By KATHLEEN CASSEDY
This is the second of two articles on "Dresden: Treasures from the Saxon State Library," a major exhibition at the Library of Congress from April 11 through July 13, 1996. More than 180 rare artifacts will offer a rich sampling of German and general European culture from the High Middle Ages through the 19th century.
This article focuses on the cultural icons of Dresden: the Electoral Hofkapelle, a renowned court musical group; the Frauenkirche, a Protestant cathedral and city landmark; and categories that highlight cultural periods associated with Dresden: Twilight of a Century, The Augustan Era, The Age of Goethe and Romanticism. A final section, From Faraway Lands, shows exquisite manuscripts produced outside Europe. (The first article [see LC Information Bulletin, March 4] described early publishing and works from the German Reformation.)
The baroque period began in Saxony with the reign of Elector Prince Johann Georg II (1656-1680), who was responsible for many of the grand buildings that transformed the medieval city. Among them was Dresden's first opera house, designed by architect Wolf Caspar von Klengel. Prince Johann Georg brought Italian operas and French plays, including Moliere's, to court and they were performed at the opera house as well as at festivals and contests in the princely residences.
During Prince Johann Georg's reign, members of his court were permitted to use his extensive private library -- the first step toward establishing a public library in Saxony. Many works from this early collection, in the exhibition, show how Dresden citizens lived in the 17th century. Among the most noteworthy pieces in this category are:
- A rare hand-colored map of Germania, printed on silk in 1680. It was produced in Amsterdam by the engraver Frederick de Wit, an important map publisher and dealer.
- "Dresden on the Elbe River," a 1650 engraving by Matth"us Merian depicting the Electoral Residence.
- The first printed compilation of the State of Saxony's laws, 1673.
- The first year's issues (1660) of the oldest German daily newspaper, published in Leipzig. One page contains international news, some as recent as a few weeks old.
- The rare, illustrated treatise describing the production and design of fireworks, a customary climax to baroque festivities.
The Augustan Era
During the reigns of Electors Frederick Augustus I (Augustus the Strong) and his son, Frederick Augustus II, Saxony enjoyed its "Augustan" Golden Age (1694-1763). Influenced by the Italian cities of Florence and Venice, these two rulers fashioned an environment in Dresden where creativity, craftsmanship and scholarship flourished. They opened their private art collections and library to the public, and produced free opera, frequent pageants and other celebrations. As the center of cultural and intellectual life, Dresden attracted scholars and artists from all over Europe.
Augustus the Strong was well traveled by the time he became elector at age 24. He spoke French, Spanish and Italian. During his reign (1694-1733), Dresden became one of the most beautiful and cosmopolitan courts in Europe, rivaled only by Versailles, and its library became one of the most famous in Germany.
Although Saxony was Protestant, Elector Augustus converted to Catholicism in 1697 in order to become king of Poland. It was in Dresden, however, that he concentrated on his building projects, working with master architects such as Mattheus Daniel Peppelmann. The city took on a baroque splendor, including 20 palaces -- some of which the elector built for his mistresses -- and the Zwinger, a palatial arena designed by Peppelmann.
Peppelmann also designed the Japanese Palace, built between 1715 and 1717, to house the king's collection of Far Eastern porcelain and local Meissen china. The palace shows many influences of Oriental design, which Peppelmann may have studied in the collections of both the art galleries and the library.
Augustus the Strong was an ambitious administrator. He often held extravagant court festivals and events that displayed Saxony's cultural magnificence and military might. Pageants and masquerades, which often took place in the Zwinger pavilion, were popular with the nobility. Among exhibition treasures showing court scenes are:
- An 18th century engraving of the Zwinger court pavilion.
- Two 1713 color-wash drawings by P"ppelmann, the baroque architect. One shows a design for an elevated pavilion in the Zwinger; the other is an elevated interior for a temporary Pantheon designed for the Elector's 49th birthday celebration.
- 18th century figures costumed for a masquerade.
The library, which had been housed in cramped quarters, moved to two wings of the Zwinger after it was built in 1727. A book-collecting craze took hold in the families of the nobility and rich bourgeoisie during this time. "Saxony was reveling in bibliography," writes Wolfgang Frohauf in the exhibition catalog. "Literary history and bibliography had become fashionable. Book publishing and collecting had reached their zenith."
The best of these collections eventually found their way into the court library. In 1736, the library acquired the collection of Johann von Besser, a poet and high court official. His 18,000-volume collection was strongest in politics, history and court ceremony. Following this acquisition, the library closed to recatalog its holdings. When it reopened, patronage increased. In 1753 the library began keeping a patron's ledger for distinguished visitors, who included Kaiser Leopold II of Austria, Napoleon and several other rulers.
