philip of Anjou, who was
named successor in Charles' lately drafted, much disputed testament. Emperor
Leopold I, husband of Charles' younger sister, wished to maintain the Habsburg
I An extract of this paper was read at the National Meeting of the American Musicological Society,
Seattle, December 1963.
2 DE LA TORRE, Memoires et ingociations secrettes de diverses cours de l'Europe contenant ce qui
s'est passe depuis le premier traite de partage de la succession d'Espagne ...(La Haye 1721-25).
MARKUS LANDAU,RoMn,Wien, Neapel withrend des Spanischen Erbfolgekrieges (Leipzig 1885). CARL
VONNOORDEN, Europiiische Geschidchteimi adtzehnten Jahrhuntdert.Erste Abtheilung: Der spanisdie
Erbfolgekrieg (Diusseldorf 1870).

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222 U. Kirkendale: The War of the Spanish Succession

territories for his second son Charles.While Philip took possession of Madrid as King
Philip V, Leopold armed to encounter the French troops that had gathered along the
frontiers of the Empire,in the SpanishNetherlands, and in northern Italy. He claimed
the Duchy of Milan, the Spanish territory closest to him, as an old fief of the Empire.
On May 30, 1701, his generalissimo Prince Eugene crossed the Italian border.
Archduke Charles started his expedition against Philip in 1703, made Barcelona his
headquartersin October 1705, and was proclaimed King Charles III there on Octo-
ber 24, now rival king to Philip until 1711, when he unexpectedly had to succeed
his brother Joseph as Emperor Charles VI.
The Elector of Bavaria and his brother, the Elector of Cologne, had joined the side
of Philip, their nephew; the Emperor and the maritime powers formed the Great
Alliance. In vain Pope Clement XI had urged the Italian princes to observe an
exact neutrality: the Dukes of Guastalla and Modena collaborated with the
Austrians, the Duke of Mantua with the French, likewise the Duke of Savoy who
soon shifted to the Emperor'sparty. In 1708 Clement himself took action against
the Austrian troops. The theaters of operation extended from the English Channel
to Gibraltar, from Naples to the upper Danube; the political and economical reper-
cussions were felt even in Canada and South America.
These great waves also moved the history of music and musicians. We know that
Charles III made Barcelona a center of Italian opera, inviting hither Gasparini,
Ariosti, Fiori, Caldara,Astorga, Porsile, Zeno, FerdinandoGalli-Bibiena;3that Handel,
the Scarlattis, perhaps Corelli left Rome for Naples in May 1708, when Imperial
forces threatened the city with a second sacco;4 that dall'Abaco and other members
of the court chapel of Munich followed their patron Max Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria,
to the Spanish Netherlands and in his exile to France.5sDent rightly assumed that
for Alessandro Scarlatti "the political disturbances of the kingdom of Naples may
very well have been an additional reason" to leave in June 1702.6 The Spanish
Viceroy's actions of revenge against Austrian-minded Neapolitan princes, the
public executions, banishment of families, and destruction of city palaces had driven
the people to despair, and Philip V himself, having arrived there on May 17, 1702,
already by June 2 preferred to leave the city to escape the public discontent.7
The alternate victories resounded many times a year in the Te deum. Above the
mass of anonymous settings recordedin gazettes and chapel books8 tower the famous
Te deum by Bernier that after 1700 was much repeated in France9 and Handel's Te
deum for the Peace of Utrecht (1713). In that year Delalande wrote his Ballet de la

3 Cf. JosEF RAFAELCARRERAS Y BULBENA, Carlos d'Austria y Elisabeth de Brunswich Wolfenbiittel a

Barcelona y Girona (Barcelona 1902).
' EMILIA ZANETTI, Haendel in Italia, in: L'Approdo musicale 12/III (Oct.-Dec.
1960) p. 13.
5 MGG 1, 10.
6 EDWARDDENT, Alessandro Scarlatti. His life and works (London 1905) p. 69.

7 DELATORRE,III, 333, and IV, 69.

8 Wiener Diarium, 1701ff; Le Mercure galant, 1701ff; Gazetta di Mantova, 1704ff; MICHEL

BRENET,Les Musiciens de la Sainte-Chapelle du Palais (Paris 1910) p. 267-275.

9 BRENET,p. 375 f.

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U. Kirkendale: The War of the Spanish-Succession 223

