Plaudant Aetheri-Instrumental parts

EDITOR'S NOTE

Under the patronage of Duke Carl Theodor, the German court at Mannheim during the eighteenth Century became synonymous with excellence in music. Theodor, himself a capable musician, put together an orchestra comprised of the finest instrumentalists, composers and teachers to be found, forming the so-called Mannheim school. The founders of the school were Johann Stamitz, Franz Xaver Richter and Ignaz Holzbauer. The high quality of orchestral playing found within the Mannheim orchestra inspired the court's composers t.o experiment with new orchestral techniques, expand the use of dynamics and articulations, and develop the foundation upon which the Classical symphony was based.

Ignaz Holzbauer (1711-1783) was born in Vienna, later exchanging his compositions in return for musical instruction by members of the choir at St. Stephen's Cathedral. Following several trips to Italy, Holzbauer settled in Mannheim, where his reputation as both teacher and composer grew. Drawing upon the famed Mannheim orchestra for inspiration, he became known for his symphonies and instrumental chamber music. Lesser known, although of equal quality, are Holzbauer's sacred choral works, which include 21 masses, 37 motets and several oratorios.

This edition of Plaudant Aetheri is based upon a hand-copied set of parts from the eighteenth Century, located in the archive of the Stiftsbibliothek at Chorherrenstift Klosterneuburg in Austria, M.A.982/4.

Holzbauer's Plaudant Aetheri is scored for 2 oboes, 2 trumpets in D, timpani, 2 violins, viola, cello and bass. The text of the motet is translated: Let those who feast in heaven and celebrate the glorious triumph give praise on high, and let those in hell, suffering and wailing, admit to the heavens the great victory.

The present edition adheres closely to the above mentioned source, noting editorial markings in parentheses. Voice parts, where notated in moveable clefs, were rewritten in treble clef; phrase markings in the voice parts were added where two or more notes occurred for a single syllable of text; the piano reduction was prepared from the orchestral material; the timpani part in the orchestral score was written up a whole step from the original to accurately reflect the actual pitches being played. The editor is indebted to Dr. Heinz Ristory for supplying me with photocopies of the source material, and to DDr. Floridus Roehrig, librarian at Chorherrenstift Klosterneuburg, for granting permission to publish.

Martin Banner

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