Jan Dismas Zelenka
Encyclopedia
Jan Dismas Zelenka baptised Jan Lukáš Zelenka and previously also known as Johann Dismas Zelenka, was the most important Czech
Baroque
composer
, whose music was notably daring with outstanding harmonic invention and mastery of counterpoint
.
, a small market town southeast of Prague
, in Bohemia
as the eldest of the eight children born of Marie Magdalena (née Hájek) and Jiří Zelenka. The name Jan Dismas probably originates from his confirmation. His father was a schoolmaster and organist there; nothing more is known with certainty about Zelenka's early years. He received musical training at the Jesuit college Clementinum
in Prague. Zelenka played the violone
, the largest and lowest member of the viol
family, analogous to the double bass
in the violin family
of stringed instruments. During his studies in Prague, Zelenka wrote his first compositions, all of them of oratorial
character.
It is known that Zelenka had served Baron Hartig, the imperial governor who resided in Prague, before becoming a violone
player in the royal orchestra at Dresden
in about 1710. His emigration from Bohemia was most likely sudden, the reasons for it are not known and became the subject of some speculation. In some monographs, various personal reasons are alleged to be behind his escape, but the truth remains draped in mystery. His first opus in Dresden was "Missa Sanctae Caeciliae" (c.1711).
Zelenka continued his education in Vienna
with the Habsburg Imperial Kapellmeister Johann Joseph Fux beginning in 1715. According to his own account, he spent 18 months in Vienna and was back in Dresden by 1719. Whether or not he ever went to Venice
is unclear, but a Saxon
court document of 1715 records a royal cash advance for such a journey by Zelenka along with Christian Petzold
and Johann Georg Pisendel
.
Except for a visit in 1723 to Prague, where Zelenka conducted his opus ?, he remained in Dresden. Zelenka composed a number of instrumental compositions in Prague, as the autograph of the score of Concerto à 8 concertanti confirms: "six concerti written in a hurry in Prague in 1723".
In Dresden, Zelenka initially assisted the Kapellmeister
, Johann David Heinichen
, and gradually assumed Heinichen's duties as the latter's health declined. After Heinichen died in 1729, Zelenka applied for the post of Kapellmeister, but the post was given instead (in 1733) to Johann Adolf Hasse, reflecting the court's fashionable interest in opera
as opposed to liturgical
music. Alternatively, in 1735, Zelenka was given the title of "church composer" - "Compositeur of the Royal Court Capelle" (Johann Sebastian Bach
had applied for this title in 1733, and was to receive it as well in 1736.) Zelenka was disappointed by the decision of the court, but, despite this, he worked very hard. We may guess that his social failure might have opened the door to the composer's free creative spirit, allowing him to produce his innovative work with its unique qualities.
Johann Sebastian Bach held Zelenka in high esteem, as evidenced by a letter from Bach's son C. P. E. Bach to Johann Nikolaus Forkel
, of 13 January 1775, and Zelenka was a guest at Bach's home in Leipzig
. Bach had some of his works copied: e.g. he instructed his son, Wilhelm Friedemann
, to copy the Amen from Zelenka's third Magnificat (ZWV 108) for use in Leipzig at St.Thomas's church.
In addition to compositional work, Zelenka was pedagogically active throughout his life and educated a number of prominent musicians of that time, e.g. Johann Joachim Quantz
, J. G. Barter or J. G. Rollig. To his closest friends belonged (besides Pisendel) also Georg Philipp Telemann
or Sylvius Leopold Weiss
.
Zelenka died of dropsy, that seems to have been the result of cardiac failure, in Dresden on December 23, 1745 and was buried on Christmas Eve. In his final years he wrote works that were never performed during his lifetime and generally felt isolated, broody and increasingly melancholic. He never married and had no children; his compositions and musical estate were purchased from his beneficiaries by the Electress of Saxony, Maria Josepha of Austria
and after his death were closely guarded (in contrast to his treatment when he was alive) and regarded as the court's possessions. Telemann, together with Pisendel, tried unsuccessfully to publish Zelenka's "Responsoria". He wrote on the 17th of April 1756, with undisguised anger, that "the complete manuscript will be at the Dresden court, kept under lock and key as something rare…".
