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Laudate pueri Dominum at BND

Niccolò Jommelli rediscovered

International award for essay on autograph extant at the National Library of Portugal

Niccolò Jommelli rediscovered: a new autograph of a 16 voice Laudate pueri, by António Jorge Marques, has received a special mention in the 6th Principe Francesco Maria Ruspoli Musicological Studies International Prize.

The essay analyses the only Niccolò Jommelli autograph extant in the Iberian Peninsula belonging to the Fundo Conde de Redondo of the National Library of Portugal (P-Ln FCR 549).

The fact that the first gathering is missing – with the name of the author, the title and the year of composition, as well as the institution it was written for –, meant that the work remained anonymous until 31 August 2006, when a comparative calligraphic analysis allowed for the identification of the author.

Subsequently, it was possible to ascertain that it is a psalm, Laudate pueri Dominum, for 16 voices and basso continuo (with the indication of the use of three organs), composed for Second Vespers of the Feast of St Peter and St Paul, and premiered with pomp and magnificence on 29 June 1750 (Jubilee year) at the Basilica di San Pietro in Rome.

It is a unique work in the context of the sacred polychoral production of Jommelli: in the extensive thematic catalogue of Wolfgang Hochstein, Die Kirchenmusik von Niccolò Jommelli (1714-1774), there is no entry for more than two choirs (8 voices). In addition to being the work that marked the debut of Jommelli as a composer at the Basilica di San Pietro, it used a choir placed on the balcony beneath the great dome, at a distance of approximately 53 metres from the choirs placed beside the altar. The polychoral solutions contained therein demonstrate a high degree of experimentation of the still inexperienced assistant maestro at San Pietro.

The Laudate pueri Dominum was most probably sent to the Portuguese King José I by the sisters of the composer, his heirs, a few months after the death of Niccolò occurring on 25 August 1774.