paix for the king of exhausted France.1' The Peace of Rastatt (1714) seems to be
alluded to in Alessandro Scarlatti's serenata Pace, Amore, Provvidenza.11
But there are musical events, operas and oratorios, that reveal more of the poli-
tical and human intricacies behind the facades of victories. Some mark the way of
the affairs of state by circumstances of their performance. Some, in their musical
style, show the influence of a foreign garrison, a partisanship of taste. Others allude
in their texts to political events or even have a political mission. An eminent figure
is mocked; a prince in his exile dreams of lost splendor; territorial pretensions are
presented; the hope of reconciliation is expressed; flattery is a means of propaganda.
Thus history is both made and recorded in works of Antonio Caldara, who was
employed successively by several sovereigns involved in the war.
Comparatively well known is Caldara's activity in Vienna from 1716 until his
death in 1736, as vice chapel master of Emperor Charles VI. Nearly unknown was
his Italian period, before 1716, 12 the first forty-six years in the life of the composer
who wrote the wedding operas for three emperors and one king and up to the nine-
teenth century was highly esteemed by composers and theorists. 13 Caldara was born
in Venice in 1670 or 1671, member of a family that produced at least three musi-
cians; very probably he studied with Legrenzi, perhaps also with Domenico Gabrielli
and Corelli. After attracting attention with the well known trio sonatas Opp. I and
II, the solo cantatas Op. III, and, in Venice, not only with operas, but also Italian
oratorios, he was chapel master of the last Duke of Mantua, from 1700 to the end of
1707- an occupation still doubted by BernhardPaumgartnerin MGG, 14 yet verified
by an autograph remark and at least six libretti. For Caldara as for Marc Antonio
Ziani before him 15this position served as the stepping-stone to the Emperor'scourt.
Since very little archive material and even less music have survived the war, this
last chapter of the music history of the Gonzagas in Mantua has been completely
obscure.16 It proves, however, to be still worthy of the family's great tradition,
although the public affairs of the duchy had already reached their most miserable
state. During the winters 1707/08 and 1708/09 Caldara worked at the theater of
San Giovanni Grisostomo in Venice, shifting during Lent 1708 to Cardinal Ottoboni
in Rome-a brilliant stagione when Caldara Handel, Alessandro and Domenico
Scarlatti, Cesarini, and Corelli joined forces. In July he was called to Barcelona to
compose and conduct King Charles' wedding opera. Finally, from March 1709 to
May 24, 1716, he was chapel master of Prince Ruspoli, at that time the host of the
10
ROBERTEITNER, (Leipzig1900-16)
QuelleIntexikon VI, 19.
11 DENT, p. 131.
12
I have dealt especially with this period in my dissertation Antonio Caldara. Leben und vene-
zianisch-rTimischeOratorien (Bonn 1961) which is in course of publication in Wiener musikwissen-
schaftliche BeitrAge, ed. Erich Schenk (Graz and Vienna). The present article is partly based on new
biographical information communicated there.
13 Cf. ibid. the wedding operas for Charles VI, Charles Albert of Bavaria, Maria Theresia, and
August III of Saxony; and chapter "Nachruhm."
14 2, 645.
15 It is still uncertainwhetherZiani was Caldara's
immediate
predecessor-cf.the contradictory
remarkson his Mantuanemploymentin Grove'sDictionary,19545, IX, 413, and MGG 8, 604.
16 Cf. CLAUDIO Mantua,in: MGG8, 604.
SARTORI,

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224 U. Kirkendale: The War of the Spanish Succession

Arcadia in Rome. Ruspoli's household documents17 reveal that Caldara obtained

a leave of absence from Ruspoli in May 1711 with the obligation to send back further
compositions. He stayed in Milan with King Charles who had come back from Barce-
lona, and he possibly accompanied him to the coronation in Frankfort. After Char-
les' entry into Vienna Caldara is soon found at the Imperial court, favored with the
most honorable commissions. He returnedto Ruspoli in July 1712. The vast number
of his compositions for this prince is precisely noted in the bills of the Roman
copyists, and most of the scores are still extant in the Santini collection.
The Austrian pretender in Spain had been a prime mover in the war, the Duke of
Mantua, as we shall see, more or less a victim. Francesco Maria Ruspoli was involved
only behind the scenes-but with no little power-as a financier. It is well known
from the literature on Handel that he had supported Pope Clement XI in 1708 with
a large contingent of militia and for this was made Prince of Cerveteri on February3,
1709. The cantata a 3 "O come chiare e belle" by his guest Handel presents
"Olinto"-this was Ruspoli's Arcadian name-as assistant to "Gloria," who will
restore her ancient splendor on the banks of "il Tebro," under the light of the "astro
Clemente";18 the warrior's laurel will then miraculously become a branch of the
olive tree, announcing peace. It is mentioned by Ruspoli's copyist Antonio Giuseppe
Angelini in a bill receipted September 10, 1708,19 and is thus placed within the
feverish months of mobilization. Another entry in the account books leads straight-
way into our theme, from the battlefield to the stage: in February 1711 "Sargenti,
e Soldati della Compagnia Colonnella Ruspoli" were paid for their assistance in
Caldara's opera L'Anagilda,20probably as mute supernumeraries.
Along with the preparations for the Italian campaign in January 1701 the main
interest of both parties had become directed towards the fortress of Mantua, "une des
principales Clefs de l'Italie, & un Rempart tres-fort, pour la Defense de l'tat de
Milan." 21 In vain Leopold reminded the Duke of his obligations as a vassal of the
Emperor; the Duke even put his capital at the disposal of the French troops. On
April 7, 1701, Count Tesse entered Mantua with six thousand men. To the Duke of
Bourgogne he declared:
<<... et c'est le meilleursucces pour les affairesdes Rois, votre grand-pareet votre frere,
que l'on pouvoit esperer;c'est meme quasi la seule chose qui peut le plus deconcerterles
projetset la colere,pourne pas dire fureur,de Sa MajesteImperiale>> 22.