There is no confirmed portrait of Zelenka, only one assumed composite sketch and one drawing by Carl Heinrich Jakob Fehling dating from 1719, portraying Zelenka as a violone player with an ensemble in Arabic costumes, playing at what appears to be a festive dinner for the king's court. It is necessary to mention a mirror-image black-and-white copy of the well-known portrait of Fux
, which has been passed off as a picture of Zelenka on several respected websites.
n" (as Heinz Holliger
describes them) demands of the oboe
scores in his trio sonatas. His instrumental works (the trio sonata
s, capricci
, and concertos) are exemplary models of his early style (1710s - 1720s). The six trio sonatas demand high virtuosity and expressive sensitivity from performers. As Zelenka was himself a violone player, he was known to write fast-moving continuo parts with driving and complicated rhythm.
Zelenka was aware of the music in different regions of Europe. He wrote complex fugue
s, ornate operatic aria
s, galant
-style dances, baroque recitative
s, Palestrina
-like chorale
s, and virtuosic concertos. Zelenka's musical language is closest to Bach's, especially in its richness of contrapuntal
harmonies and ingenious usage of fugal themes. Nevertheless, Zelenka's language is idiosyncratic
in its unexpected harmonic twists, obsession with chromatic harmonies, huge usage of syncopated
and tuplet
figures, and unusually long phrases full of varied musical ideas. He is sometimes considered as Bach's Catholic counterpart, in his works.
Zelenka's music is influenced by Czech folk music
. In this respect, he continues the tradition of the production of specific Czech national music, initiated by Adam Michna z Otradovic and brought to its culmination later, in works by Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák
and Leoš Janáček
.
, who rewrote some scores from the archives in Dresden and introduced one of the composer's orchestral suites in Prague's New Town Theatre festivals in 1863.
It was mistakenly assumed that many of Zelenka's autograph
scores were destroyed during the fire-bombing of Dresden
in February 1945. However, the scores were not in the Katholische Hofkirche
but were in a library north of the river
. Some are certainly missing, but this probably happened gradually - and these represent only a small proportion of his extant works.
The interest in Zelenka's music has begun to grow, especially since the end of the 1950s. By the late 1960s and early 1970s all Zelenka's instrumental compositions and selected liturgical music were published in Czechoslovakia
. The most important revival was demonstrated by the first presentation of selected compositions by Czech conductor Milan Munclinger
and his ensemble Ars Rediviva
. They were three trio sonatas in 1958 - 1960, Sinfonia concertante in 1963 and the exquisite interpretation of "Lamentationes Jeremiae prophetae" with soloists Karl Berman, Nedda Casei
and Theo Altmeyer
in 1969. The music of Zelenka has become widely known and available since that time, through recordings
and sparked the interest of musicians such as, Milan Munclinger (above), Heinz Holliger and Reinhard Goebel
.
More than half of Zelenka's works have now been recorded, mostly in the Czech Republic
and Germany
. Many of his opera are now being premiered for the first time in history by Czech choirs and orchestras and subsequently recorded from the 1990s. Those first recordings include, e.g. Missa Purificationis, Missa Sanctissimae trinitatis, Missa votiva, Missa Sancti Josephi, Il serpente di bronzo, and his secular works "Sub olea pacis" and "Il Diamante", performed by new Czech ensembles, using original instruments and interpretational techniques of the Baroque era, above all Musica Florea
, Collegium 1704, Ensemble Inégal, Capella Regia Musicalis et al. It seems to be apparent, that Zelenka's opuses have not been completely explored yet and continuously bring new discoveries.
