The unmistakable bass of Tomas Selc at the service of Jan Dismas Zelenka Tomas Selc devotes himself to the cantata and oratorio literature of the 18th through the 20th centuries, romantic lieder, and opera, collaborating with outstanding orchestras, ensembles, and conductors (Bamberger Symphoniker, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Collegium 1704, Collegium Vocale Gent, Taverner Consort etc.). It is, however, in the works of Jan Dismas Zelenka and of J. S. Bach that he seems to be most at home. Therefore, the choice of Zelenka for his Supraphon debut was clear, as was his collaboration with the renowned ensemble Collegium Marianum. The album presents three of Zelenka's great liturgical works for bass, composed in the milieu of the Dresden court ensemble within a span of seven years. The masterfully invoked atmosphere of gloom of the first Lamentation of Jeremiah (1722) for the Tenebrae liturgy, dignified praise of the Lord in the psalm Confitebor tibi Domine (1729), and pleading cries from this world's vale of tears in the Marian antiphon Salve Regina (1724) are brought to us with all their urgency by the silky colour of selc's voice. The Flute Concerto by Giuseppe Tartini reminds us that it is not only from the depths of darkness that we cry out; heights of gentle consolation are truly within reach as well. Those heights resound here in the tender and colourful tones of the flute played by Jana Semeradova, driving the clouds away and brings smiles to our faces. Depths of darkness and radiant lightness of being are two inseparable dimensions of life on this earth.

Jan Dismas Zelenka was born in Launowitz, Bohemia, in 1679 and died in Dresden in 1745. He had been a member of the court orchestra there since 1710, one of the best ensembles at the time, first as a double bassist and then as a church composer. From the 1720s, he stood in for the ailing court conductor Johann David Heinichen, who was then succeeded by the world-famous opera composer Johann Adolf Hasse. Zelenka's oeuvre - around 150 compositions have survived - includes symphonies, suites, overtures and, above all, sacred vocal music in addition to trio sonatas (which were written after studies with Johann Josef Fux in Vienna). Catholic church music in Dresden, with Zelenka as one of it's main representatives, is once again enjoying greater attention.

In the text accompanying the previous volume of this anthology of Zelenka's music by the Pasticcio Barocco Ensemble, Zelenka borrowed Pisendel's metaphor of the almond as a guide to the music of this enigmatic composer. Upon transmitting a score to his friend Telemann, Pisendel expressed the wish that the former would ''taste many, many of the sweet fruits of this almond tree'', thus creating a parallel between Zelenka's music and the symbolism of ''shell'' and ''kernel''; ''secret'' and ''knowledge''. We know so little of Zelenka's life that there is little one can add to the first text. Zelenka did not seem to want to be remembered other than by is music. The particularity of hemeticism is to keep a secret, not to reveal it. It is probably that in using this analogy, Pisendel was hinting at alchemy. Many composers of the time practised the secrets of their art in the hermetic mode. It should be remembered that the only work printed in Zelenka's lifetime was, in fact, an enigmatic canon. It is clear that historically, for a long time, reception of Zelenka's work highlighted the idea of strangeness. How would he have responded to this? C.P.E. Bach for example, categorically refuted this label that had often been attached to him too. What is certain is that Zelenka was a demanding composer. At a time when the search for simplicity had arrived from Italy and taken hold in the Dresden community in which he lived, he made constant use of counterpoint.

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Sono Luminus proudly presents the first surround sound recording of Zelenka’s five Capriccios. The complex scores have been brought to life under the direction of conductor Daniel Abraham, who also crafted this new edition of the works. This sonic masterpiece of the Baroque is presented using all period instruments including natural horn for the virtuosic horn lines. This album is presented in a 2-disc package with 1 CD and 1 stunning Blu-ray Audio disc.

