V. Demina

Oratorio “Glory to God in the Highest Heaven” by G. Sarti and Tradition of Russian “Victorious” Celebrations

The article is devoted to the issue of interpretation the Orthodox divine service texts in the oratorial works of G. Sarti, created in honor of the victories of the Russian army. The objectives of the study are to find out the correlation of the composer’s innovations and the traditions of Russian festive music. The material of the study is presented by the handwritten score of the oratorio “Glory to God in the Highest Heaven”, presented in the eLibrary of the Russian Institute of Art History. Also the article involved the results of famous scientists` researches, considering the music works of this type in the aspect of European music techniques and the use of “natural effects”. It is noted that G. Sarti used the techniques of recreating military fanfares and signals in musical texture by means of choral music; he also used the actual sound of drums (batteria tamburro), guns (cannone) and fireworks (batteria pirotecnica), reflecting the atmosphere of victorious celebrations. The sound effects used earlier were introduced into the score by the composer and written on separate lines. It is pointed out that in accordance with the tradition of sacred music special techniques are used to highlight the key words (“Glory to God in the highest heaven”, “To God Almighty”). They help to embody one of the themes of a panegyric programme. The composer combines the texts of a thanksgiving prayer and sound elements of victorious commemorate rituals that helps to make clear the theme of divine patron in a gained victory.

Key words

victorious celebration, oratorio, Giuseppe Sarti.

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