Dr. Ken Smith, Associate Professor of Music, is preparing a critical edition of a previously unknown composition held in manuscript at the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève in Paris. The piece, entitled Trasgressione e Pentimento di David, dates from the 1630s or early 1640s and sets a moralizing text by Pietro de Norres, an exiled Cypriot scholar whose family fled to Rome following the Ottoman conquest of 1570. In terms of genre, the piece is a rare and early example of a vernacular oratorio. The oratorio genre was introduced as a large-scale dramatic musical work on a Biblical or religious subject that could serve as a suitable alternative to opera during Lent. Although normally written with Latin texts, by around 1650 Italian oratorios begin to appear, probably by popular Roman demand. De Norre’s Italian oratorio, instead of being written for a Roman audience, was prepared as a gift for Louis XIII, King of France. One of its more interesting features is a long monologue that explicitly exhorts Louis XIII to attack the enemies of Italy and Christendom. In the seventeenth century, artworks expressing political messages were often prepared by artists who travelled with high-ranking diplomatic missions, and their purpose was to flatter and persuade their dedicatees.

Ken’s hypothesis is that the piece is evidence of an effort led by the pro-Cypriot faction of the Roman Curia to convince France to renounce its alliance with the Protestant states and the Ottoman Empire, and perhaps even to help recapture Cyprus. Thus, in addition to its importance within a specialized branch of music history, the manuscript underscores the role played by exiled Cypriot literati in Early Modern European politics. Ken will present his preliminary research in July at the Biennial Conference on Baroque Music at Canterbury Christ Church University.  In collaboration with Angel Konnari, Professor of History at the University of Cyprus, Ken will also co-organize a performance of the work to inaugurate UCY’s new library building in November.