Italian Sacred Music Listed in the Catalogue of Dresden's Catholic Court Church, 1765

Abstract

Analysis of more than 800 items of sacred music listed in the thematic catalogue ("Catalogo della Musica di Chiesa composta Da diversi Autori - secondo l'Alfabetto 1765") of Dresden's Catholic court church (the Hofkirche) demonstrates the dependence of this church upon compositions by Italian composers. Apart from existing repertoire, important transmissions of Italian music into Saxony came through the personal collections of the church composers Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745) and Giovanni Alberto Ristori (1699-1754), composers whose musical estates came to be acquired by the Dresden court. Valuable additions came from members of the electoral and royal family, while an important corpus of ..