Nisi Dominus, RV 608, is a musical setting by Antonio Vivaldi of Psalm 127 (Vulgate 126), intended for Vespers. His score, written c. 1715, calls for alto voice, strings and organ or harpsichord.[1] The alto part may be taken by (female) contralto or (male) countertenor.
Vivaldi would again set this psalm, but with three voice-parts and orchestral accompaniment (RV 803), in 1739.[2][3]
Background
editNisi Dominus RV 608 is unusual in that it sets a Vesper Psalm for a solo voice.[4] It was composed between 1713 and 1717[5] during Vivaldi's engagement at the girls' orphanage Ospedale della Pietà in Venice, which was where it was probably first performed.[6]
RV 608 has been described by musicologists as a remarkable work in a number of ways. Harriet Smith wrote, "what's extraordinary is the composer's sheer imagination in terms of colour and mood".[5] James Manheim writes, "It is the variety of instrumental accompaniments, as vivid as those of any Baroque opera, that brings the work to life."[7] Bruce Lamott says:
Vivaldi's integration of the text and characteristic musical devices is impressive. A concerto-like ritornello opens the work with industrious rhythms and precipitous leaps appropriate to "Unless the Lord build the house". The second and third movements contrast the hesitant futility of rising before dawn [words to live by, in my opinion] with the frenetic scales of "Rise after you have rested". "The bread of sorrow" (doloris) is word-painted with a bass descending by half-steps, a typical figure for operatic laments. And "Cum dederit" is a gently rocking siciliana, a common operatic conceit for sleep arias.[6]
James Manheim summarizes by saying that this work "supports the conclusion that the relative obscurity of Vivaldi's vocal music is due more to historical accident than to any lack of quality."[7]
Structure
editThe above-mentioned scoring holds for all nine movements:
Movement | Text | Translation |
---|---|---|
1 | Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum, |
Unless the Lord builds the house, |
2 + 3 | Vanum est vobis ante lucem surgere: |
It is vain for you to rise up early, |
4 | Cum dederit dilectis suis somnum. |
For so he gives his beloved sleep. |
5 | Sicut sagittae in manu potentis |
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, |
6 | Beatus vir qui implevit desiderium suum ex ipsis: |
Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them; |
7 | Gloria Patri et Filio |
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, |
8 | Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, |
As it was in the beginning, is now, |
9 | Amen. | Amen. |
The work is unusual in that it splits the doxology into two separate movements (7 + 8), and even more striking is its treatment of the first of those, the Gloria Patri. Bruce Lamott says "In what Vivaldi scholar Michael Talbot calls a coup de théâtre, Vivaldi saves the greatest surprises for the Gloria Patri."[6] Normally, the entire doxology is a single movement, a cheerful celebratory movement serving as the climax of a piece. Instead, Vivaldi set the words of the ""Gloria Patri" to slow mournful music, using "the unusual colouring of a viola d'amore, an instrument on which the composer excelled."[5] Michael Talbot writes that Vivaldi's musical setting of the "Gloria Patri" turns this part of the doxology into "a journey through a vale of tears: praise of the Trinity despite everything, rather than on account of everything."[4]
With the second half of the doxology, "Sicut erat" (As it was in the beginning), Vivaldi creates a musical pun by reprising the music of the opening movement.[6] This movement and the final "Amen" are more upbeat and celebratory, typical for concluding movements of such pieces.
References
edit- ^ https://imslp.org/wiki/Nisi_Dominus,_RV_608_(Vivaldi,_Antonio)
- ^ https://imslp.org/wiki/Nisi_Dominus,_RV_803_(Vivaldi,_Antonio)
- ^ Nisi Dominus, RV 803 (Vivaldi): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project; RISM 212006305
- ^ a b Michael Talbot, CD liner notes for Andreas Scholl – Vivaldi: Nisi Dominus, Decca Records 289 466 964-2
- ^ a b c "Vivaldi Sacred & Secular program notes", Harriet Smith, Barbican Centre, April 2022]
- ^ a b c d "Program notes", Bruce Lamott, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale, San Francisco, December 5-9, 2018
- ^ a b James Manheim, "Vivaldi: Nisi Dominus", p. 1470, The All Music Guide to Classical Music, Backbeat Books, 2005, ISBN 0-87930-865-6
- ^ Psalms 127, New King James Version
External links
edit- Nisi Dominus, RV 608 (Vivaldi): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Animated score on YouTube, Andreas Scholl, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Paul Dyer conducting, Decca