In honor of Jan Dismas Zelenka, "The autumn music festival" ("Podblanický hudební podzim" in Czech) was founded in 1984. Annual concerts of the composer's music are performed in many places in the region of his hometown.
es, 4 extensive oratoria
and requiem
s, 2 Magnificat
and Te Deum
settings, 13 litanies
, many psalms, hymn
s , antiphons and other similar works comprise his legacy. Zelenka also created a number of instrumental works - 6 trio or quartet sonatas, 5 capricci, 1 Hipocondrie, Concerto
, Overture
and Symphonie
. The opuses nuumbering is marked „ZWV“ – „Zelenka-Werke-Verzeichnis“ (Zelenka Works Index)
, above all his Missa Purificationis (this is the last mass to include brass instruments) and his final 5 pieces, ZWV 17-21, called "High Mass" compositions, written from 1736 until 1741, considered as Zelenka's compositional peak. The last three were also called "Missae ultimae" (Last Masses). The following list contains only the most important sacred works, that have been sufficiently explored to date.
Masses and requiems
Oratoria
Litanies
Psalms and hymn settings
Other liturgical and spiritual works
, oratory
and contemporary opera, composed for the coronation of Charles VI
by the Czech king and celebrating the memory of the greatest Czech saint and patron of Bohemia, prince St. Wenceslao
(Václav), one of the founders of the Czech state.
Vocal-instrumental works
Instrumental works
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
Baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, whose music was notably daring with outstanding harmonic invention and mastery of counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
.
Life
Zelenka was born in Louňovice pod BlaníkemLouňovice pod Blaníkem
Louňovice pod Blaníkem is a municipality and market town in Benešov District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. -References:*This article was initially translated from the Czech Wikipedia....
, a small market town southeast of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
as the eldest of the eight children born of Marie Magdalena (née Hájek) and Jiří Zelenka. The name Jan Dismas probably originates from his confirmation. His father was a schoolmaster and organist there; nothing more is known with certainty about Zelenka's early years. He received musical training at the Jesuit college Clementinum
Clementinum
The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National...
in Prague. Zelenka played the violone
Violone
The term violone can refer to several distinct large, bowed musical instruments which belong to either the viol or violin family. The violone is sometimes a fretted instrument, and may have six, five, four, or even only three strings. The violone is also not always a contrabass instrument...
, the largest and lowest member of the viol
Viol
The viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted and stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Renaissance vihuela, a plucked instrument that preceded the...
family, analogous to the double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
in the violin family
Violin family
The violin family of musical instruments was developed in Italy in the sixteenth century. The standard modern violin family consists of the violin, viola, cello, and double bass....
of stringed instruments. During his studies in Prague, Zelenka wrote his first compositions, all of them of oratorial
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
character.
It is known that Zelenka had served Baron Hartig, the imperial governor who resided in Prague, before becoming a violone
Violone
The term violone can refer to several distinct large, bowed musical instruments which belong to either the viol or violin family. The violone is sometimes a fretted instrument, and may have six, five, four, or even only three strings. The violone is also not always a contrabass instrument...
player in the royal orchestra at Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
in about 1710. His emigration from Bohemia was most likely sudden, the reasons for it are not known and became the subject of some speculation. In some monographs, various personal reasons are alleged to be behind his escape, but the truth remains draped in mystery. His first opus in Dresden was "Missa Sanctae Caeciliae" (c.1711).
Zelenka continued his education in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
with the Habsburg Imperial Kapellmeister Johann Joseph Fux beginning in 1715. According to his own account, he spent 18 months in Vienna and was back in Dresden by 1719. Whether or not he ever went to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
is unclear, but a Saxon
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
court document of 1715 records a royal cash advance for such a journey by Zelenka along with Christian Petzold
Christian Petzold
Christian Petzold was a German composer and organist. He was active primarily in Dresden, and achieved a high reputation during his lifetime, but his surviving works are few...
and Johann Georg Pisendel
Johann Georg Pisendel
Johann Georg Pisendel was a German Baroque musician, violinist and composer who, for many years, led the Court Orchestra in Dresden, then the finest instrumental ensemble in Europe.-Biography:...
