Rosetti: Der sterbende Jesus (1785)

During the second half of the eighteenth century a new type of Passion oratorio with roots in the Empfindsamerkeit literary movement gained popularity in Germany. In this style, dramatic narrative was replaced with a lyric and contemplative text. Rather than unfolding the events of the biblical drama, the librettist assumed the listener’s familiarity with the story and concentrated instead on the expression of emotions evoked by the narrative. Details of this style are described in an essay published in Johann Georg Sulzer’s Allgemeine Theorie der schönen Künste (Leipzig, 1771–74). As a model, Sulzer cites Karl Wilhelm Ramler’s libretto for Der Tod Jesu (1754), a text that is perhaps best known today through Carl Heinrich Graun’s 1755 setting.

In the decades that followed, several Passion oratorios appeared in Germany that were influenced to some degree by Der Tod Jesu. Within this group, Rosetti’s Der sterbende Jesus, completed in March 1785 and performed on Good Friday of that year, won special approval among the audiences of southern Germany. The numerous printed and manuscript copies preserved today in archives and collections throughout Europe attest to its enormous contemporary appeal. In addition to the complete work, individual movements were performed outside the context of the oratorio, keyboard arrangements were made, and portions of the work were freely adapted into parodies. Even Mozart, a musician of especially discriminating taste, included a copy of Rosetti’s oratorio in his personal library. This edition, based on the manuscript parts used in the work’s first performance, presents Der sterbende Jesus for the first time in a modern edition.