Dismas Zelenka Missa Hunger

Extraordinarily well-written, prodigiously inventive, and relentlessly exciting–these aren’t terms normally used to describe 18th-century Masses, but then there is nothing “normal” about this late work by Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka. Simply put, if you aren’t acquainted with Zelenka (or if you’ve experienced a previous aversion to Masses), when you hear this piece-a substantial and powerful conception, from the first note of the Kyrie to the final chord of the Dona nobis pacem-you will wonder why this composer does not enjoy much greater esteem and popularity with performers, particularly alongside J.S. Bach (his contemporary) and Mozart.

Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745) Officium defunctorum ZWV 47 – Requiem in D ZWV 46 (Music for the funeral rites of Augustus the Strong) Jan Dismas Zelenka’s music for the funeral rites of Augustus the Strong – Officium defunctorum ZWV 47 (Invitatorium, Nocturno I-III) and Requiem ZWV 46 – reveals the most impressive face of the Baroque theatre of death. The man in the chief role of this spectacle follows the appeal in the 95th psalm of the introductory antiphon of the invitatorium “the King, in whom everything lives, let us worship Him”, and bows his head before God and the majesty of death.

Bohemian composer Jan Dismas Zelenka is a strong candidate for the greatest rediscovery of the Baroque revival. He worked for most of his career in Dresden (the booklet, in French and English, goes into a great deal of detail about the political determinants and musical implications of this fact), and Bach, who didn't admire many composers, admired him. Each new Zelenka work that emerges, if competently performed, seems to astonish, and I Penitenti al Sepolchro del Redentore, ZWV 63 (The Penitents at the Sepulchre of the Redeemer), composed late in Zelenka's career in 1736, is no exception. The work is a bit hard to get a grip on because of its odd genre. Annotator Vacláv Luks calls it a "sepolcro oratorio": it is a little religious semi-drama based on the idea that biblical figures, who may not (as in this case) actually meet in the Bible at all, gather at Christ's tomb and contemplate his divine mysteries.

Sono Luminus proudly presents the first surround sound recording of Zelenka’s five Capriccios. The complex scores have been brought to life under the direction of conductor Daniel Abraham, who also crafted this new edition of the works. This sonic masterpiece of the Baroque is presented using all period instruments including natural horn for the virtuosic horn lines.