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Zelenka's output contains mostly sacred music. His instrumental works, however, show the composer's talent and shouldn't be overlooked. The work included on this release, Sonate a due Hautbois e Basson con Basso Continuo, ZWV 181, was written in Vienna between 1715-1716. The work is notable in double reed literature for the required virtuosity of both instruments, which was uncharacteristic for the music of that time. This release is the first recording from the ensemble Zefiro. The featured double reed performers are oboists Alfredo Bernardini and Paolo Grazzi, and bassoonist Alberto Grazzi.

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Reinhard Goebel, an esteemed Baroque music connoisseur, ranks Zelenka among the five best composers of the first half of the 18th century. The cycle of six sonatas for two oboes, bassoon and continuo serves to prove that his assertion is far from being mere hyperbole, that it is a justified opinion worthy of being giving serious thought. Although for many years Zelenka performed all the duties of Kapellmeister and court composer of the Dresden Hofkapelle, he did not gain the appraisal he deserved. Zelenka’s sonatas are among his “free” works, which he wrote urged by innermost needs, above and beyond his official commitments. The pieces reach the very limits of musical possibilities – both as regards placing high technical requirements on the performers and the compositional methods and means of expression applied, including the striking architecture of the cycle as a whole. The result is magnificent and fascinating indeed; owing to its complexity and timelessness, the sonatas may perhaps only be compared with J. S. Bach’s six cello suites. And when these gems are undertaken by musicians as open-minded and of such superlative quality as members of the Berliner Philhamoniker, the listener can look forward to a great feast. The present recording is extraordinary due to the combination of the technical facilities of modern instruments and the profound insight into Baroque performance.

Splendid, incisive, rhythmically well sprung.



ZELENKA Immisit Dominus pesilentiam, ZWV 58. Attendite et videte, ZWV 59. Deus Dux Fortissime, ZWV 60 • Jana Semerádová, cond; Hana Blažíková (sop); David Erler (alt); Tobias Hunger (ten); Tomá? Král (bs); Collegium Marianum (period instruments) • SUPRAPHON 4068 (65:33 Text and Translation)


There are many smaller subgenres of sacred music that are often little explored. One of these is the sepolcro , a short oratorio-like work that is meant to be performed after the Good Friday services in Roman Catholic regions. The similarity in purpose with the Lutheran cantata is clear, since they often incorporate responses and reflections on the Liturgy, and because of this were particularly favored by the Jesuits as a means of reinforcing the seasonal message. Common enough during the Baroque and early-Classical periods, these works have been largely ignored, probably because they do not easily fit any particular category. They are mostly in Latin (though German and Italian sepolcri do exist), and the poetic texts most often reflect contemplations of horror and disaster. The first of this trio, for instance, talks about a plague that slaughtered 70,000 people, hardly a subject guaranteed to evoke pleasant visions.


Zelenka’s three works were composed in a five-year period beginning in 1709 for the Clementinium in Prague, his hometown. Each of these is relatively compact, too small to be labeled an oratorio but perhaps more expansive than your normal cantata. There are usually three or four choruses, often with extensive and quite intricate counterpoint, but the usual recitatives and arias are not always arranged in a conspicuous order. Indeed, in the Immisit Dominus the crux of the work revolves around two accompanied recitatives with soft string suspensions, and in the case of the last, it devolves into a lilting duet between the alto and bass soloists, hardly something that is common during the period. The arias follow each other in sequence and without recitative, so that the music is more continuous than the conventional cantatas of the period. The rich suspensions of the “Recordare, Domine” and the multilevel continuo and oboe punctuations of the aria “Omnes gentes” in the Attendite bring to mind the clockwork rhythms of Purcell, though the vocal line that floats above it is positively Handelian. There are two back-to-back duets in the Deus dux Fortissime , the first of which Zelenka plays off the two soloists in imitation, while in the next, the soprano and alto blend seamlessly with a deliberate marching continuo. The choruses are, as noted, mostly strict counterpoint, and the fugues that the composer uses in “Adoramus te, Christe” of the second work and the final massive “Da robut, fer auxilium” of the last are every bit as complex and intricate as anything written by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the chorus that precedes the latter, however, the militant “Bella premunt hostilia,” the homophonic voices make a bold pronouncement that stops dead in order for a lone cantus firmus to appear as if out of nowhere. The echoes of Carissimi’s oratorios are clearly in the background here, and the effect is rather audacious.


