The renowned early music group Czech Baroque Ensemble, with their conductor Roman Válek, will be the protagonists of the 12th season of the cycle Bach to Mozart! Photo credit: Czech Ensemble Baroque.
Brno, 12 May (BD) – Once again, the Bach to Mozart! cycle will revive the works of almost forgotten and rediscovered composers, united by dramaturgy with the most famous masters of the Baroque and classical eras. Now in its 12th season, the festival will be led by the Czech Ensemble Baroque with conductor Roman Válek. The Besední dům will be the scene of concerts of ancient popular music, while the spiritual works will be transferred from Petrov Cathedral to the church of Saint John.
František Habermann’s Wenceslas Mass will open the grand event. Conductor and playwright Roman Válek explains that Habermann was known as the “Czech Handel” by his admirers, and Handel himself highly appreciated Habermann’s works: “He used the themes of his masses in the oratorio Jephthah, and then the arias and the prelude of this magnificent oratorio will also be heard in concert”.
October will see a concert duel between two Czech artists living in Paris, mezzo-soprano Dagmar Šašková and violinist Josef Žák, who will present their interpretation of Vivaldi’s music.
“We have dedicated the soulful concert to the noble requiem of Emperor Joseph I’s court ringleader, J. J. Fux,” said Valek. “It was originally composed for the funeral of Empress Leonora in 1720. However, thanks to its fragile and thoughtful beauty, it accompanied many other members of the imperial family. Rights to the work therefore belong to a recently unknown musician from the second half of the 18th century, the Franciscan Georgi Zrunk. The composition is a unique combination of a traditional Latin mass with folk elements. The fusion of soloists, chamber choir and orchestra with the sound of traditional folk instruments is very original.”
Handel’s Water Music will kick off the 2024 cycle, with a concert on the 680th anniversary of the elevation of the Archbishopric of Prague, which will be celebrated with the first modern performance on period instruments of the Missa solemnis by Antonio Caldara. The Dettingen Te Deum with Adam Plachetka will also be performed on Czech soil for the first time in 107 years.
2024 will also be the year of Czech music: it is the 320th anniversary of the birth and the 250th anniversary of the death of the composer Ignác Tůma. In addition, the last two concerts of the season will also pay a tribute to Czech composers.
The culmination of the constant four-year work of the ensemble will be their presentation of Solemn Vespers. In June, conductor Roman Válek hands over control of the orchestra to conductor Tomáš Netopil, who will direct the performance of Jiří Antonín Benda’s melodrama Méde. The extraordinary qualities of the composition are evidenced by the fact that Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who wrote a superlative letter to his father about the melodrama, were inspired by the work. The main role will be played by Zuzana Stivínová.
Season ticket holders will be able to decide which events of the 12th season to attend based on their concert room preferences, choosing to be present at all concerts, or only those in the Besední dům or in the Church of St. John. The ninth madrigal bonus concert will be a gift to holders of these tickets for their patronage.
You can find season tickets and tickets for individual concerts on smsticket.cz
