Antonio Salieri

The Dietrichstein Manuscripts 3

In his will, Antonio Salieri bequeathed almost all of his compositions to the Viennese "Tonkünstler Widows and Orphans Society", his singing school as well as canons and songs to the Vienna Conservatory. An exception were 4 small volumes, bound in red leather, with the corresponding case. These were bequeathed to the Prince of Dietrichstein as a sign of his great gratitude. Until now, it was assumed that these four books, filled with compositions by Salieri, did not survive the times. Now the musicologist Dr. Timo Jouko Herrmann has discovered these volumes by a happy coincidence. And so they will appear here for the first time in print. It is assumed that Salieri received the four elaborately designed volumes and the corresponding case as a gift from Prince Franz Joseph von Dietrichstein in Weidlingau – presumably combined with the request to enter in them those canons, duets and trios that had been composed or performed during various country outings and journeys in the company of the prince. The first two volumes contain 50 and 37 works for two voices a cappella, the other two volumes contain 35 and 27 compositions for three voices a cappella, respectively. Each volume was provided by Salieri with a table of contents – presumably subsequently. The majority of the compositions in the four volumes are written in Italian, many of which are based on Salieri's own spontaneous verses. In addition to his own texts, Salieri liked to set popular proverbs and sentences as well as verses from Italian opera, oratorio and cantata libretti by poets such as Pietro Metastasio, Carlo Goldoni, Lorenzo Da Ponte and Pietro Bagnoli. Some of the works are also based on Latin, German and French texts. The German writers are represented by Friedrich von Schiller, Johann Gottlieb Herder, Gottlieb Konrad Pfeffel and Heinrich Wilhelm Schlegel, among others. French authors include Nicolas Boileau and Jean-François de la Harpe. The compositions collected in the four volumes show Salieri to be a master of the small form, who was able to sketch a composition from a specific situation with great spontaneity.