Leopold reacted most sharply: he immediately accused the Duke of high treason,
banned him, and liberated all subjects from their duties towards their sovereign.From

17 Those of Caldara'syears are publishedin KIRKENDALE,"Anhang."

11 Hiindel-Gesellschaft edition, LII/2, no. 19. Cf. footnote 77, and P. ROBINSON,Handel and his Orbit
(London 1908) p. 173.
19 To be publishedin a on Handel'sRomancantatas.
study
20 KIRKENDALE, document no. 100.
21 DE LA TORRE,III, 218.
22 [MANS
JEAN BAPTISTERENEDE FROULAY,COMTE]DE TESSE, Lettres du Marechal de Tesse a Madame
la Duchesse de Bourgogne, Madame la Princesse des Ursins, Madame de Maintenon, Monsieur de
Pontchartrin, etc. Publides par le Comte de Rambuteau (Paris 1888) p. 32.

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U. Kirkendale: The War of the Spanish-Succession 225

this moment the Duke's chances depended upon the success of the French in Italy.
With their defeat in 1706 his fate was sealed.
Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, born in 1652 and since 1669 tenth Duke of Mantua
and eighth of Monferrato, was mocked as one of the most infamous debtors of his
time. 23 His early creditors, including Venice, had refused for many years to give him
further credit-all but France. Louis XIV had indefatigably supplied him with
enormous sums and now promised him a monthly pension of 30,000 scudi "pour
pouvoir continuer de vivre dans ses Plaisirs, & ses
Debauches."'24Contemporary
accounts are unanimous that these pleasures meant ladies, opera, the Venetian
carnival. 25 We do not know whether Ferdinando Carlo's passion for the opera was
founded on a thorough musical education or, what seems more likely, whether it
was just one part of his addiction to the whole theatrical complex. But we have
evidence that he demanded the highest quality. Muratori tells in his Annali of 1690
that the Dukes of Mantua and Modena were the leading Italian princes in the tug-
of-war for the virtuosos.26 Indeed, the most celebrated singers from the 1690's
to 1707 were employed by the Duke, in Mantua, Venice, and elsewhere,
expressly
called "virtuosi del Serenissimodi Mantova" in many libretti:"27 Diamante Scarabelli;
Alessandra Scaccia; Margherita Raimondi detta la Salarina; Maria Landini, later
the wife of Francesco Conti; Santa Stella, later the wife of Antonio Lotti; Francesca
Vanini who had her greatest triumphs with Handel in London, then married to the
famous Giuseppe Boschi: Valentino Urbani who also was praised by Handel; the
celebrated Domenico Cecchi detto Cortona-to name only those whose fame became
international.
Ferdinando Carlo adhered to his blissful way of life even during the last seven
years. Operas accompany all stages of his exit, throwing uncanny light on it, since
they partly cause it. La Partenope, performed in the carnival 1701, is the last great
musical event in prewar Mantua. The famous libretto names the poet, not the com-
poser, and tells us that the work was previously performed at Naples, in 1699, then
dedicated to the Vice-queen, now to the Duchess of
Mantua.28Partenope is again
the mythic foundress, the personified city of Naples. 29 At a time when the Duke was
already involved in negotiations with both of the hostile powers, this glorification
23
GIUSEPPEFOCHESSATI, I Gonzaga di Mantova e l'ultimo Duca Milano (19302)
p. 194 ff.
24 DE LA TORRE, III, 219 and 241.
5 Ibid.,
p. 219 f. Cf. FOCHESSATI, p. 194 ff.
28 LODOVICOANTONIO MURATORI, Annali d'Italia dal
principio dell'era volgare sino all'anno 1748
(Milano 1749) XI, 392.
27 Cf. the
abstracts given by TADDEO
WIEL, I teatri musicali Veneziani del Settecento (Venezia 1897).
28 I-Bc 6904 (here and in subsequent footnotes the
RISM-code is used for locations). Silvio Stam-
piglia's text may have been set to music in Naples by Alessandro Scarlatti, two years later in Mantua
by Caldara whose name is the first to appear in the many libretti dating from different performances
(cf. KIRKENDALE, chapter "Kapellmeister des Herzogs von Mantua," for a list of the libretti and
further argumentation).
29 "Fui Partenope Figlia d'Eumelo Re di Fera in
Tessaglia, la quale partisse da Calcide dell'Isola
d'Euboa, oggi Negroponte, seguendo I'augurio d'una bianca Colomba, e fece edificare una Cittai
appresso le sponde del Mar Tirreno, che fh detta Partenope, e poi fu chiamata Napoli" (libretto, p. 3).