Among exhibition highlights from the Augustan era are:
- The largest and most important 18th century German encyclopedia, published in 1733. Volume 3 is dedicated to Elector Augustus the Strong and shows his portrait.
- letter in French from Augustus the Strong to Joseph Kos, the crown prince's tutor, ordering him to stay in Venice "due to certain circumstances." Several months later the young prince's conversion to Catholicism was announced in Vienna.
As elector, Frederick Augustus II (reign 1733-1763) was so preoccupied with high culture, especially the opera, that he left responsibility for running the state to his powerful prime minister, Count Heinrich von Bruhl.
During his reign, Dresden reached its cultural zenith but lost its political might following the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1758) and the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). However, even when the treasury was depleted, following the elector's death, the legacy of his commitment to the library and scholarship continued with the purchase of two major collections.
In 1765, the court library purchased the 42,000-volume collection of Count Heinrich von Binau, which was considered one of the most scholarly libraries in Germany. Von Binau's collection was particularly strong in history and included pamphlets from the Thirty Years' War and funeral orations. In 1769 the library acquired the 62,000-volume collection of the late Count Heinrich von Brhl. His library concentrated on the arts and literature.
Following these acquisitions, the Dresden Court Library outgrew its space at the Zwinger. In 1786, it moved to the Japanese Palace and in 1788 it became the Electoral Public Library. Among the exhibition's paintings and watercolors of Dresden is a 1795 watercolor of the Japanese Palace, home to the library until it was partially destroyed in 1945.
Dresden's first church was the Frauenkirche, built around 1142. The church was rebuilt as a Protestant cathedral from 1726 to 1734. Its enormous dome, called the Stone Bell, dominated the cityscape and was a symbol of Dresden for 200 years.
The Frauenkirche represents the pinnacle of Lutheran architecture. The church was designed by the baroque architect Georg Behr. In keeping with the special features of Protestant worship, Behr created a central structure in which the altar, pulpit, baptismal font and organ were in full view of the 4,000- person congregation beneath the bell-shaped dome. The dome was 23.5 meters wide, equal to another enormous city crown -- the dome on the Zwinger -- and the tower was 95 meters tall. The church was further distinguished by its famous Silbermann organ, which J.S. Bach played in December 1736 in the presence of the court.
During World War II, bombing toppled the dome. For years it was left on the ground, amid the surrounding rubble, as a war memorial. Recently, a privately funded effort has begun to reconstruct the Frauenkirche.
On July 6, 1843, a polyphonic work, The Love Feast of the Apostles by Richard Wagner, premiered in the church. The piece was sung by 1,200 Saxon singers of the Dresden Hofkapelle, which Wagner directed from 1842 until 1848. The original score, autographed by Wagner, is in the exhibition. Other highlights from the church on display are:
- An original 1940 recording of the ringing of the Frauenkirche bells.
- A watercolor of Dresden with the Frauenkirche in view.
- A 1726 scale drawing of the Frauenkirche in the book Plans and Elevations of Various Churches. This original drawing has handwritten approval by Count Augustus Christoph von Wacherbarth, dated June 26, 1726.
In 1806 Saxony became a kingdom, and the library was renamed the Royal Public Library. Later that century (1887-1907), the library began to collect printed music collections from Saxon churches and schools to complement the royal collection of 4,000 volumes and 300 cases of 18th and 19th century court music. These archives are still heavily used by the music industry.
The Electoral Hofkapelle
A section of the exhibition is devoted to the Hofkapelle, a celebrated musical performing group featuring vocalists and instrumentalists who traveled with the Saxon Electors when they visited the Reichstag and other European courts.
The Hofkapelle, founded in 1548 by Elector Moritz as the earliest Lutheran court ensemble, participated in festivals, state celebrations, sporting events, tournaments, lavish opera productions, weddings, festive processions and court worship.
Among the exhibition illustrations that feature the Hofkapelle are two gouache paintings of court processions. One of these, published in 1582, shows Elector Augustus (predecessor of Augustuses I and II; reigned 1553-1586) with Hofkapelle members dressed as women, carrying their instruments to a wedding party. This item was originally a scroll, but later was bound as a book.
Reflecting the international atmosphere of Dresden, it was not unusual for the director or members of the Hofkapelle to be Italian, Dutch or English. When members of the Hofkapelle traveled to other countries they learned new musical styles to incorporate into their repertoire.
