Jan Dismas Zelenka was something of a Czech counterpart to Johann Sebastian Bach. His highly original and virtuosic works combine Italian and French influences with rigorous counterpoint and intense expressiveness, making him one of the most important Baroque composers of his time. Yet, like Bach, Zelenka fell largely into obscurity after his death and was only rediscovered in the 19th century during the Czech national revival. Few ensembles have devoted themselves as wholeheartedly to his music as Collegium 1704 and its founder Václav Luks – the ensemble’s name itself refers to the year in which Zelenka’s early work »Via Laureata« was first performed.
In Hamburg, however, the focus is on one of Zelenka’s later works: the »Missa Dei Filii«, a composition rich in ecstatic outbursts from choir and orchestra and regarded as one of the most accomplished mass settings of its time. The programme opens with a selection from the »Responsoria pro Hebdomada Sancta«, a series of concise and deeply felt responsories originally composed for Holy Week and representing one of the high points of Zelenka’s creative output.
The programme is completed by Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantata »Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen« (Weeping, Lamenting, Worrying, Fearing), a work the composer valued so highly that he later incorporated its opening section into his celebrated Mass in B minor.
PERFORMERS
Collegium 1704 choir and orchestra
Václav Luks conductor
PROGRAM
Jan Dismas Zelenka
Responsoria pro Hebdomada Sancta, ZWV 55 (selections)
Johann Sebastian Bach
Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12
- Interval -
Jan Dismas Zelenka
Missa Dei Filii, ZWV 20