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226 U. Kirkendale:The War of the SpanishSuccession

of Naples on the stage of Mantuastronglydemonstratedhis partisanshipwith the

Spaniards.
The OperaPastorale,extantin Caldara'sautographscorewith his note "Musica
di Ant.o CaldaraMaestro di Cap.adi S.A.S FerdinandoCarlo Duca di Mantova
nell'anno1701,"30marksthe firststage of the Mantuanwar.Was it plannedfor the
carnival1701/02? This wouldexplainwhy there is no printedlibrettoextant. From
December1701 to July 1702 PrinceEugeneblockadedthe Frenchinside Mantua's
walls, among them Tesse and the Duke. Hungerand inflation raged,3' and even
the optimisticreportsto the Frenchcourtmentiononly modestamusements; 32there
was probablyno carnivalthat year and no performanceof opera.33
PrinceEugenegave up the siege in July 1702, and the Duke hastenedto move
to a saferplace. He went to Casale,the stronglyfortifiedcapitalof his Duchy Mon-
ferrato,close to the friendlybordersof Franceand Savoy, and remainedthere for
three years.He left his wife Anna Isabellaat home, but took his whole courtwith
him,34and a Frenchobservernotes especially the inclusion of "une partie de sa
musiquemasculineet feminineavec son po&tepour lui preparerun opera."35This
opera,Gli equivocidel sembiante,was composedby "Sig. Antonio CaldaraMastro
di Cappelladi S.A.S."andperformedin the new theaterof Casaleduringthe carnival
of 1703 with the grandensembleof singersmentionedabove.36 The contrastbetween
the boundlesssplendorof the stage and the desperatehistoricalsituationis grotes-
que: the Duke pursuedand escaping,lavishing incrediblesums, sustainedby the
inexhaustibleKing of France,who still needs the lord of Mantua.
A tragicomicepisodeis reflectedin the librettiof two operaswhichwereperfor-
medthe followingyear far fromCasale,on the stageof Mantua:II trionfod'amore37
and Paridesull'Ida,ovvero gli amoridi Paridecon Enone,38the first composedby
Quintavalle,the second "partedel sig. Antonio CaldaraPrimo Mastrodi Capella
di S.A.S. di Mant., parte del sig. Antonio QuintavallePrimo Organistadi S.A.S.
di Mantova."39 Anna Isabella,Duchessof Mantua,had died on November19, 1703,

A. Scarlattiwrote a serenataII Genio di Partenope,la Gloria del Sebeto, il Piacere di Mergellina

p. 68 and 211); and an undatedcantataPartenope,Teti, Nettuno,Proteo,e Glauco
in 1696 (cf. DENT,
(Ms. US-Wc M 1490 S 28) "celebratinga naval expeditionof the EmperorCharlesVI against the
Turcs" (EDWIN HANLEY, AlessandroScarlatti'sCantate da Camera.A BibliographicalStudy, Diss.
Yale 1963, Ms., p. 64).
so A-Wgm 37/16124.
31
[FEDERIGO AMADEI], 11 Fioretto delle Croniche di Mantova raccolto gid da Stefano Gionta, ed in
quest'ultimaedizioneampliatocolle cose pii notabili di essa citta succedutefino al presenteanno
MDCCXLI (Mantova [1741]) p. 15o.
32
TEssi, p. 79 ff.
33 On January 27, 1711, the Opera Pastorale appears in Ruspoli's private theater, probably now per-
formed for the first time (cf. KIRKENDALE,
chapter "Kapellmeister... Ruspoli").
s4 AMADEI,p. 151.
35 Cf. FOCHESSATI, p. 230.
s6 Libretti I-Bc 732 and US-Wc ML 48, A 5 v. 12. The score
seems to be lost.
s7 LibrettoUS-Wc ML 50. 2. T 81 Q 3 (cf. OSCAR G. T. SONNECK,Catalogueof OperaLibrettosprin-
ted before 1800 [Washington 1914] I, 1095).
38 LibrettoI-Bc 733. The score seems to be lost.
3' Libretto, p. 7.

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U. Kirkendale:The War of the Spanish-Succession 227

in Mantua. The Duke did not come home for her obsequies. II trionfo d'amore is
dedicated to the general of the French troops in Mantua Gaston de Choiseul, and
this dedication is signed only one month after Anna Isabella's death.40 The work
was surely planned immediately after the funeral. Paride appeared in the spring."4
It is striking that so little consideration for the sad event is shown, and there is no
doubt that these operas were commissioned by the French officers who obviously
regarded the ducal theater as their own. In both operas the singers were second
class.42
Where was the Duke? According to Amadei, later secretary of the Duke's prime
minister and compiler of the famous Cronistoria of Mantua, he did not come to
the funeral because he was on the point of going to France. Ferdinando Carlo left
Casale on March 8, 1704, arrived in Versailles on May 10, and was embraced by the
King.43We know that at least six proposals for a new marriage were then offered,**
and that three of them were considered seriously: Susanna-Enrichetta di Lorena-
Elbeuf, Maria-Enrichetta di Carretto, Duchess of Aremberg, and Louise de Duras,
Duchess of Lesdiguieres.45
The titles of the Mantuan operas, especially the love affairs of Paris on Mount
Ida fit these events all too well! And indeed, there was a connection. Marshal
de Tesse, whose brilliant letters from Northern Italy to Versailles are valuable
sources for Mantuan history, writes to the Marquis de Torcy on July 23:

<
C'en est un que la conduitede notre Ser6nissime,des engagementsduquelsvous prenez
la peine de m'en manderassez pour devoire croire que Mademoiselled'Elbeufremportera
la pomme.Mais d'un tel Parispermettez-moide vous r6peterque la peurest le seul mobile,
... plus certainque l'amour,et que si ce mariagese fait, je croiraique c'est parce que le
Roi l'auraagre6et permis.I1n'est pas questionde quatrepieds trois pouces, qu'il veut ad-
mettrea la taille favoritede ses Dulcinkes,il est questionde lui dire: (Je veux>,et si Junon,
femmede Jupiter,sur le mont Ida, avoit parl6du ton de maitresse,et dit au bergerqu'elle
vouloit avoir la pr6ference,non seulementelle se seroit 6pargn6la honte de montrerson
derriere,mais elle auroit 6vit6 peut-etrede mettre l'Asie en cendres>>4.