Opera was as popular in 17th century Dresden as it is today. Between 1662 and 1816, more than 1,000 operas were either composed for or performed at the Dresden court. The Dresden court opera reached its musical zenith under the direction of Johann Adolf Hasse (1734-1763).
The Hofkapelle attracted renowned soloists like violinist Johann Georg Pisendel. In 1685, Johann Georg III lured a prima donna to Dresden from the court of the duke of Mantua; she was the Hofkapelle's first female singer. Female roles had been performed by men singing falsetto or by castrati. In fact, Giovanni Bontempi, a Hofkapelle director, was a castrato.
The Royal Public Library established one of the first music departments in a German library in 1816. The exhibition shows the first subject catalog, entitled "Musik." Early musical acquisitions were from Paris and Venice.
The Dresden opera, or "Hofoper," had two outstanding periods under the directorships of Carl Maria Weber (1817-1826) and Richard Wagner (1842-1849).
This exhibition features autographed or annotated scores by Carl Maria Weber, Richard Wagner, Antonio Vivaldi, Heinrich Schutz, Johannes Brahms and Robert Schumann.
Among the exhibition's musical highlights are:
- Mass in B Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach. This 1733 manuscript score was transcribed by Bach himself.
- The only known copy of the Celebratory Motet by Johann Hermann Schein, the cantor of the St. Thomas Church of Leipzig, on the 100th anniversary of the posting of Luther's theses in Wittenberg, 1617.
- The 119th Psalm of David by Heinrich Schutz. This 1671 manuscript is autographed by the great composer and is from his last work. This portion is for six vocal parts.
- The 1818 Overture of Celebration for His Majesty the King of Saxony, by Carl Maria Weber, which contains the melody "God Save the King."
- A collaborative work by Vivaldi and the Dresden musical director, Johann Georg Pisendel. Autographed by Vivaldi, it was published between 1717 and 1730 in Dresden and Venice.
- An exact copy from 1672 of the score for the opera Daphne by Bontempi and Guiseppe Peranda. This work is a valuable source of information on early Dresden opera practices.
- A 1679 drawing of the stage of the Dresden opera house in 1667, included in the text edition for the opera ballet, Judgment of Paris and the Rape of Helen, published in 1679.
By 1845, the Royal Public Library had been surpassed in size by the Bavarian Court Library. Rather than continue to collect works universally, it began to concentrate on history, geography, political science, belles lettres, art and musical works. The Royal Public Library became one of the first German libraries to specialize in regional studies, especially in materials regarding Saxony, such as chronicles and family records.
The library's collections attracted great thinkers and writers, such as the poets Johann Christoph Frederick Schiller and Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Their masterpieces are included in the exhibition:
- The Sorrows of Young Werther. This rare first edition (anonymously issued) of the 18th century best-seller by Goethe marked the beginning of modern German prose.
- The Robbers, the most significant drama of the "Storm and Stress" period in the 18th century by Johann Christoph Frederick Schiller.
Literature during the Romantic era flourished in Dresden. Exhibition highlights include works by the German poet Novalis, the poet and translator August Schlegel and the literary journals Athenaeum and Phoebus.
During the Weimar Republic, which began in 1919, the Royal Public Library and all the former court libraries were combined under the name of the Saxon State Library.
From Faraway Places
Several oriental manuscripts were acquired during the wars of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 17th century. Among these is the oldest artifact in the library, a third century B.C. Javanese palmleaf book, a traditional book form in southern Asia. The leaves were inscribed with a metal stylus and soot was rubbed into the marks to make them visible. The leaves are held together with wood and cords.
Other items include an Ethiopian prayer scroll and a West Mongolian copy of a Buddhist manuscript (both from the 18th century) and a Chinese almanac from the 19th century. A Persian treasure is "Muhammed splits the moon" from the Falnameh, a 16th century Persian book of prophesies.
The exhibition is funded by the Dresden Hilton Hotel, the Donors' Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany, the Dresden Cultural Foundation of the Dresdner Bank, Friends of the Saxon State Library, the Saxon State Government and the Federal Republic of Germany.
"Dresden: Treasures from the Saxon State Library" will be on view April 11 through July 13, Monday through Friday 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Margrit B. Krewson, the Library's German/Dutch area specialist, organized and raised all funds for the exhibition. The accompanying catalog (see LC Information Bulletin, March 4), which she edited, is available from the Library's Sales Shop.
Kathleen Cassedy is a free-lance writer in the Public Affairs Office.