The Collegium Marianum is a Czech group that includes a chorus of eight voices, out of which the four soloists emerge. This gives the sound a wonderful clarity, though of course it reveals any slight mistakes. I will say that I do not find any, and whether or not the recording placement was changed, it sounds as if the choir is much larger. All four of the soloists have a good grasp of the stylistic nuances that bring this to life. Bass Tomá? Král, for instance, has that light, almost baritone quality to his voice that seems just right for this sort of music: flexible enough to handle the ornamentation of the “Deus regit nos” in the second work, but also easily blending with his colleagues, such as with the rich alto (or rather countertenor) voice of David Erler in the “Clamate, guttae sanguinis” of the first. The performance by the ensemble seems to be larger than their one-on-a-part actual displacement, and the way this is done, with clear direction by the conductor, allows for it to blend with the singers, no matter if with strings or when the various woodwinds are added. In short, this is a wonderful disc, dramatic and focused, musically adroit, and something that may make my Want List for the year.


FANFARE: Bertil van Boer


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We are living in fortunate times for the lover of Zelenka; not the zenith, yet, I suspect, but if we are to keep getting discs such as this one and Accent’s recent recording of Officium deferntorum and the Requiem in D, then not far short. I mention the Accent disc in particular, not simply because it’s a revelation — astonishing, really — but also because two of the singers reappear in this disc; feisty soprano Hana Blažiková and the smooth, evenly produced bass of Tomáš Král. One of Supraphon’s recent secret weapons, Collegium Marianum directed as ever by Jana Semerádová, is on hand, and to complete the good news the recording venue is, again, the Church of Virgin Mary under the Chain, in Prague, which offers a tremendous acoustic, one that Supraphon’s engineers know well.
 
Should one add more? What about that all three of these Cantatas for Holy Sepulchre are heard in their first ever recordings or that the performances are, again, outstandingly good? It’s true that these three works are relatively early, dating between 1709 and 1716 — which is to say between Zelenka’s thirtieth and thirty seventh birthdays. But they do not lack for finesse, nor do they lack affecting features such as to warrant the closest interest.
 
Immisit Dominus pestilentiam is the earliest of the three, a compact twenty minute cantata finely balanced between arias, choruses and recitative. It offers numerous opportunities for instrumental felicity; try the absolutely lovely chalumeau playing - it’s by Igor Františák, and he should be name checked - which is almost folk-like in its address. The string staccatos are appropriately brusque in the Clamate, guttae sanguinis. Male alto David Erler has a most pleasing voice but Blažiková, always an incisive, powerful but never strident singer, shades the honours. Attendite et videte possesses great amplitude and breadth, once again illuminated by many subtle accompanying touches — note here, for instance, the bassoon line in Deus regit nos as it intertwines with the strings. Král sings especially well in this movement. Confidence and subtlety mark out these performances and when the organ and double bass are as well balanced as they are in the Deus dux fortissime we are assured of another splendid performance. The chorus is incisive, rhythmically well sprung. In fact everything about this disc is of the highest class.

This ‘Music from Eighteenth Century Prague’ series is shaping up to be in the very best tradition of this label. I recall their gorgeous LPs with vivid colour art work and pockets for booklet notes, which restored performances of baroque music conducted by the likes of Talich and Ancerl amongst more contemporary practitioners.
 
I’m keen to hear more from Jana Semerádová and her forces.
 
-- Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International

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At times startling and innovative sacred choral works by the most important Bohemian composer of the Baroque era, Jan Dismas Zelenka. Digitally recorded on 7 and 8 December, 2011 in the Church of St. Simon and St. Jude in Prague. Album includes booklet notes in English, French, German and Czech with lyrics sung in Latin and translated in four languages.

