Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679 - 1745)Sacred MusicLabel: Hyperion, CDA67350
Year: 2003
Performers:Carolyn Sampson - soprano
Rebecca Outram - soprano
Robin Blaze - countertenor
James Gilchrist - tenor
Michael George - bass
Peter Harvey - bass
The King's Consort
Robert King - conductor
Although Jan Zelenka didn't get the "big" job in Dresden following the death of Kapellmeister Johann David Heinichen in 1729, his duties around the Saxon court (and in his journeys to Italy and Austria) allowed him to compose a substantial body of work--sacred and secular, choral and instrumental. And although it's only been recently that his works have received more than passing attention from Baroque specialists, the evidence shows that Zelenka was an important and even uniquely gifted composer with a superb ear for melody, exceptional contrapuntal skills, and a sparing but effective penchant for surprising harmonic twists and unusual turns of phrase. While at times the music reminds us of Bach, just as often it takes its own path into less traditional (if also somewhat less profound) musical territory.
In this finely recorded volume from Hyperion's "Bach's Contemporaries" series, we're treated to sacred works that show Zelenka at both his most exquisitely functional (the Litaniae) and most engaging and purely beautiful (Regina coeli and Salve Regina). The extended texts and repetitive phrases of the litany can be a trial of sorts for congregants, let alone for a composer seeking to set them in a reasonably interesting or compelling manner. Zelenka solves this problem by dividing the texts into separate movements, with highly varied vocal and instrumental treatments of each--a contrapuntal, full-chorus-and-orchestra setting here (Kyrie II), a duet with light accompaniment there (the Pater de coelis). The following choral Praecelsum et admirabile is forward-looking in its declamatory, homophonic style, but also for its astonishingly bold (and very un-Bach-like) harmonic statements.
Throughout this program, whose works cover a period of about six years, we easily can appreciate Zelenka's keen sense of color--scoring for parts such as muted oboes, chalumeau, muted strings--and his affecting way with fitting text to texture and particular groups of instruments. Highlights include the abovementioned Pater de coelis duet, worthy of a place alongside one of Bach's more inspired creations, the beautiful little choral Agnus Dei that concludes the Litaniae, and the Regina coeli and Salve Regina, which feature soloists Carolyn Sampson, Rebecca Outram, and Robin Blaze. All of the soloists deserve special mention for sensitive performances that are appropriately expressive and that add essential individual color, from Sampson's unusually dark-toned soprano and Blaze's gorgeously liquid and mellifluous countertenor to Peter Harvey's warm, rich bass. Chorus and orchestra are solid and confident, performing like the veteran period stylists they are. If you're not familiar with Zelenka--and especially if you love Bach--you must get to know this wonderful and very deserving composer.Colourful, complex, ornate, idiosyncratic, old-fashioned yet simultaneously forward-looking, Zelenka's music never ceases to amaze. This disc presents wonderfully varied and individual works. Two are substantial choral pieces: the "Litaniae de Venerabili Sacramento" shows Zelenka's more conventional, old-fashioned style of writing, yet the splendidly individual Invitatorium "Regem cui omnia vivunt" gives a powerful impression of Zelenka’s choral style in a unique fusion of modern, dramatic gestures of harmony, dynamics and scoring. Also part of the same "Officium Defunctorum" were the three Lessons, which Zelenka scored for chamber forces. Here, instrumental colour in all its variety is to the fore, with the desolate texts enhanced by rare orchestral sounds including the soprano chalumeau, recorders and even muted oboes. Quirky in its orchestration too is the setting for soprano of "Salve Regina" in A minor where Zelenka's accompaniment is shared by concertante flute, oboe, violin and a larger ensemble in a substantial solo motet, gloriously sung by Carolyn Sampson. The final work too is a delight, with the vocal scoring of "Regina coeli laetare" reserved for three upper voices who sing in true "close harmony".Tracklist: Litaniae de Venerabili Sacramento, Z147
1 Movement 01: Kyrie I [1:12]
2 Movement 02: Kyrie II [1:53]
3 Movement 03: Pater de caelis [3:43]
4 Movement 04: Praecelsum et admirabile [2:12]
5 Movement 05: Panis omnipotentia [2:16]
6 Movement 06: Spiritualis dulcedo [0:52]
7 Movement 07: Propitius esto [1:17]
8 Movement 08: Ab indigna Corporis [2:05]
9 Movement 09: Peccatores, te rogamus [2:38]
10 Movement 10: Fili Dei [0:36]
11 Movement 11: Agnus Dei [1:56]
12 Regina caeli laetare, Z134 [3:40]
Salve regina, mater misericordiae, Z135
13 Movement 1: Salve regina [5:25]
14 Movement 2: Ad te clamamus [3:16]
15 Movement 3: Eia ergo [4:05]
16 Movement 4: Et Jesum [1:11]
17 Movement 5: Ostende [4:49]
Officium defunctorum, Z47
18 Movement: Lectio I [6:42]
19 Movement: Lectio II [5:11]
20 Movement: Lectio III [4:47]
21 Movement: Invitatorium [13:06]
LOG| SPOILER! |
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The King's Consort, Robert King / Jan Dismas Zelenka - Sacred Music
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Track 21
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