.
Except for a visit in 1723 to Prague, where Zelenka conducted his opus ?, he remained in Dresden. Zelenka composed a number of instrumental compositions in Prague, as the autograph of the score of Concerto à 8 concertanti confirms: "six concerti written in a hurry in Prague in 1723".
In Dresden, Zelenka initially assisted the Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
, Johann David Heinichen
Johann David Heinichen
Johann David Heinichen was a German Baroque composer and music theorist who brought the musical genius of Venice to the court of Augustus the Strong in Dresden...
, and gradually assumed Heinichen's duties as the latter's health declined. After Heinichen died in 1729, Zelenka applied for the post of Kapellmeister, but the post was given instead (in 1733) to Johann Adolf Hasse, reflecting the court's fashionable interest in opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
as opposed to liturgical
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
music. Alternatively, in 1735, Zelenka was given the title of "church composer" - "Compositeur of the Royal Court Capelle" (Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
had applied for this title in 1733, and was to receive it as well in 1736.) Zelenka was disappointed by the decision of the court, but, despite this, he worked very hard. We may guess that his social failure might have opened the door to the composer's free creative spirit, allowing him to produce his innovative work with its unique qualities.
Johann Sebastian Bach held Zelenka in high esteem, as evidenced by a letter from Bach's son C. P. E. Bach to Johann Nikolaus Forkel
Johann Nikolaus Forkel
Johann Nikolaus Forkel , was a German musician, musicologist and music theorist.-Biography:...
, of 13 January 1775, and Zelenka was a guest at Bach's home in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. Bach had some of his works copied: e.g. he instructed his son, Wilhelm Friedemann
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach , the second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach, was a German composer and performer...
, to copy the Amen from Zelenka's third Magnificat (ZWV 108) for use in Leipzig at St.Thomas's church.
In addition to compositional work, Zelenka was pedagogically active throughout his life and educated a number of prominent musicians of that time, e.g. Johann Joachim Quantz
Johann Joachim Quantz
Johann Joachim Quantz was a German flutist, flute maker and composer.-Biography:Quantz was born in Oberscheden, near Göttingen, Germany, and died in Potsdam....
, J. G. Barter or J. G. Rollig. To his closest friends belonged (besides Pisendel) also Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesheim, Telemann entered the University of Leipzig to study law, but eventually...
or Sylvius Leopold Weiss
Sylvius Leopold Weiss
Silvius Leopold Weiss was a German composer and lutenist.Born in Grottkau near Breslau, the son of Johann Jacob Weiss, also a lutenist, he served at courts in Breslau, Rome, and Dresden, where he died...
.
Zelenka died of dropsy, that seems to have been the result of cardiac failure, in Dresden on December 23, 1745 and was buried on Christmas Eve. In his final years he wrote works that were never performed during his lifetime and generally felt isolated, broody and increasingly melancholic. He never married and had no children; his compositions and musical estate were purchased from his beneficiaries by the Electress of Saxony, Maria Josepha of Austria
Maria Josepha of Austria
Maria Josepha of Austria was born an Archduchess of Austria, and from 1711 to 1713 was heiress presumptive to the Habsburg Empire...
and after his death were closely guarded (in contrast to his treatment when he was alive) and regarded as the court's possessions. Telemann, together with Pisendel, tried unsuccessfully to publish Zelenka's "Responsoria". He wrote on the 17th of April 1756, with undisguised anger, that "the complete manuscript will be at the Dresden court, kept under lock and key as something rare…".
There is no confirmed portrait of Zelenka, only one assumed composite sketch and one drawing by Carl Heinrich Jakob Fehling dating from 1719, portraying Zelenka as a violone player with an ensemble in Arabic costumes, playing at what appears to be a festive dinner for the king's court. It is necessary to mention a mirror-image black-and-white copy of the well-known portrait of Fux
Johann Fux
Johann Joseph Fux was an Austrian composer, music theorist and pedagogue of the late Baroque era. He is most famous as the author of Gradus ad Parnassum, a treatise on counterpoint, which has become the single most influential book on the Palestrina style of Renaissance polyphony...