Here's a case where the music so completely and satisfyingly transcends the texts, that we can thoroughly enjoy the proceedings without really having to know what all the singing and playing is about. The texts--the singing is in Latin--are in the most serious, heavily ornate, flowery Baroque poetic style, and are concerned with religious devoutness and allegorical representations of traits such as "Fortitude", "Suspicion", "Dignity", "Faith", and "Godliness". Even the work's title, which translates "Under the olive tree of peace and the palm tree of virtue the Crown of Bohemia splendidly shines before the whole world", tells you something of the solemnity and high importance of the occasion for which it was written: the 1723 coronation ceremony in Prague of Emperor Charles VI and his wife Elisabeth Christine. Zelenka's music, which amounts to a kind of oratorio-type structure--orchestral introductions and interludes, choruses, arias, and various other solo/choral combinations--actually was designed to accompany a dramatic presentation that also included dances and parts for actors. Fortunately for us today, we can sit back and just listen to some of the more delightful--sometimes breathtakingly powerful--music from this period that didn't come from the pen of Bach or Handel. Even Zelenka was impressed enough with some of the work's movements that he reused them in adapted form the following year for sections of his Te Deum.

The opening Sinfonia is a brilliant enough piece all on its own, but the chorus that immediately follows takes us to yet another level of excitement, setting a sumptuously decorated stage for what is to come. Although there's a substantial amount of music here, no one section stays too long, and the arias show care for musical beauty well beyond anything suggested by the texts. And there's nothing pale or simple in the writing either, whether for instruments or voices: much of it, especially the vocal solos, requires performers of considerable accomplishment, even virtuosity. The opening chorus is quite a tour de force, and in this performance we're treated to the lovely sound and impeccable technique of the boys' and men's voices of the Czech choir Boni Pueri. That this is a Czech production mirrors its original performance in Prague's Jesuit Clementinum, which not only involved native Czech singers and actors, but also was conducted by the Czech-born Zelenka. The orchestral writing, which includes such ceremonial staples as trumpets and timpani, used to great effect, is bright-spirited and masterfully constructed to hold our interest and maintain dramatic momentum. The soloists are generally very good and there's some really terrific interaction in duets and in dialogs with the chorus. The sound is full-bodied and sufficiently detailed to give immediate presence to all the performers while preserving appropriate balances. Anyone who enjoys large-scale Baroque choral/orchestral music will love this unusual and musically engaging work--another gem in the crown of a composer that's finally getting just recognition.

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com
Reviewing original release, Supraphon 3520

The Old Testament Book of Lamentations has been subjected to a number of settings since the Middle Ages; that of Jan Dismas Zelenka occupies a significant position among them. In his Lamentations, Zelenka succeeded in combining the contemplative aspect with a powerful dramatic charge. His penchant for unusual instrumentation is evident in, for instance, the final Lamentation (solo violin, bassoon and chalumeau). Zelenka only set to music two lessons of the first Nocturne for each day; here, every third reading takes the form of Gregorian chant, as was most likely heard at the Dresden court.

The Prague-based ensemble Collegium 1704 and its founder Vaclav Luks here perform an oratorio by the Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka. This edifying work, typical of the oratorios produced during the Counter-Reformation, presents the faithful with an imaginary meeting of Mary Magdalene, King David and St Peter at the Tomb of Christ. After the success of the Red, Yellow, Blue, Pink and White collections (a total of sixty reissues) which gave a new lease of life to the pearls of the Baroque catalogues from our house labels, here are fourteen new titles which offer a chance to discover other treasures, whether Baroque or dating from an earlier or later era. Like the most recent series, this sixth instalment opens out onto the Classical repertory (Mozart by Ensemble 415 and Chiara Banchini) and the Renaissance (Févin by Doulce Mémoire and Denis Raisin Dadre); recordings that are an integral part of Alpha’s identity and history. Fourteen reissues performed by the leading musicians in the field, most of which received one or more awards on their original release. Proper booklets accompany the discs, with notes in three languages (French, English, German). Photographers from all over the world have been selected to illustrate the covers, this time with the guiding thread of the color green, a symbol of nature, fertility... and hope!