Stabat Mater   ZELENKA, CALDARA

This time, Václav Luks and his Collegium 1704 are focusing on the Passion music of two contemporaries: Antonio Caldara (1670-1736) and Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745). Although they are both on a par with J.S. Bach, we are hardly familiar with them. Caldara was deputy Kapellmeister with the Viennese court ensemble of Charles VI and during his lifetime had a great influence on contemporary composers. His Stabat Mater is a fine example of the richness and variety of his musical language. The same can be said of Zelenka. He served at court in Dresden and was highly respected by the musicians. He composed Statio quadruplex pro Processione Theophorica ZWV 158, one of his earliest surviving works, in 1709. It already contains all the typical characteristics of his compositions: a deep emotionality, complex counterpoint, a feel for the handling of the vocal line, and an original, expressive harmonic structure. The programme also includes Zelenka’s Responsoria pro hebdomada sancta ZWV 55, which was not composed until 1723. The acclaim it met with is reflected in a letter to Telemann written by Johann Georg Pisendel in 1749: I finally have the pleasure of offering you the blessed Mr. Zelenka’s Responsoria […], that you may be granted the delight of tasting the sweet fruits of this almond tree.

Collegium 1704 choir & orchestra
Dir: Václav Luks