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

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.

An unusual instrumental combination with a fascinating sound: sonatas for two oboes, bassoon, and basso continuo are rarely found in the repertoire. Yet this combination brings together three wind instruments whose tone colours complement one another in particularly appealing ways. Ram�n Ortega Quero and �ngel Luis S�nchez Moreno (oboes) have recorded a collection of masterful sonatas by Jan Dismas Zelenka for this instrumentation, joined by Marc Tr�nel (bassoon), Wies de Boev� (double bass), and Alfonso Sebasti�n Alegre (harpsichord) for GENUIN. These works are particularly demanding and virtuosic. These are magnificent, surprise-filled works by a long-neglected Baroque composer. The five outstanding musicians, all recipients of international prizes, bring these masterpieces of European contrapuntal art vividly back to life.

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.

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.

Classical Music

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.

Missa votive is among a handful of liturgical works composed late in the life of Jan Dismas Zelenka, the Bohemian musician who arrived at the Dresden court in or about 1710 as a violone player in the celebrated Hofkapelle of August II, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. Throughout the 1720s, and whilst still employed as a performing musician, Zelenka composed constantly, mostly producing music for the recently established Catholic court church in Dresden. After the death of Dresden Kapellmeister Johann David Heinichen Zelenka became responsible for the direction of music in this royal chapel, a task at which he worked untiringly with neither appropriate title nor remuneration. The Missa votive draws attention to the health of the composer who had experienced at least two major bouts of illness during the 1730s. The autograph inscription on the cover of the score reads ‘Vota mea Domino reddam. Psal: 115. Versu 5…’ The fifth verse of Psalm 115 is ‘Vota mea Domino reddam coram omni populo ejus’ (I will pay my vows to the Lord, before all his people). Another Latin note at the end of the score states that the mass was composed in fulfillment of a vow. The work is one of the great masses created by Zelenka during the final years of his life.

Classical Music

Classical Music

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!

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.

The six trio sonatas recorded on this CD present the largest group of Zelenka's chamber music for a single ensemble. Despite their high quality they were forgotten for centuries; they were only rediscovered a few decades ago.�Our fascination for this rich and profound music has spurred us on to come closer on this CD to the special tonal language, evocative complexity, and audacious invention of Zelenka's music.

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.

Classical Music

Classical Music