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Halfway Between Oratorio And Opera: Early Moravians Love Of Sacred Dramatic Music, Barbara J. Strauss

Michael Schwartz Library Publications

Imagine being in the Moravian settlement of Nazareth, Pennsylvania during January and February, 1797. The weekly concerts at the Nazareth Paedagogium included selections from Handel's Messiah, symphonies by Haydn, Eichner, Pleyel and Stamitz, Rolle's Thirza und ihre Sohne (divided over three weeks), Haydn's Stabat Mater (divided over two weeks) and the first section of Graun's Der Tod Jesu. This schedule of performances were recorded in the Verzeichniss derer Musicalien welche im Concert sind gemacht worden, Nazareth, Pennsylvania, 1796 zum 1845.

The early Moravians loved sacred dramatic music (musikalishes Drama). How do we know? Through the evidence in the Register of …