Ferdinand III

In 1648 Andreas Rauch, an Austrian composer living in the Hungarian town of Sopron, published the Currus triumphalis musicus, a collection of thirteen Latin motets, each dedicated to a different Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor. With its sumptuous paratexts and impressive musical scope, this “triumphal musical chariot” was not a typical commercial commodity. Instead the volume functioned as an assertion of Habsburg power at the end of the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48).

A straightforward reading of the book is complicated, however, by the exile of Rauch, a Lutheran, from Austria in the 1620s. This musical panegyric, produced by a composer with a troubled relationship to the honoree, opens the door to a reading of the print as an act of diplomacy, in which the composer not only seeks reconciliation by acknowledging the Emperor’s power but also subtly admonishes the Habsburgs in the wake of a peace settlement that was decidedly more favorable to his side. Through close readings of the paratexts and the texts of the musical works against a political and theological backdrop, it is possible to uncover the diplomatic functions of the print for Ferdinand III, the town of Sopron, and Rauch himself. In shedding light on a fascinating cultural artifact, this article offers a fresh perspective on the diplomatic potential of printed music in early modern Europe.

Dieser Aufsatz zeichnet nach, wie sich das publizistische Bild des schwedischen Königs in (pro)schwedischen illustrierten Flugblätter vom Zeitpunkt seiner Landung am 6. Juli 1630 auf der norddeutschen Insel Usedom bis zu seinem Tod in Lützen am 16. November 1632 und darüber hinaus änderte. Für die Analyse der ausgewählten illustrierten Flugblätter wurden bestimmte Zäsuren gesetzt: die FLugblattproduktion in Zusammenhang mit der schwedischen Landung in Usedom 1630, der Leipziger Kovent, die Zerstörung Magdeburg, die Schlacht von Breitenfeld, der schwedische Gang durch die süddeutsche ,Pfaffengasse', die ,Befreiung' von Nürnberg, Augsburg und München, der Tod Gustav Adolfs in der Schlacht von Lützen und die Jahre bis zum Prager Frieden 1635 und darüber hinaus.
Wie die Analyse zeigt, verlief auf Seiten der (pro)schwedischen Publizistik von Beginn an die heilsgeschichtliche Inszenierung der Taten Gustav Adolfs, die ikonographische Adaption der Prophezeiung Paracelsus rund um den Löwen aus Mitternacht sowie auch die Umsetzung der miles christianus-Thematik. Parallel dazu erfolgten publizistische Darstellung des schwedischen Königs in satirischen illustrierten Flugblättern.

La repercusión que la Paz de Westfalia tuvo sobre los vínculos dinásticos entre España y la línea secundaria del Tirol no ha llamado hasta el momento la necesaria atención de los historiadores modernistas. El análisis de los puntos clave que jalonaron estas relaciones desde 1648 resulta clave a la hora de abordar y comprender las motivaciones y expectativas de la corona española respecto del Tirol en un contexto de aguda crisis dinástica y divergencias político-estratégicas. Esta tensión dominante, nutrida por la marginalización de los intereses de la casa archiducal por Madrid y Viena, solo se disiparía con el advenimiento en 1659 de la Paz de los Pirineos.

The impact that the Peace of Westphalia had on the dynastic bonds between Spain and the secondary Tyrolean line has not yet drawn the necessary attention of Early Modern historians. The analysis of the focal points that marked these relations since 1648 is key when it comes to addressing and understanding the motivations and expectations of the Spanish crown with respect to the Tyrol in a context of acute dynastic crisis and political-strategic divergences. This dominant tension, nourished by the marginalization of the archducal house’s interests by Madrid and Vienna, would only dissipate with the advent in 1659 of the Peace of the Pyrenees.

It might have been a coincidence that Suero Gómez, Pedro of Madrid, Domingo of Segovia, and Miguel of Ucero, the four early companions of St. Dominic, arrived in Spain in 1217, the year of Fernando iii’s accession to the Castilian throne. Likewise, it was in that same year that the Franciscans entered Castile and established their first province in Spain. Legend has it that St. Francis himself came to Spain in the years 1211–1214, during which period he supposedly undertook a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, and St. Dominic had also crossed the Pyrenees into his native land, to establish the first Dominican houses in Iberia. As a result, both great mendicant leaders were in the Castile of Fernando iii at a time when both the kingdom itself and the mendicant provinces were in a vibrant period of expansion.

Ferdinand III played a crucial role both in helping to end the Thirty Years' War and in re-establishing Habsburg sovereignty within his hereditary lands, and yet he remains one of the most neglected of all Habsburg emperors. The underlying premise of Sacred Music as Public Image for Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III is that Ferdinand's accomplishments came not through diplomacy or strong leadership but primarily through a skillful manipulation of the arts, through which he communicated important messages to his subjects and secured their allegiance to the Catholic Church. An important locus for cultural activity at court, especially as related to the Habsburgs' political power, was the Emperor's public image.

Ferdinand III offers a fascinating case study in monarchical representation, for the war necessitated that he revise the image he had cultivated at the beginning of his reign, that of a powerful, victorious warrior. Weaver argues that by focusing on the patronage of sacred music (rather than the more traditional visual and theatrical means of representation), Ferdinand III was able to uphold his reputation as a pious Catholic reformer and subtly revise his triumphant martial image without sacrificing his power, while also achieving his Counter-Reformation goal of unifying his hereditary lands under the Catholic church.

Drawing upon recent methodological approaches to the representation of other early modern monarchs, as well as upon the theory of confessionalization, this book places the sacred vocal music composed by imperial musicians into the rich cultural, political, and religious contexts of mid-seventeenth-century Central Europe. The book incorporates dramatic productions such as opera, oratorio, and Jesuit drama (as well as works in other media), but the primary focus is the more numerous and more frequently performed Latin-texted paraliturgical genre of the motet, which has generally not been considered by scholars as a vehicle for monarchical representation. By examining the representation of this little-studied emperor during a crucial time in European history, this book opens a window into the unique world view of the Habsburgs, allowing for a previously untold narrative of the end of the Thirty Years' War as seen through the eyes of this important ruling family.

Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III was not only a lavish patron of music but also a talented composer. This edition gathers together for the first time all thirteen of the emperor’s surviving motets, together with motets by other composers from the imperial chapel, including Giovanni Valentini, Antonio Bertali, Giovanni Felice Sances, and the lesser-known composers Wolfgang Ebner and Georg Pichelmair. Ferdinand’s motets display his solid compositional technique, grounded in Italianate styles and colored by adventurous harmonies. Placing the emperor’s works alongside those of other imperial composers allows for comparisons between Ferdinand’s music and that of his teachers and mentors. The works are for one to twelve voices (some with ripieno choir), and many include parts for two to eight obbligato instruments. In addition to typical mid-seventeenth-century combinations, some works feature unusual performing forces, including two pieces for solo bass and two violins and one for seven sopranos and two violins.