Giacomo Carissimi Vanitas Vanitatum II, oratorio for 5 voices, 2 violins & continuo While, like the Vanitas vanitatum I, the attribution to Carissimi is not positive, it seems quite possible. (In any case, given that after the destruction of the Germanic College, his works, like most of the manuscripts there, were sold as scrap paper for wrapping fish and meat, its satisfying to provide him with the attribution and count it as another work that wasnt completely lost then!) It is written in two major sections. The first, opening with a doleful simphonia, as if reflecting the sorrow of pursuing worldly vanities, consists of five meditations, sung by one of the five soloists, and concluded by the refrain Vanitas sung first by the soloists and then by all five vocalists. The text for this section is taken largely from Ecclesiastes 1 and 2 in the Bible. The second section, to an anonymous text, is sung by various combinations of the soloists. In this section, there are stronger contrasts in mood, such as the almost swaggering questions, each answered with a dirge-like lament declaring they are dust and ashes, or only their names survive. This, too, ends with the Vanitas refrain The Vanitas refrain is quick and light, with a dance-like tempo, as if suggesting the lightness and ephemerality of worldly vanities. Its also a particularly catchy, hummable melody, doubtless written to stay in a listeners mind, ideally with the lesson that goes with it. Throughout, there are other moments of psychological insight, such as the repetition of omnes in the bass solo, when the text describes piling up wealth greater than everybody elses (omnes), or the temporarily jubilant runs in the following section, which describes gathering singers and other pleasures. (The run on the word cantatrices, female singers, is particularly lengthy, in an old-fashioned bit of word-painting that seems to show some humor on Carissimis part.)
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 03:07:41 +0000
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