Mater dolorum (1726) by Georg Reutter the Younger (1708–72) is a German-language oratorio for instruments, soloists, and chorus, intended for performance on Good Friday “at the Holy Sepulcher”—that is, before a model of the Holy Sepulcher exhibited in a church for Holy Week observances. One of this influential Viennese musician’s earliest known works, Mater dolorum was performed at the Augustinian convent of St. Agnes zur Himmelpforte in Vienna on Good Friday (19 April) 1726, when Reutter was only eighteen years old. It was repeated at least twice, in 1729 and in 1731 or 1732, and is known to have been performed elsewhere as well. Its libretto, written by playwright Heinrich Rademin (1674–1731), was during its time one of the best-known texts for oratorios to be performed “at the Holy Sepulcher” and is notable for its strong emotional characterizations. The present edition is based on a set of parts preserved at Kremsmünster Abbey in Upper Austria, which also include cuts and alterations marked in later by Georg von Pasterwiz (1730–1803), regens chori at the abbey, giving evidence of a shorter version of the oratorio performed during his tenure there.
- ISBN: 9781987208924 (1987208927)
