"You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen..." (ABBA)
Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-89) became the ruler of her country at the age of six after her father, Gustav II Adolf was killed during the Thirty Years War at the battle of Lützen in 1632. Lord High Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna handled the administration of the Swedish government, and he also was responsible for the training of this young ruler. Christina grew up to be an intelligent and curiosity-filled intellectual who loved the arts and music.
Christina’s coronation, which was solemnly celebrated in 1650, featured works by well-known composers of the time, including the prospective court maestro di cappella Gustav Düben’s motet Veni sancte spiritus.
Vincenzo Albrici (1631-96):
Sinfonia a due (orchestra, 6'30")
Gustav Düben (1628 – 1690):
Motet Veni sancte spiritus (SSATB + orchestra, 5')
Already in the 1630s, Chancellor Oxenstierna invited both French musicians and a French ballet master to develop the court’s musical life and dance skills. Christina herself danced in numerous ballet performances.
Ballet music from the Düben collection held in the Uppsala Library (orchestra, 15')
Pierre Werdier (1627-1706): Bransle, Courant & Gavotte
Anonymous: Sarabanda
Mr. Lazarin (?-?): Gigue
Stephen Nau (n.1600-1647): Pauan
Gustav Düben (1628 – 1690): Allamanda & Saraband
Andreas Düben (n.1597-1662): Le Boureau
Christina invited some of the most important European scientists and philosophers of her time to Stockholm, and in 1652 a group of 18 Italian musicians arrived to the court, led by composer Vincenzo Albrici. But only a few years later, these same Italians were forced to leave Sweden when the Queen abdicated her throne and exiled herself to carry out her own personal quest: to convert to Catholicism.
Christina’s abdication ceremony took place in the Uppsala Cathedral, where Vincenzo Albrici’s hymn Fader wår (“Our Father” in Swedish) was heard.
Vincenzo Albrici (1631-96):
Sinfonia a sei (orchestra, 11')
Fader wår (SSATB + orchestra 5')
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After giving up the Swedish crown, Christina travelled for almost one year across Europe towards Rome. She officially announced her conversion to Catholicism in Innsbruck on November 3rd, 1655. It was celebrated in a wide range of spectacular ceremonies, including a performance of L’Argia, an opera by Antonio Cesti, the Innsbruck court’s maestro di cappella.
Antonio Cesti (1623-69):
Sinfonia (orchestra, 4')
Aria Voi che state al vino intorno (Soprano solo + orchestra, 4'30")
(from the opera L'Argia, 1655)
In Rome, Christina was a celebrity who guarded and supported many artists and musicians. In 1679, she heard 18-year-old Alessandro Scarlatti’s opera Gli equivoci nel sembiante in the private theatre of the Contini family. She was thoroughly impressed with the young Scarlatti’s gifts, and hired him as her maestro di cappella.
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725):
Sinfonia: Largo - Allegro - Balletto (orchestra, 4')
Aria Dormi pur (Soprano solo + orchestra, 8')
(from the opera Gli equivoci nel sembiante, 1679)
Later, Scarlatti wrote a letter to his friend, in which he recalled that Christina loved to listen to the madrigals of Carlo Gesualdo.
Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613):
"Io parto" e non più dissi (from the collection Madrigali a cinque voci, libro sesto, 1611) (SSATB, 4'30")
Christina’s protégés also include Arcangelo Corelli, who dedicated his first opus to the Queen. Corelli also led Christina’s enormous, 150-member orchestra in a famous concert in 1687.
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713):
Sinfonia di Santa Beatrice d'Este (1689) (orchestra, 8'30")