, which has been passed off as a picture of Zelenka on several respected websites.
Musical style
Zelenka's pieces are characterized by very daring compositional structure, with a highly spirited harmonic invention and perfection of the art of counterpoint. His works are often virtuosic and difficult to perform, but always fresh and surprising, with sudden turns of harmony, being always a challenge for their interpreters. In particular, his writing for bass instruments is far more demanding than that of other composers of his era, notably the "utopiaUtopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n" (as Heinz Holliger
Heinz Holliger
Heinz Holliger Heinz Holliger Heinz Holliger (born 21 May 1939 is a Swiss oboist, composer and conductor.-Biography:He was born in Langenthal, Switzerland, and began his musical education at the conservatories of Bern and Basel. He studied composition with Sándor Veress and Pierre Boulez...
describes them) demands of the oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
scores in his trio sonatas. His instrumental works (the trio sonata
Sonata
Sonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
s, capricci
Capriccio (music)
A capriccio or caprice , is a piece of music, usually fairly free in form and of a lively character...
, and concertos) are exemplary models of his early style (1710s - 1720s). The six trio sonatas demand high virtuosity and expressive sensitivity from performers. As Zelenka was himself a violone player, he was known to write fast-moving continuo parts with driving and complicated rhythm.
Zelenka was aware of the music in different regions of Europe. He wrote complex fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
s, ornate operatic aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
s, galant
Galant
In music, Galant was a term referring to a style, principally occurring in the third quarter of the 18th century, which featured a return to classical simplicity after the complexity of the late Baroque era...
-style dances, baroque recitative
Recitative
Recitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...
s, Palestrina
Palestrina
Palestrina is an ancient city and comune with a population of about 18,000, in Lazio, c. 35 km east of Rome...
-like chorale
Chorale
A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
s, and virtuosic concertos. Zelenka's musical language is closest to Bach's, especially in its richness of contrapuntal
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
harmonies and ingenious usage of fugal themes. Nevertheless, Zelenka's language is idiosyncratic
Idiosyncrasy
An idiosyncrasy is an unusual feature of a person . The term is often used to express eccentricity or peculiarity. A synonym may be .-Etymology:...
in its unexpected harmonic twists, obsession with chromatic harmonies, huge usage of syncopated
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
and tuplet
Tuplet
In music a tuplet is "any rhythm that involves dividing the beat into a different number of equal subdivisions from that usually permitted by the...
figures, and unusually long phrases full of varied musical ideas. He is sometimes considered as Bach's Catholic counterpart, in his works.
Zelenka's music is influenced by Czech folk music
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
. In this respect, he continues the tradition of the production of specific Czech national music, initiated by Adam Michna z Otradovic and brought to its culmination later, in works by Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
and Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janácek
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
.
The rediscovery of Zelenka's music
The rediscovery of Jan Dismas Zelenka's work is accredited to Bedřich SmetanaBedrich Smetana
Bedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music...
, who rewrote some scores from the archives in Dresden and introduced one of the composer's orchestral suites in Prague's New Town Theatre festivals in 1863.
It was mistakenly assumed that many of Zelenka's autograph
Autograph
An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
scores were destroyed during the fire-bombing of Dresden
Bombing of Dresden in World War II
The Bombing of Dresden was a military bombing by the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force and as part of the Allied forces between 13 February and 15 February 1945 in the Second World War...
in February 1945. However, the scores were not in the Katholische Hofkirche
Katholische Hofkirche
The Katholische Hofkirche is a Roman Catholic Cathedral, located in the 'Altstadt' in the heart of Dresden, in Germany. Previously the most important Catholic parish church of the city, it was elevated to cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dresden-Meissen in 1964.-Overview:The Hofkirche...
but were in a library north of the river
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
. Some are certainly missing, but this probably happened gradually - and these represent only a small proportion of his extant works.
