Bach we know… Handel, of course. But Steffani?
This is all about to change in Toronto this November when Tafelmusik Orchestra & Chamber Choir will present a program dedicated to Agostino Steffani’s sacred and secular works: Drama and Devotion.
“About five years ago, I was preparing for the Bach festival with Calgary Philharmonic, and I wanted to contrast French and Italian style development, to show how that impacted Bach’s writing,” explained Tafelmusik Choir director, Ivars Taurins. “During the research, musicologists, interestingly, kept mentioning the name Steffani, but it wasn’t until I saw Cecilia Bartoli’s project with Diego Fasolis, Mission, that I became captivated with this incredible man’s music.”
Agostino Steffani was born in Veneto in 1654, and his dramatic fate soon took him out to the wide world. His exceptionally beautiful voice in the choir of San Marco, Venice, mesmerized a particular German count, Georg Ignaz von Tattenbach, and at the tender age of 12, Steffani accompanied Tattenbach back to Munich. Unlike Bach, who had to fight through all kinds of difficulties to earn some recognition, Steffani’s life was quite charmed. His education was looked after by the Elector of Bavaria, who sent him for further education in Rome. Not too long later, the Hanoverian court realized Steffani’s full potential – not just as a musician, but also as a diplomat and politician who could serve the interests of the Holy Roman Empire.
“Musicians, especially the ones who travelled extensively as part of the noble cohort, took a very special role, as informal diplomats from one court to another — and this is still very true to a point, when we see current artists being able to influence politicians and the masses with their causes and beliefs,” says Taurins. “Their craft and arts opened doors for direct contact with the nobility and king-makers, and for Steffani, he earned an extra layer of connection by becoming an active ecclesiastic member — a priest. Such a combination quickly elevated him as an elite diplomat.”
A priesthood as well?
Yes — before he was yet 30, Steffani was not only writing full-scale court operas, he was fully ordained: the Abbate of Lepsing. He successfully maintained many close relationships with Europe’s power players, including Maximilian Emanuel, the Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Brandenburg family — with such intimacy that he was personally involved in their marriage games, and his friendship with Sophia Charlotte (sister of British King George I) remained deeply personal until the end of their lives.
What made him stay in music when he could’ve stayed a suave diplomat, navigating the treacherous water of European regional politics? It was the War of the Spanish Succession, a 13-year long conflict that changed the entire continental division of Europe: “Feeling remorse about not being able to prevent the war, Steffani retreated back to music, seeking solace…”
However, even a 13-year long war wasn’t enough to keep him out of politics for too long. The Church decided to promote him to become the Bishop of Spiga, and that made him the representative of the Church in German-speaking Northern Europe. Mediating the reconciliation between the Pope and the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, post-Spanish Succession War, Steffani moved fast in utmost secrecy. The deal did come through, and the Pope expressed his gratitude in 1709, allowing him to celebrate Mass in St. Peters, and elevating him to be an assistant at the pontifical throne — quite an unusual privilege for any politician-musician-clergy!
Perhaps it was his political success that put his music in the shadow, but Steffani’s musical influence went far beyond himself.
Taurins says “when Steffani was about to leave Hanover, there was this young German boy he heard about — that was Handel. Steffani likely had mentored Handel, especially on Handel’s trip to Italy, and his succession to the position of Kapellmeister of Hanover … this relationship has a profound effect on Handel’s music – Steffani’s music, especially vocal works, is so mellifluous, and it is so perfectly written for the voice, and it’s probable that Handel has seen this, and was deeply influenced.”
Steffani’s music, though quite new to us, was internationally popular in his time, especially in England. After the death of Queen Anne, England ‘took’ then-elector of Hanover, Georg Ludwig, in the absence of surviving children by Queen Anne (despite seventeen pregnancies!), to be their new king: George I, the first monarch of the House of Hanover for the British throne. And he brought his everything to England, including Steffani’s music.
“This explains the existence of Steffani’s manuscripts in England, as part of the Royal Collection, now housed in the British Library, and also in Cambridge, at the Fitzwilliam Museum, and elsewhere in the U.K. The English fell in love with Steffani’s music — so much that even though Steffani never set foot in England, they made him the honorary president of the Academy of Vocal Music, which then became the Academy of Ancient Music (*no relation to the current modern ensemble Academy of Ancient Music).”
Steffani wrote the Stabat Mater as a thank-you gift to the Academy of Vocal Music. As one of his last compositions, it shows the mastery of sacred vocal writing – a continuation from the famous Carissimi: “Here, Steffani is using all three elements — polyphony, effect and counterpoint, at the highest level.”
Taurins has paired Stabat Mater with one of Steffani’s earliest works, Beatus vir a 8, along with varied vocal and instrumental music from his operas.
“Cecilia Bartoli’s Mission really inspired me – so for this program, I made a short list of vocal works, and then sat down with [Krisztina] Szabó, and we combed it through. This is a true mix of love, hate, revenge — all of the human conditions, and Steffani illustrates them so beautifully… After hearing Steffani, when I hear Handel, I can hear the influence, especially in the oratorio arias — the long-spinning vocal lines, and the addition of the instrumental counterpoint… We’ve done Steffani’s music on our 35th-anniversary — selections from the Stabat Mater, and we all fell in love, so we’ve decided to present it as a whole this time. It is otherworldly, very mystical — it’s atmospheric, and it has such a core to the sound. So, we’ve built this program with Stabat Mater as a centre, then arranged other smaller works — vocal duets, trios and quartets, with pillars of choruses.”
And it did not take much for Krisztina Szabó to see the ravishing beauty of Steffani:
“I had not been familiar with Steffani’s work prior to Ivars’ introduction — and now I wonder why his work is not performed more often,” said Szabó. “He writes beautiful melodies for the singer and for the ensemble, and he creates a new world in each aria… His fascinating history, from music, to politics, then finding his way back to music in his later life, it’s all in the Stabat Mater. The rich polyphonic texture of the orchestra and the spinning of the melodies certainly show his gift in operatic writing too.”
This collaboration between Tafelmusik and Krisztina Szabó promises the new and familiar – and for Krisztina, it’s always a pleasure to sing in Toronto:
“ There’s no place like home – I love singing in my home city — Toronto audiences have always been very warm and very welcoming of me — they’ve watched me grow over the past 20 years of my career, and I am very grateful. And to work with a high-calibre group such as Tafelmusik is always a thrill — the music becomes so fluid, exciting — it is a real collaboration. The acoustic in Trinity St. Paul’s since the renovation is amazing, and its intimacy, being able to see the audience, and to engage with them when performing — it feels like the audience and I are all connected in this musical experience together.”
Suspense? Beauty? Polymath?
Drama & Devotion promises much intrigue.
Ever wondered what happened between old Italian masters: Monteverdi, Carissimi and Cavalli, to the Baroque greats: Vivaldi, Handel and Bach? In between Quickfire coloratura and drama and religious ecstasy?
Do come and discover the splendid world of Steffani.
***
Steffani: Drama & Devotion,
Directed by Ivars Taurins,
Krisztina Szabó (mezzo-soprano),
Tafelmusik Orchestra & Chamber Choir,
08-11 November 2018, at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre.
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