MUSICAL POLICIES OF MINOR COURTS: THE SEARCH FOR AUTONOMY AND COMPETITION IN THE SHADOW OF THE LARGE CENTRES, WITH WEIMAR AND SONDERSHAUSEN AS EXAMPLES

In article two examples are discussed, that of the court in Weimar under the rule of Anna Amalia and the influence of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (end of the eighteenth century) and the court of the Schwarzburger family from Sondershausen (beginning of the eighteenth century), which at that time was of some significance. In the last decade of the eighteenth century, the opera repertory in Weimar was shaped primarily by Goethe. Performances included not only works popular at that time, but a specific kind of opera buffa - 'dramma giocoso per musica'. The Sondershausen demonstrates the great initial importance, in spite of limited opportunities, of access to the latest operas and cantatas of the highest order. Analysis of this collection allows one to discern the then latest trends of the various Italian centres ca 1700, and the openness of this genre.