The Easter Festival of Sacred Music enters its thirtieth year and is subtitled Transformation (Přetváření). It will open with a new setting of the once famous Stabat Mater by Brno Cathedral organist František Musil, in which soloists, the Brno Philharmonic and five choirs under the direction of Tomáš Krejčí will join forces.
The world premiere will feature two works this year. The first of them is the composition Ze všech sil (From All My Strength) by Slavomír Hořínka. “Eight years ago I went to Jerusalem to record the quietest places of this vibrant, wounded, yet sacred place at Easter. Then, in dozens of hours of nightly recordings of silence from various temples, I sought God’s voice, like the prophet Elijah in the breeze on Mount Horeb. I thought I would write a piece for reflection after the Good Friday liturgy that would somehow transport the sound and atmosphere of those places to another time and space. Instead, I embarked on a pilgrimage to that as yet unattainable goal, and I longingly hope that the Lord goes with me, as He did with the disciples then, to Emmaus. The composition From All My Strength for three male voices and three baroque instruments is the next stop on this journey,” Hořínka described his work. The piece concludes with one of his poems, which he wrote in Jerusalem and was loosely inspired by the tiles in the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The second premiered work commissioned by the festival is the Easter oratorio Mysterium paschale by organist, singer, composer, and choirmaster František Fiala. “Thanks to his versatility, he understands instrumentation very well, and his previous works have won several prizes in composing competitions. That’s one of the reasons why we approached him to compose a full-length oratorio for the Cantilena, to which he then added a quartet of vocal soloists, a brass quartet, and strings. It can be said that we prepared the libretto together, we had a fairly precise idea of its liturgical meaning, so the work deals with Christ’s journey from the Resurrection to the meeting with the disciples on the road to Emmaus,” said Maňas. The piece features instruments typical of Fiala: the vibraphone and, above all, the organ. “The melodic guide for me was the original Gregorian themes, in which I am fascinated by the perfect symbiosis of melody and words, or rather their meaning, when music does not live without words,” Fiala explained. He composed the piece with the intention of performing it in the Red Church, so he makes the most of its space.
The festival’s line of searching for forgotten pearls opens with the opening concert on 2 April, featuring the once famous Stabat Mater oratorio by Brno Cathedral organist František Musil. It will be performed in the Petrov Cathedral, the place where Musil worked, and will be broadcast live by Czech Radio Vltava. The new staging will uniquely bring together professional musicians, the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, and five highly capable amateur choirs from Brno under the direction of Tomáš Krejčí, who as a long-time teacher at the Conservatory and JAMU played a fundamental role in the careers of many musicians, among whom the quartet of vocal soloists will be featured. “This is a piece in the Dvořák vein, meant in the best sense of the word. A kind of arc to this is therefore represented by the final concert with Antonín Dvořák’s exultant hymn Te Deum, where the soloists will join with the Brno Philharmonic and the Czech Philharmonic Choir,” pointed out Vladimír Maňas, the festival’s dramaturge.
Perhaps the second festival concert reflects the theme of forgotten works the most. One of the most important music collectors, Sébastien de Brossard (1655 - 1730), saved, for example, the Lenten Meditations of Marc-Antoine Charpentier and the compositions of Henry Du Mont, which will be performed by soloists and the Cappella Mariana ensemble. “The Baroque Meditations and Hořínka’s premiere are linked by the authors’ intimate approach. Charpentier’s meditations are rarely performed, among other things due to the relatively uncommon scoring for three male voices and basso continuo. In Brno they will be performed by the Cappella Mariana ensemble with the excellent Tomáš Král,” Maňas emphasised.
More recent French composers will be presented in an organ concerto by Johannes Zeinler. “Johannes was a star for us last year when he managed to stage a very difficult programme in three days and to fill in brilliantly for an ailing soloist. That is why we have invited him again, this time with a repertoire that is his own. His concert in the Old Brno Basilica promises to be a great experience, as the organ there is ideal for compositions of the Romantic period,” said Ondřej Múčka, the festival’s dramaturge. Also, the Tenebrae, which take place on the eve of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and White Saturday, this year will bring a threefold approach to this theme, which is united by a French accent. “The very first Tenebrae will feature the excellent organist Johannes Ebenbauer. The recitation of the psalm verses will be interspersed with music, specifically pieces for organ positron, harpsichord and the late Renaissance instrument known in Czech as the regál,” Múčka pointed out. Dark Hours has been part of the festival since 2012. “Listeners love them, the hushed atmosphere of the Jesuit church and the candlelight-only music fascinates them every year. This year, they can also look forward to the star mezzo-soprano Dagmar Šašková on Good Friday,” said Marie Kučerová, director of the Brno Philharmonic.
A new feature of the festival, and perhaps the foundation of a new tradition, is the closing celebration Mass on Resurrection Sunday. At 19:30 in St. Thomas Church, the Mass will feature a Missa brevis by contemporary composer Knut Nystedt, performed by Ensemble Versus.
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