The interest in Zelenka's music has begun to grow, especially since the end of the 1950s. By the late 1960s and early 1970s all Zelenka's instrumental compositions and selected liturgical music were published in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. The most important revival was demonstrated by the first presentation of selected compositions by Czech conductor Milan Munclinger
Milan Munclinger
Milan Munclinger was a significant Czech flautist, conductor, composer and musical scientist.-Biographical:...
and his ensemble Ars Rediviva
Ars Rediviva
Ars Rediviva was a Czech instrumental early music group, whose historically informed performances played a key role in the revival of Baroque music in Czechoslovakia.-Ars Rediviva chamber ensemble:...
. They were three trio sonatas in 1958 - 1960, Sinfonia concertante in 1963 and the exquisite interpretation of "Lamentationes Jeremiae prophetae" with soloists Karl Berman, Nedda Casei
Nedda Casei
Nedda Casei is an operatic mezzo-soprano.Born in Baltimore, Maryland, she premiered in Brussels in 1960. In 1964 she debuted at the Metropolitan Opera playing Maddalena in Rigoletto. She would perform at the Met for the next 21 years. She has also been an advocate for musicians being president of...
and Theo Altmeyer
Theo Altmeyer
Theo Altmeyer was a German classical tenor. Although he was a successful opera singer, he is chiefly remembered for his work as an oratorio soloist...
in 1969. The music of Zelenka has become widely known and available since that time, through recordings
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
and sparked the interest of musicians such as, Milan Munclinger (above), Heinz Holliger and Reinhard Goebel
Reinhard Goebel
Reinhard Goebel is a German conductor and violinist specialising in early music on authentic instruments. Goebel received his first violin lessons at the age of twelve...
.
More than half of Zelenka's works have now been recorded, mostly in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Many of his opera are now being premiered for the first time in history by Czech choirs and orchestras and subsequently recorded from the 1990s. Those first recordings include, e.g. Missa Purificationis, Missa Sanctissimae trinitatis, Missa votiva, Missa Sancti Josephi, Il serpente di bronzo, and his secular works "Sub olea pacis" and "Il Diamante", performed by new Czech ensembles, using original instruments and interpretational techniques of the Baroque era, above all Musica Florea
Musica Florea
Musica Florea is Czech Baroque music ensemble, founded 1992 by conductor and cellist Marek Štryncl, located in Prague.- Profile :The group of young professionals with a common interest in the study and authentic performance of Baroque music engaged primarily in performances and recordings of...
, Collegium 1704, Ensemble Inégal, Capella Regia Musicalis et al. It seems to be apparent, that Zelenka's opuses have not been completely explored yet and continuously bring new discoveries.
In honor of Jan Dismas Zelenka, "The autumn music festival" ("Podblanický hudební podzim" in Czech) was founded in 1984. Annual concerts of the composer's music are performed in many places in the region of his hometown.
Works
The total number of Zelenka's known and attributed opеra is 249. His sacred vocal-instrumental music is in the center of the compositions - over 20 massMass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
es, 4 extensive oratoria
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
and requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
s, 2 Magnificat
Magnificat
The Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...
and Te Deum
Te Deum
The Te Deum is an early Christian hymn of praise. The title is taken from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus, rendered literally as "Thee, O God, we praise"....
settings, 13 litanies
Litany
A litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions...
, many psalms, hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s , antiphons and other similar works comprise his legacy. Zelenka also created a number of instrumental works - 6 trio or quartet sonatas, 5 capricci, 1 Hipocondrie, Concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
, Overture
Overture
Overture in music is the term originally applied to the instrumental introduction to an opera...
and Symphonie
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
. The opuses nuumbering is marked „ZWV“ – „Zelenka-Werke-Verzeichnis“ (Zelenka Works Index)
Sacred music
The most appreciated of Zelenka's sacred works are probably his massesMass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
, above all his Missa Purificationis (this is the last mass to include brass instruments) and his final 5 pieces, ZWV 17-21, called "High Mass" compositions, written from 1736 until 1741, considered as Zelenka's compositional peak. The last three were also called "Missae ultimae" (Last Masses). The following list contains only the most important sacred works, that have been sufficiently explored to date.
