The ripieno bass section of the Dresden Hofkapelle during the reign of August the Strong, 1709–1733: players, repertoire, performance

© 2017 Dr. Shelley Christine HoganThis thesis examines the ripieno bass section of the Dresden Hofkapelle during the period 1709–1733, the final twenty-five years of the reign of Saxon Elector and King of Poland August the Strong (1670–1733). It was especially during this quarter century when significant changes to the membership, structure, and direction of this pan-European ensemble took place. There are three strands of the inquiry—players, instruments, and repertoire. After an introduction setting out the court’s musical life, each strand is explored through documentary archival and music manuscript studies, and contemporaneous writings. Biographies of the orchestral musicians associated with ripieno basso instruments are presented in chronological order by year of first court service and drawing on archival research. These men ranged from internationally famed individuals of the stature of lute virtuoso Silvius Leopold Weiss to numerous colleagues largely forgotten through the course of history. Personnel and other court records provide insight into the musical style and career activities each musician would have brought to the ensemble. As a group, these individual stories build a fascinating picture of the changing experience of being an orchestral musician at a major German court during the early eighteenth century. Especially relevant to understanding bass performance practices is the question of which instrument types were in use in Dresden. This point is discussed in detail. Local evidence of instruments, terminology and association with individual careers are drawn on to build a case for a more detailed understanding of changing practices, including the rising prominence of contrabass bowed strings and demise of basse de violon use. Examples of the third strand, select repertoire case studies, are presented where they are most meaningfully connected to material examined. Therefore these are placed next to individual biographies and instrument discussions. Available evidence suggests the Dresden Hofkapelle was indeed a crucible for the mixing of national French, Italian and local musical styles in the early eighteenth century, and that this was of particular importance for the realisation of the ripieno basso; however, studies of continuo practices cannot adequately capture what occurred in the larger ripieno basso. This is because an essential aspect of the full bass section is the reinforcing and potential for 16-foot doubling bass instruments not part of the core improvisatory group of the continuo, and this is not consistently covered by continuo studies alone. This study argues that significant changes to the Dresden Hofkapelle's membership, structure, and direction occurred in the period 1709–1733, and further that practices of Dresden were crucial to the development of the modern orchestra and styles of performance