Sara Ruhle Kyle, Ph.D. 1983

Advisor: James Haar

Dissertation Title: An Anonymous Seventeenth-Century German Oratorio in the Düben collection (Uppsala University Library vok. mus. i hskr. 71)

Find it in the library here.

Dissertation Abstract:

The Düben collection of the Uppsala University Library contains an anonymous and untitled set of manuscript parts for a late seventeenth-century North German oratorio, the sole extant representative of the early German oratorio. In 1928 the manuscript was attributed to Dietrich Buxtehude and was later published in abridged form under the misleading title Das Jüngste Gericht. Heated debate over the question of Buxtehude’s authenticity as the composer has resulted in a misunderstanding of the work and of Buxtehude’s relationship to it. A detailed examination of the manuscript presents a complete view of the oratorio and discounts Buxtehude, but not one of his emulators, as composer on stylistic grounds.

Wacht euch zum Streit (working title, the textual incipit of Act I) is presented against its historical background and also in the context of its manuscript collection. A detailed description of the manuscript source and its date precedes a short history of the Düben collection and an account of the scholarly controversy that has surrounded this manuscript. The historical context of Wacht euch zum Streit is established with emphasis on the various sacred dramatic forms of the period. Treatment of the libretto as a literary form complements the musical background. After an overview of the tonal plan and structure of Wacht euch zum Streit, the music is discussed according to the three textual types that comprise the libretto. Although the music is conventional for North Germany in this period, the structure is on an unusually grand scale.

The extended length of this oratorio places it outside the Lutheran liturgy and confirms its intention as a concert work; as such it represents the North German tradition of sacred concerts. The nonliturgical function suggests a popular orientation that is borne out by the colorful allegorical libretto and the simple but attractive music.

Wacht euch zum Streit is of primary importance for the history of German sacred music and for the history of an era. Its music, grand scope, and text reveal much about North German culture after the Thirty Years War.