Tesse had recommended the Duke to the French court in terms of acrid "pity":

<<Le Duc de Mantoueest le seul fiddle,mais il est

impuissant;il vous a donnetout, il ne lui
reste que trois cent trente e sept demoiselles;son pays est abime,il merite toute sorte de
bons traitements>.47
His letter of December 28, 1703, makes clear that the French were informed about
the Duke's new marriage plans immediately after Anna Isabella's death:

40 "Dicembre 19, 1703."

41 "Da rappresentarsi nella Primavera dell'Anno 1704" (title page).
42 Cf.
KIRKENDALE, chapter "Kapellmeister... Mantua." They were obviously those who had stayed
in Mantua, in the service of Anna Isabella.
43 AMADEI, p. 152 f.
44 FOCHESSATI, p. 234.
45 TEssI, p. 175, editor's note. These persons are discussed by Tess6 at different places.
46 Ibid., p. 191.
47 Ibid., p. 102.

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228 U. Kirkendale: The War of the Spanish Succession

v Ce prince voluptueuxest capablede tout faire par les principesimaginairesde plaisirs,

dont la possessionle degouitedans le moment.Immediatement apresla mort de Madamede
Mantoue,il desirapassionnementMademoiselled'Elbeufsur ce qu'on lui avoit dit qu'elle
etoit grande...48,

There is no doubt that the French officers in Mantua were mocking Monsieur de
Mantoue with Paride sull'Ida. They were very gallant when they had the poet
dedicate it to the "most distinguished ladies of the Mincio,"49 the lazy river that
encircles the city of Mantua. The nymph Enone herself, daughter of the river god
Kebren, may have inspired this gesture. As we know from the late Hellenistic myth,
Paris fell in love with her on Mount Ida before he met the three goddesses who
requested his judgment.50 The Duke's Mount Ida was Versailles. Does "Enone" of
the opera disguise a real person? Two of the aspiring ladies were named Enrichetta,
M.11ed'Elbeuf and the Duchess of Aremberg. Enone may allude to Enrichetta. The
pastoral plot offers no further clues. The Duke's fate is reflected in Paride's very
first words:
,KCareselve, amichepiante,
A voi viene esule un Re.
Ha prefissoil mio destino
Che vagante, e pellegrino
Qui fra voi raggiriil pie.
Quel Paride,che in fasce
Prov6 il rigor della contrariasorte,
Quel Paride,che guerra
Minacci6al suo natal notturnaface
Cercatra vol una tranquillapace.

I1 trionfo d'amore, again a "Reigen-Liebe" of shepherds, could well contain some

of the first gossip after the obsequies. Its hero Endi'mionedebates "Partire, o non
partire.. ."; but we have no better proof.
It is improbable that Caldara, the Duke's chapel master, helped to compose the
Paris satire against his patron. (Yet we do not necessarily have to assume that the
Duke was not flattered.) The passage concerning the composers suggests that the
organist Quintavalle, who had stayed et home, composed the recitatives and took
the arias from successful works of Caldara.51
Enrichetta d'Elbeuf carried the apple home. Two months after the wedding cere-
monies, on November 19, 1704, the opera L'Arminio was performed close by in
Genoa. 52 In the libretto Caldara, the composer, is again called "Maestro di Cappella

48 Ibid., p. 176.
49 "Alle nobilissime dame del Mincio" (title page). The poet is Giovanni Fantini.
50 Cf. Oinone, in: Paulys Real-Encyclopdidieder classischen Altertumswissenschaft, XXXIV (Stuttgart
1937) col. 2251. It is noteworthy for Mantuan tradition that Ferdinando II Gonzaga, first Duke of
Guastalla, had won Tasso's enthusiastic praise for his "favola pastorale" Enone - cf. ALESSANDRO
D'ANCONA, Origini del teatro Italiano (Torino 18912) II, 410. Oinone had her most prominent role
in Cesti's II pomo d'oro. Apostolo Zeno's Enone was composed by Caldara in 1734.
51 This procedure, common at the time, is often used with Caldara's arias.
52 Libretto I-Bc 734. The score seems to be lost.

