Der Gesang der Venuskinder von Heinrich Schütz: Bemerkungen zur Uberlieferung und zu den Kopenhagener Hochzeitsfeierlichkeiten im Oktober 1634

Abstract

The canzonetta O der grossen Wundertaten, lost until 1920, is the only remaining composition that Heinrich Schütz submitted to the festivities in Copenhagen marking the marriage of Prince Christian of Denmark and Princess Magdalena Sybilla of Saxony in October of 1634, for which it was called the Gesang der Venuskinder. The most important source containing historical, musical, cultural, social, and literary background information on the first performance is the third edition of Jürgen J. Holst's Triumphus nuptialis danicus (1648), expanded and revised from the 1635 and 1637 editions. The high point of the ceremonial pomp, featuring a considerable amount of music, was formed by the 18 scenes for the royal jousting tournament, containing mythological, allegorical, and historical enactments presented on 13, 14, and 16 October. On the first day, the Gesang der Venuskinder was presented during the fourth act. It had been a known fact that Schütz also had composed the music for a ballet and two comedies. It can be deduced further from Holst's detailed chronology that possibly even more works could be by Schütz. This is the case, for example, with a song contained in Act 8. The text, handed down by Holst, coincides perfectly with the Gesang der Venuskinder in the numbers of lines, rhyme scheme, and meter, and contains a similar subject matter.