Prague Chamber Choir

The Prague Chamber choir was launched in 1990 and was largely encouraged by the new climate of artistic freedom which accompanied Czechoslovakia's reclaimed political independence. The repertoire of Bohemian and Moravian religious music brought together on this album includes works by two of the greatest composers of the nationalist movement during the late-19th and early 20th Centuries. The third piece is a contemporary work by a composer who witnessed first-hand his country's oppression during World War II. Collectively, these pieces by Dvorak, Janacek and Eben add up to a sustained thanksgiving-underlined by a certain pride in the enduring strengths of the Czech tradition of sacred music.

Donizetti began writing his Requiem Mass after the death of fellow composer and friend Bellini. Ironically it was not performed until after Donizetti's death in 1848. Lacking a 'Sanctus', 'Benedictus' and 'Agnus Dei', the work is nevertheless a large-scale, powerful and compelling work which is one of Donizetti's most important non-operatic compositions.

Leoš Janáček and the generation younger Béla Bartók and Igor Stravinsky were major 20th-century composers markedly influenced by folk music, bringing it to bear in their own creations. Their works feature on the remarkable new album Village Stories of the world-renowned Prague Philharmonic Choir, led by Lukáš Vasilek. Stravinsky’s Les noces, Janáček’s Nursery Rhymes and Bartók’s Village Scenes are brought back to life on new recordings. Vasilek invited to the studio superb soloists, including the soprano Kateřina Kněžíková, the mezzo-soprano Jana Hrochová, the tenor Boris Stepanov and the baritone Jiří Brückler, as well as the outstanding pianists Zoltán Fejérvári and Kirill Gerstein, the Zemlinsky Quartet and the Belfiato Quintet. Supraphon will release the album on 27 October 2023 on CD and in digital formats.

Founded in 1982, the Czech Boys Choir Boni Pueri carries on the tradition of a choir that has been active in the metropolitan chapter of St Vitus in Prague since 1252. The present ensemble, which has 200 members ranging from 4 to 19 years old, has performed more than 4,000 international concerts. Boni Pueri also performs at important state events, and has appeared alongside numerous distinguished artists. It is often invited to perform as a guest artist at festivals around the world, and also works closely with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

Antonín Rejcha (1770, Prague - 1836 Paris) was a respected professor of counterpoint and fugal technique at Paris Conservatory, and an author of pedagogical works which even Bedřich Smetana and Fryderyk Chopin studied. He wrote wind quintets, piano fugues, overtures and symphonies. It wasn't until the late 20th century that the discovery of his manuscripts in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris revealed that he was also a composer of large works for choir and orchestra. One such discovery was Rejchas's Missa pro defunctis - Requiem, written in Vienna, where Rejcha lived from 1802 to 1808 before settling down in Paris.

Written in French in 1828 for the Paris Opéra, Le Comte Ory has maintained its success to this day. Re-using some of the music of his Viaggio a Reims, Rossini turns the disguise-based libretto into a spirited play of erotic lightness. Lluís Pasqual’s witty and clever production was recorded at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. The dynamic, international young cast is headed by tenor Yijie Shi in the title role, Laura Polverelli as his astute page and María José Moreno as Countess Adèle. Paolo Carignani conducts with verve and brio.