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U. Kirkendale: The War of the Spanish-Succession 229

di S.A.S. di Mantova." Also the presence of all the famous Mantuan singers indi-
cates that it was the Dukewho had orderedthe performance.AntonioSalvi'slibretto
had originally been composed for Prince Ferdinando de'Medici, and performed in
Pratolino in September1703.53 This date leaves little doubt that the plot is modelled
after the startling circumstances of the Italian war that had resulted during the first
part of that year. Present and past history are geographically reversed. The Romans
who invaded Arminio's German country reflect the Imperial troops in Italy. Arminio,
like the Duke, is frightened out of his native castle. Varus may well be Prince Eu-
gene. The German prince Segeste who collaborates with the Romans, although his
daughter is married to Arminio, corresponds to the powerful Victor Amedee, Duke
of Savoy, father of both the Duchess of Bourgogne and the new Queen of Spain.
At the beginning of 1703 he had left no more doubt that he was going to turn with
his troops from the French to the Imperial party54"-certainly to the consternation
of Ferdinando Carlo, who now saw himself threatened in Casale too. Moreover,
Leopold had promised Victor Amed~e the Duchy of Monferrato! Ferdinando Carlo
was, of course, the first to be attracted by the glorification of Arminio, whose fate
was his own except for the victorious end that he could only long for.
He returned to Mantua on December 22, 1705. A Kyrie signed by Caldara in
Mantua on December 14, 1705, and a Gloria signed on December 16 both for eight
55,
voices in a-minor, are probably fragments of the church music that celebrated the
sovereign's return. The new Duchess arrived in pomp on March 4, 1706-and this
was the last festival of the Gonzagas in Mantua. The French, after being defeated
at Turin and Ramillies, began negotiations with the Emperorto relinquish Italy. On
January 21, 1707, Ferdinando Carlo fled to Venice, taking his court with him, but
again leaving the Duchess at home. A few days later countless treasures were sent
by his order to Venice, including more than nine hundred paintings and-this is
important-his library.56By the treaty of Milan, on March 13, 1707, Austria took
over the sovereignty of Mantua. The inhabitants of the disloyal city feared the
worst, and sent a deputation to the Emperor to beg for mercy. In these weeks of
greatest distress His Serene Highness in Venice enjoyed two operas performedby his
own virtuosos at the "famosissimo teatro di San Giovanni Grisostomo": La
Partenope57 and II selvaggio eroe.5s
In the libretto of La Partenope the printer says that the old work, only slightly
changed, has been restaged by high command. This leads to the suggestion that the
Duke brought the score with him from Mantua, together with all his treasures and
books, and that in this way Caldara's Mantuan works may have found their way
to Venice. With La PartenopeFerdinandoCarlo recalled once again the glorious

53 MARIO FABBRI, Alessandro Scarlatti e il Principe Ferdinando de' Medici (Firenze 1961) p. 51.
54 DELA TORRE,IV, 38 and 118 ff.
55 A-Wn S A 67 B 100oo,copy by Kiesewetter from the now lost autograph; and A-Wgm 1 11897,
autograph.
56
FOCHESSATI, p. 274 ff.
57 Libretti I-Bc 6907, and US-Wc ML 48 S 1495. The score seems to be lost.
58 Libretti D-Bds, I-Bc 735, and US-Wc ML 48 S 1497.

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230 U. Kirkendale:The War of the SpanishSuccession

days of Mantuawhich he had now lost forever.A Frenchobserverreports:"I1se

trouvesi charm6de n' tre plus A Mantoue,qu'il en goite avec plus de tranquillite
les plaisirsdu Carnoval."59
In the libretto of Il selvaggio eroe the composerCaldarais called "Maestrodi
Cappelladel Ser.di Mantova"for the last time.60He resignedno later than Decem-
ber 1707, when the membersof the court retiredone after the other, following
the Emperor'swarningto abandonFerdinandoCarloor risk the penalty of confis-
cation.61The PrimeMinisterleft Veniceby night, fearingthe Duke's revenge,and
Caldaraseemsto have gone now to Rome,wherehe turnsup duringLent 1708.
FerdinandoCarlowasbannedandoutlawedby the Diet of Regensburgon June30,
1708. Five days later his sudden,mysteriousdeath "solved the embarrassingcase
in a naturalway" (Noorden).After four hundredyears of sovereigntythis was the
end of the houseof Gonzagain Mantuathat had shelteredAndreaMantegna,Giulio
Romano,TorquatoTasso, PeterPaul Rubens,and ClaudioMonteverdi.
FrenchMantuahas left traces in Caldara'smusical style. As far as we know,
none of the Mantuanoperas identifiedby libretti has come down to us; of the
Opera Pastoralewe have the score but no libretto; and of the surely extensive
churchmusic only a few fragmentshave survived.But some of Caldara'soratorios,
La frode della Castita, Le gelosie d'un amore utilmente crudele, and II trionfo
dell'innocenza,62extant in the SantiniLibraryin manuscriptswrittenby Ruspoli's
Romanscribesfrom Februaryto April 1711, can be datedwith great certaintyto
the early Mantuanyears becauseof their Frenchcharacteristicsand their antiqua-
ted physiognomy as compared to works from 1708 to 1711. Here, the scale-like
themesin dottedrhythmn, so familiarfromLully'smusic,are usedin ariasof tyrants
referringto a violent death (for example, "Pensa ch'il vivere, e il morir da te
dipende" and "Vanne a morir"63).Latertoo, CaldaraemployedFrenchstyles, more
rarely,but still consciously.Of his seventeenoratorioswritten before 1716 only
one beginswith a Frenchoverture.It appropriatelyannounces"le roi tris chretien":
La conversionedi ClodoveoRe di Francia.64
On August2, 1708, Caldaraturnsup in Barcelonaas the composerand conductor
of King Charles'weddingopera Componimentoda cameraper musica: il piu bel
nomenel festeggiarsiil nomefelicissimodi SuaMaestaCattolicaElisabethaCristina
Regina delle Spagne." Pietro Pariati's libretto gives Ercole an important
partamongGiunone,Venere,Paride,il Fato, a "Corodi Seguacidella Bellezza"and
another"dellaVirtui."Plots dealingwith Hercules'tenth, Spanishlabor are found