Masses and requiems
- Missa Sancti Spiritus
- Missa Sancti Josephi
- Missa Purificationis Beatae Virginis Mariae
- Missa Sanctissimae TrinitatisMissa Sanctissimae TrinitatisMissa Sanctissimae Trinitatis in A-minor, ZWV 17, is the vocal-instrumental sacred work, written by Czech baroque composer Jan Dismas Zelenka...
- Missa Votiva
- Missa Dei Patris
- Missa Dei Filii
- Missa Omnium Sanctorum
- Requiem in C Minor
- Requiem in D Minor
Oratoria
- Il Serpente di bronzo
- Gesù al Calvario
- I penitenti al sepolchro del Redentore
Litanies
- Litaniae de Venerabili Sacramento
- Litaniae Lauretanae
- Litaniae Lauretanae „Consolatrix afflictorum“
- Litaniae Lauretanae „Salus infirmorum“
- Litaniae Omnium Sanctorum
- Litaniae Xaverianae
Psalms and hymn settings
- Dixit Dominus
- Confitebor tibi Domine
- In exitu Israel
- Lauda Jerusalem
- Laudate pueri
- Ave maris stella in D Minor
- Chvalte Boha silného
- Ave Regina coelorum
- Regina coeli
- Salve Regina
Other liturgical and spiritual works
- Te Deum in D Major (2 settings)
- Magnificat in C Major and D Major
- Miserere in D Minor and C minor
- Lamentationes Ieremiae Prophetae
- XXVII Responsoria pro hebdomada
Secular works
Zelenka composed only a few extensive vocal-instrumental pieces on secular themes, but one of them - Sub olea pacis et palma virtutis--Melodrama de St. Wenceslao (1723), not only represents the high point of the baroque period, but transcends it, as with many others of Zelenka's works. It is a monumental opus with aspects of melodramaMelodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
, oratory
Oratory
Oratory is a type of public speaking.Oratory may also refer to:* Oratory , a power metal band* Oratory , a place of worship* a religious order such as** Oratory of Saint Philip Neri ** Oratory of Jesus...
and contemporary opera, composed for the coronation of Charles VI
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
by the Czech king and celebrating the memory of the greatest Czech saint and patron of Bohemia, prince St. Wenceslao
Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia
Wenceslaus I , or Wenceslas I, was the duke of Bohemia from 921 until his assassination in 935, purportedly in a plot by his own brother, Boleslav the Cruel....
(Václav), one of the founders of the Czech state.
Vocal-instrumental works
- Sub olea pacis et palma virtutisSub olea pacis et palma virtutisSub olea pacis et palma virtutis conspicua orbi regia Bohemiae Corona: Melodrama de Sancto Wenceslao , ZWV 175, is an extensive composition, written in 1723 by Czech baroque composer Jan Dismas Zelenka.- History:The...
(conspicua orbi regia Bohemiae Corona – Melodrama de Sancto Wenceslao) - Il Diamante
Instrumental works
- Trio or Quartet Sonatas nos. 1-6
- Capriccios no.1-5
- Concerto à 8 Concertanti
- Hipocondrie à 7 Concertanti
- Overture à 7 Concertanti
- Simphonie à 8 Concertanti
Representative discography
- Orchestrální skladby – Overture, ZWV 188, Sinfonia concertante, ZWV 189, Ars Rediviva, Martinů Chamber Orchestra, 1963, LP, SupraphonSupraphonSupraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, it is oriented mainly towards publishing classical music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers.- History :...
