This doctoral project focuses on the discovery and creative reactivation of Ester, an anonymous early 18th-century oratorio manuscript found at the Biblioteca Querini Stampalia in Venice. Surviving only in its first part, the work offers a rare perspective on Jewish biblical narrative within early modern Italian sacred music. While oratorio studies often center on complete, recognized works, this project explores how fragmentary and anonymous sources can be reimagined as spaces of cultural significance.
Combining archival research with artistic practice, the project involves the historically inspired reconstruction of the existing music and the creation of two new sections. The resulting oratorio will unfold in three parts, with the original Italian libretto joined by newly written sections translated into Hebrew and Persian. Scored for piano and voices, the work bridges historical and contemporary sound worlds. Grounded in artivism - the use of art as a form of activism - the project transforms Ester into a space of intercultural dialogue and reflection, building a symbolic bridge between West and East, sacred and secular.

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Keywords

Ester, Oratorio, Artivism, Performance, Dialogue between past and present