59 FOCHESSATI, p. 244.
so Libretto, p. 11.
61 FOCHESSATI, 249.
p.
62 D-Mts Hss 743, 744, and 745. Chronology and style are discussed in KIRKENDALE,chapter "Ora-
torien fiir Mantua?" The earlier date is supported by the news of a Florentine performance of II
trionfo dell'innocenza in 1704.
B3La frode della Castita, aria of Clearco (no. 12); and II trionfo dell'innocenza, aria of Melantia
(no. 21).
64 D-MUls Hs. 741. First performed April 14, 1715, in Palazzo Ruspoli, Via del Corso.
65 Cf. CARRERAS, p. 116 ff. Score B-Bc 584.

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U. Kirkendale: The War of the Spanish-Succession 231

in several operas written for Charles, and it has been assumed that they have some-
thing to do with the pretensions to Spain.66Of course they claim the whole of the
peninsula from the Pyrenees to the pillars of Hercules-but not only by a free alle-
gorical figure. Charles had taken the two columns into his emblem and seal with
the inscription Constantia et Fortitudine.67He officially assumed the figure of the
mythic hero. The two columns in front of the church of Saint Charles in Vienna
have been proven to be a translation of this idea into architecture,68 and Fux's
opera Costanza e Fortezza in 1723, ten years after the retirement from Spain, still
echoes the old pretensions.69
In 1707 the war was finished in southern as well as in northern Italy. The con-
quest of the Kingdom of Naples was celebrated in Vienna by Badia's serenata Napoli
ritornata a' Romani on King Charles' birthday, October 1, 1707.70 Yet in 1708,
hostilities flamed up once more. EmperorJoseph had sent his troops into the Papal
territories to force Pope Clement XI to acknowledge his brother Charles. At last,
on January 15, 1709, under utmost pressure, Clement signed the treaty obliging
him to demobilize his troops and recognize Charles as the Catholic King of Spain.
The French ambassadorleft Rome in uproarious protest.71(It surely meant a demon-
stration of sympathies for France when a few weeks later, during Lent, Maria Casi-
mira Queen of Poland presented Domenico Scarlatti's oratorio La Conversione di
Clodoveo Re di Francia in her Roman palace72). Reconciliation was slow. When
Charles was crowned Emperor Charles VI, on December 19, 1711, Clement did not
hasten to recognize him. It was not until February 1714 that he gave his confir-
matio electionis.73
I find testimony of Charles' efforts to reconcile the Pope in Caldara's Oratorio
di Santo Stefano Primo Re d'Ungheria, extant in score in the Santini collection.74
This work differs from the other sixteen oratorios which Caldara composed before
171675 by its complete lack of action.'" Stefano, the first king of Hungary, and his
court praise unanimously their happy relations with the Pope. Towards the end
of Parte Seconda Stefano describes his gloomy vision of Hungary that is rent by
sanguinary revolts and unbelief. Yet "nel gran soglio di Piero... un'anima Cle-
mente" will restore peace and belief in this country. The Pope's name then is alluded

66 J. H. VAN DER MEER, Johann Josef Fux als Opernkomponist (Bilthoven 1961) I, 99.
67 GUSTAVHERAEUS, Inscriptiones et Symbola (Vienna 1723) p. 23.
68 GEORGE KUNOTH, Die Historische Architektur Fischers von Erlack (Diisseldorf 1956) p. 145.
69 Charles VI never gave up his title "Hispaniae Rex."
70 LUDWIG RITTER VONK6CHEL, Johann Josef Fux (Wien 1872) Beilage VIII, no. 439.
71 LEOPOLDVON RANKE, Die r6mischen Piipste in den letzten vier Jahrhunderten (K61ln, Phaidon,
n. d.) p. 732.
72
For the libretti, unknown to RALPHKIRKPATRICK (Domenico Scarlatti, Princeton 1953), cf. ULDE-
RICO ROLANDI, Opere, oratori e cantate di Domenico Scarlatti, in: ACCADEMIA MUSICALECHIGIANA,
Gli Scarlatti (Siena 1940) p. 85.
73 LUDWIG FREIHERR VON PASTOR, Geschichte der Piipste im Zeitalter des ftirstlichen Absolutismus,
vol. XV (Freiburg 1930) p. 69.
74 Hs 736.
75 Bibliography and discussion of style in KIRKENDALE,part II and III.
76 This seems, in general, typical for occasional oratorios, cf. the Occasional Oratorio composed

by Handel in 1746.

