A contribution to the devotional music of the Eighteenth century: Giuseppe Tartini’s spiritual laude

The chapter explores a small part of Giuseppe Tartini’s vocal repertoire: the 18 spiritual laude for one, two and three voices. These compositions represent a unicum within Tartini’s sacred output: not only do they constitute the only group of devotional compositions in the Italian language but are also transmitted by the only surviving autograph of the composer’s religious music. The research on these miniature compositions highlights their relevance. First of all, Tartini contributes to the ancient genre of lauda destined for personal devotion and often the work of anonymous musicians. The dual nature of the autograph materials – fair copy and composing score – also allows us an insight into Tartini’s creative process: on one hand, an affinity emerges between the laude and the slow movements of the violin sonatas and, on the other, possible self-borrowings and connections with Istro- Venetian folk traditions emerge. This repertoire thus reveals another facet of Tartini’s artistic identity.