Album

Czech Ensemble Baroque, Roman Válek

Tůma: Te Deum

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Catalogue Number: SU 4315-2

Published: 11th November 2022

Genre: Vocal

Format: 1 CD

Romana Kružíková, Pavla Radostová - soprano, Monika Jägerová - alto, Jakub Kubín - tenor, Jiří Miroslav Procházka - bass. Czech Ensemble Baroque, conductor: Roman Válek

Czech Ensemble Baroque's first recording dedicated to František Ignác Antonín Tůma (Requiem, Miserere) confirmed his firm position among Europe's major late-Baroque composers. A pupil of the renowned Viennese master J. J. Fux, his music is characterised by immaculate refined counterpoint, yet he also embraced and brought to bear elements of the incipient Galant style. Dating from three different phases of his life, the three pieces featured on the present album map Tůma's artistic development. The grandiose Missa Veni Pater Pauperum, written in 1736 for the Schottenstift, a Benedictine abbey in Vienna, is from the time when he served Count Franz Ferdinand Kinsky, who had provided him with a thorough education. The festive 1745 Te Deum, scored for a similarly extensive ensemble, was composed for the Stift Wilhering, a Cistercian monastery in Upper Austria, which performed it on multiple occasions within the celebrations of the Feast of Corpus Christi. As regards the Sinfonia ex C, Tůma most likely conceived it towards the end of his days, when he lived in seclusion at the Premonstratensian monastery in Geras, Lower Austria. The three festive pieces, recorded for the very first time, attest to Tůma's being a composer richly deserving of special attention.

Tůma's music in festive colours - landmark premiere recordings

Reviews

“The acoustic in St Michael’s Church in the town of Znojmo is characteristically ample but confers a flattering bloom to the sound. These are attentive performances, well-shaped by Roman Válek – who, with the same forces, recorded the Requiem of Franz Xaver Richter a number of years ago for Supraphon. Tůma is not as well-known as Richter but he exemplifies the professionalism and technical competence of members of the Bohemian diaspora in the eighteenth century.”
MusicWeb International, January 2023

“This is the kind of release I live for: a world-premiere recording of glorious music by a great composer who doesn’t get enough love in the current marketplace… It’s hard to overstate how deeply engaging and attractive this music is, and the performances by the Czech Ensemble Baroque Orchestra and Choir are magnificent — alto soloist Monika Jägerova is especially fine.”
CD HotList, January 2023

“Singers and players achieve the perfect balance between refinement and exuberance in these delightful performances.”
Choir and Organ, March 2023

“Roman Válek conjure l'acoustique d'église par des phrases cursifs et des tempos vifs qui font de cette pièce une cousine des symphonies de CPE Bach. L'engagement est tout aussi palpable dans les oeuvres vocales, notamment la Messe, très exigeante pour les solistes. Moins essentielles que le Requiem et le Miserere enregistrés par les mêmes, ces oeuvres festives méritaient l'exhumation.”
Classica, March 2023

“Hiermit ist ein bedeutender Musiker mit zwei großen kirchenmusikalische Werken (und darüber hinaus mit einer instrumentalen Sinfonie) dokumentiert, der nicht nur eigenständige Bedeutung hatte, sondern auch die kommende Entwicklung der Musikgeschichte nachhaltig beeinflusste. Und das in exzellenter akustischer und künstlerischer Qualität.”
Chor Aktuell, June 2023

“This is a very welcome recording of music by František Ignác Antonín Tůma… The singing is generally impressive… The instrumentalists of the Czech Ensemble Baroque, under conductor Roman Válek, make an impressive sound.”
Andrew Benson-Wilson: Early Music Reviews, May 2023

“The Czech Baroque Ensemble does a fine job, with good tempos and a wonderful phrasing that allows for the vocal lines to emerge easily and with equal sound. The soloists all do a fine job as well, though they are there often as an imitative foil for the chorus, integrated as textural contrast. In short, this is a fine disc of the sort of music that was meant to display Vienna’s importance as a center of empire, and it does make one interested in hearing more of Tůma’s huge number of sacred pieces. If you are into bright and festive church works, this is one disc that will please.”
Fanfare, July 2023

“The Czech Ensemble Baroque is one of the finest in the Czech Republic, which has a very lively early music scene anyway. This is the second disc devoted to Tůma, and like the recording of the Requiem I already mentioned, it is entirely satisfying and convincing. The soloists are part of the ensemble, in line with the practice of the time… The members of this ensemble do so brilliantly. I like the energetic style of performing, and the dynamic shading on long notes, as well as the differentiation between good and bad notes. The instrumentalists are also excellent; the players of the clarini and trumpets deserve special praise. Tůma is a really great composer, and this disc does him full justice.”
Musica Dei donum, October 2023