Zelenka: Sanctus et Agnus Dei, ZWV 34 & 36 - Tůma: Stabat Mater. Music from Eighteenth-Century Prague

František Ignác Antonín Tůma (1704-1774) - Stabat Mater in G minor
Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745) - Sanctus et Agnus Dei ex Missa, "Nigra sum", ZWV 34*, Sanctus et Agnus Dei ? 6, ZWV 36*, Sub tuum praesidium I-III, ZWV 157
Johann Georg Orschler (1698-1767/70) - Sonata in F minor for 2 violins and b.c.*

Collegium 1704, conductor: Václav Luks

An inherent, characteristic feature of the musical language of Zelenka and Tůma, the two most distinguished Czech Baroque composers, is perfectly mastered counterpoint, which alongside progressive trends in Baroque continued to live as a stile antico. Zelenka, Tůma, as well as their currently virtually unknown contemporary J. G. Orschler, studied in Vienna with the Imperial Kapellmeister Johann Joseph Fux (1660-1741). All three had strong Prague links and although they mainly gained recognition beyond the Czech lands, their music was performed and highly valued in Prague too. Zelenka's stile antico pieces represent a little-known yet interesting part of his oeuvre. Tůma's Stabat Mater is a masterpiece bearing witness to the transformation of the "old craft" into a new pre-Classicist style. The recording, made by the internationally renowned Collegium 1704 ensemble, includes several modern-time premieres providing us with a fascinating view of the little-known works by the three Czech Baroque masters.

Unknown Zelenka - Renaissance order in the music of late-Baroque masters.