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232 U. Kirkendale: The War of the Spanish Succession

to in several numbers ("a pie della Clemenza," "la Clemenza assisa in soglio" etc.)
The last four lines of the final recitative make Stefano say that he longs to adore
the reigning Clemency on the banks of the Tiber and to see reborn the triumphs of
Augustus on the Capitol." Since this part, in the manner of a licenza, projects the
relations between emperor and pope into the present, we are allowed to presume
Stefano to be the Emperor, who was also King of Hungary and had Saint Steven's
crown in his treasury.
Archival documents enable us to date the oratorio precisely. The score was
copied by Francesco Lanciani, Caldara's main scribe in Rome. Lanciani's bill for
the parts, in the Ruspoli archives, is dated March 17, 1712.78 At this time Caldara
was in Vienna, composing for the Emperor. Yet during his leave of absence from
Ruspoli he continued to send works to Rome. Several compositions completed and
dated in Milan and Vienna are mentioned a few weeks later in the bills of Ruspoli's
copyists.79In Vienna, Caldara seems to have worked on Santo Stefano in February.
Charles had then been crowned only two months, and was waiting impatiently for the
papal confirmation-we know of the obstinate negotiations of his ambassador;80later
he probably became accustomed to waiting. There can be no doubt that the libretto
was inspired and given to Caldara by a Viennese courtier, if not by Charles himself,
with the intention of winning the Pope for the Emperor's cause. Stefano's vision
of "sventurata Ungheria" and the flattering passage on the shielding "Clemenza"
seem to refer to Clement's first benevolent gesture towards the house of Austria: in
a brief to the Primat of Hungary, on August 17, 1709, Clement had officially
damned the Hungarian revolution.81
Why was the work sent to Ruspoli? We know that Ruspoli had given the splendid
performance of Handel's Resurrezione, Easter 1708, probably the most expensive
Roman concert of the year.82 After being made Prince he did not slacken in his
ambition to offer the most exquisite and lavish musical events of the city. Mar-
garita Durastante, Maria di Piedz, Giuseppe Valentini, Domenico and Pietro
Castrucci were for many years among his virtuosos; Francesco Gasparini became
Caldara's successor.83The music expenses often equal and sometimes exceed those
for the whole household of eighty to ninety persons. In 1715 Uffenbach reported
that Ruspoli's concerts were then regarded as the best in Rome.84Immense financial

7 Allusions to the name of Clemens XI in Roman compositions of the time are rather frequent (cf.
the above-mentioned cantata O come chiare e belle by Handel, and KIRKENDALE,chapter "Kontrast-
arme Thematik"), like those to his namesakes in earlier centuries.
7s8 KIRKENDALE, document no. 148.
79 Cf. ibid., chapter "Wien-Reise, ca. 10. Mai 1711 bis Ende Juli 1712." Caldara used to sign each
autograph with the place and day of its completion.
so LANDAU,p. 450 ff.
81
Ibid., p. 438 f.
82
Ruspoli's household documents concerning this performance have been given in brief extracts and
English translation by NEWMAN FLOWER (George Frideric Handel, New York 19482, p. 91 f.) and thence
quoted by O. E. DEUTSCH (Handel, A Documentary Biography, London 1955, p. 21ff.). ZANETTI
recently mentioned a few more details (Haendel in Italia, p. 10off.) I am preparing for
publication all the Ruspoli documents that refer to Handel and his works.
83 Cf. KIRKENDALE, chapter "Musiker bei Ruspoli."
14 EBERHARDT PREUSSNER, Die musikalischen Reisen des Herrn von Uffenbach (Kassel 1949) p. 77.

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U. Kirkendale: The War of the Spanish-Succession 233

resources guaranteed a regularity that those of Ottoboni and Pamphilj no longer had
after 1710.8s It was in Ruspoli's palace where the Roman aristocracy and the lords
of the curia assembled every Sunday, and even travellers were admitted without
introduction.86At this marketplace of music and opinions the Emperor'sintentions
would not have fallen on deaf ears. Ruspoli, however, did not make himself the in-
strument of Viennese politics. Stefano was not performed in his palace until 1713,87
when the tension had somewhat relaxed.
To Caldara the Emperor'scommission surely meant much honor. Probably in the
fortifications of Barcelona Charles' extraordinary affection for Caldara had begun.
It lasted for more than thirty years, even after Caldara's death, as is shown in the
letter of Luca Antonio Predieri to Padre Martini, March 15, 1738. Predieri writes that
several composers had tried in vain to obtain the position of vice chapel master
during the fifteen months after Caldara's death. He, Predieri, who had submitted
works of Martini as his own, was the first who was able to please the Emperorto
some extent. His success "stupified everyone, since no one could believe that after
Caldara a composer would ever again please the Emperor."88

15 The extracts from Pamphilj's Giustificazioni given by LINA MONTALTO, Un Cardinale in Roma
barocca (Firenze 1955) p. 338 f., seem to indicate a negligence of the house music then. Ottoboni
is known to have been in consiberable financial difficulties.
11
Uffenbach's report is confirmed by continuous information from Ruspoli's Giustificazioni concern-
ing the weekly copies, refreshments, etc. for the "Conversazione." The names of the distinguished
guests are preserved in the lists of "mancia" paid to their servants.
87 document no. 1.87.
KIRKENDALE,
ss The original published by ADELMO DAMERINI, Luca Antonio Predieri e il suo "Stabat," in: ACCA-
DEMIAMUSICALE CHIGIANA, Musicisti della Scuola Emiliana (Siena 1956) p. 36.

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