02-12-2025, 09:34 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-13-2025, 02:30 PM by Paul Ferguson.)
Tantalising snippet here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVxWRu94mKk
"During the reign of John III, more than a hundred years after the publication of Nicolaus Copernicus' revolutionary work, some scholars still believed in the geocentric model of the cosmos. This view of the universe was reflected in other fields of science and art. Proof of this is the opera-ballet ‘Seven Planets’ (‘Musicalische Opera und Ballet von Zusammenkunst und Wirckung derer Sieben Planeten’), which premiered in Dresden during the carnival in 1678. Its author was probably Christian Bernhard, a composer who studied in Gdańsk at the time of Jan Heweliusz's activities there. The piece is based on the patterns of French court ballet, whose protagonists were historical, allegorical, mythological and fantastic characters. The ‘Seven Planets’ feature personifications of the celestial bodies known to contemporary audiences: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon. The appearance of each of them is accompanied by a procession of dancers in various roles, such as kings, beggars, sorcerers, shepherds, suitors, horsewomen, and even the seasons and points of the compass. The piece shared the fate of many occasional compositions of the time and has probably not been performed since its premiere. The baroque orchestra Cornu Copiae, conducted by Karolina Habało, together with dancers from the Varsavia Galante ensemble, bring the forgotten Dresden opera-ballet back to life. The artists have decided to present a slightly more contemporary vision of the work, inspired by the content of its prologue. In the prologue, Cupid declares himself the true ruler of the universe. Therefore, in the dance sequences, which are enriched with French music of the period, we will not see multitudes of colourful figures from the past, but rather contemporary scenes of a loving relationship between two people." (DeepL)
Attributed to either Bontempi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Andrea_Bontempi
or Bernhard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christoph_Bernhard
Short score here:
https://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansi...f/159793/1
Instrumental score here:
https://imslp.org/wiki/Ballett_von_Zusam...ni_Andrea)
Libretto and illustrations here (entry of the Alchemists at page 42/58):
https://shorturl.at/EklUc
Set designs presumably by Harms:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Oswald_Harms
See more of Harms' work here:
https://dn790005.ca.archive.org/0/items/...00harm.pdf
Reference in Ivanna Spencer's book here:
https://www.google.je/books/edition/Seve...frontcover
Related thesis by Jeffrey Cooper here:
THE SEVEN PLANETS IN BACH, BUXTEHUDE, AND A DRESDEN BALLET OF 1678
https://uh-ir.tdl.org/items/c3467548-c17...fe10c54586
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVxWRu94mKk
"During the reign of John III, more than a hundred years after the publication of Nicolaus Copernicus' revolutionary work, some scholars still believed in the geocentric model of the cosmos. This view of the universe was reflected in other fields of science and art. Proof of this is the opera-ballet ‘Seven Planets’ (‘Musicalische Opera und Ballet von Zusammenkunst und Wirckung derer Sieben Planeten’), which premiered in Dresden during the carnival in 1678. Its author was probably Christian Bernhard, a composer who studied in Gdańsk at the time of Jan Heweliusz's activities there. The piece is based on the patterns of French court ballet, whose protagonists were historical, allegorical, mythological and fantastic characters. The ‘Seven Planets’ feature personifications of the celestial bodies known to contemporary audiences: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon. The appearance of each of them is accompanied by a procession of dancers in various roles, such as kings, beggars, sorcerers, shepherds, suitors, horsewomen, and even the seasons and points of the compass. The piece shared the fate of many occasional compositions of the time and has probably not been performed since its premiere. The baroque orchestra Cornu Copiae, conducted by Karolina Habało, together with dancers from the Varsavia Galante ensemble, bring the forgotten Dresden opera-ballet back to life. The artists have decided to present a slightly more contemporary vision of the work, inspired by the content of its prologue. In the prologue, Cupid declares himself the true ruler of the universe. Therefore, in the dance sequences, which are enriched with French music of the period, we will not see multitudes of colourful figures from the past, but rather contemporary scenes of a loving relationship between two people." (DeepL)
Attributed to either Bontempi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Andrea_Bontempi
or Bernhard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christoph_Bernhard
Short score here:
https://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansi...f/159793/1
Instrumental score here:
https://imslp.org/wiki/Ballett_von_Zusam...ni_Andrea)
Libretto and illustrations here (entry of the Alchemists at page 42/58):
https://shorturl.at/EklUc
Set designs presumably by Harms:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Oswald_Harms
See more of Harms' work here:
https://dn790005.ca.archive.org/0/items/...00harm.pdf
Reference in Ivanna Spencer's book here:
https://www.google.je/books/edition/Seve...frontcover
Related thesis by Jeffrey Cooper here:
THE SEVEN PLANETS IN BACH, BUXTEHUDE, AND A DRESDEN BALLET OF 1678
https://uh-ir.tdl.org/items/c3467548-c17...fe10c54586