- Lamentationes - abbreviated version of „Lamantationes Ieremiae prophatae“, Ars Rediviva (Milan Munclinger), 1969, LP, Supraphon
- The Orchestral Works - Camerata Bern, 3 CD, 1989, UniversalUniversal RecordsUniversal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
- Trio Sonatas 1-6, 2 CD, 1993, Studio MatoušStudio MatoušThe Studio Matouš company, founded in 1991, publishes and distributes CDs with classical music. It focus on Czech composers and the majority of recordings is casted by Czech interpreters and recorded both current and historical instruments....
- Missa Sanctissimae Trinitatis, Musica FloreaMusica FloreaMusica Florea is Czech Baroque music ensemble, founded 1992 by conductor and cellist Marek Štryncl, located in Prague.- Profile :The group of young professionals with a common interest in the study and authentic performance of Baroque music engaged primarily in performances and recordings of...
(Marek ŠtrynclMarek ŠtrynclMarek Štryncl is a Czech conductor, violoncellist, choirmaster, and composer, born 1974 in Jablonec nad Nisou. He is founder and leader of Baroque music ensemble Musica Florea.- Biography :...
), CD, 1994, Studio Matouš - Requiem In D Minor; ZWV 48, Miserere In C Minor; Psalm 50, ZWV 57, CD, 1995, Supraphon
- Magnificat, ZWV 108; De profundis, ZWV 96; Litaniæ Omnium Sanctorum, ZWV 153, Salve Regina, ZWV 137) - Czech Philharmonic OrchestraCzech Philharmonic OrchestraThe Česká filharmonie is a symphony orchestra based in Prague and is the best-known and most respected orchestra in the Czech Republic.- History :...
and chorus, CD, 1998, Supraphon - Missa Dei Patris - Barockorchester Stuttgart, Kammerchor Stuttgart (Frieder Bernius), CD, 2001, Carus
- Sub olea pacis et palma virtutis - Musica Florea, Musica Aeterna, Ensemble Philidor, Boni Pueri (Marek Štryncl), 2 CD, 2001, Supraphon; world premiere recording
- Gesù Al Calvario - Das Kleine Konzert, Rheinische Kantorei (Hermann Max), CD, 2001, Capriccio
- Lamentations Of Jeremiah - Chandos Baroque Players, CD, 2002, Helios
- Complete Orchestral Works - Das Neu-Eröffnete Orchestre (Jürgen Sonnentheil), 3 CD, 2002, CPO
- I penitenti a sepolcro del Redentore, Capella Regia Musicalis (Robert Hugo) & soloists, incl.mezzo-sopranoMezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
Magdalena KoženáMagdalena KoženáMagdalena Kožená is a Czech mezzo-soprano.In 2003, Kožená was awarded the title of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government...
, CD, 2004, Supraphon - I penitenti a sepolcro del Redentore ZWV 63, Collegium 1704, Collegium Vocale 1704 (Václav Luks), CD, 2009, Zig-Zag Territoires
- Missa Dei Filii, Litaniae Laurentanae "Salus Infirmorum" - Taffelmusik (Frieder Bernius), CD, 2004, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi
- Composizioni per orchestra - Collegium 1704 (Václav Luks), CD, 2005, Supraphon
- Il serpente di bronzo - Ensemble Inégal (Adam Viktora), CD, 2005, Nibiru
- Missa purificationis Beatae Virginis Mariae - Ensemble Inégal (Adam Viktora), CD, 2007, Nibiru
- Missa votiva ZWV 18 - Collegium 1704, Collegium Vocale 1704 (Václav Luks), CD, 2008, Zig-Zag Territoires
- Il Diamante (Serenata ZWV 177), Ensemble Inégal, Prague Baroque Soloists (Adam Viktora), CD, 2009, Nibiru
- Missa Sancti Josephi ZWV 14, Litaniae Xaverianae ZWV 155 - Ensemble Inégal, Prague Baroque Soloists (Adam Viktora), CD, 2011, Nibiru
- Officium Defunctorum ZWV 47 / Requiem ZWV 46, Collegium 1704 / Collegium Vocale 1704 (Václav Luks), 2 CD, 2011, Accent (Note 1 Musikvertrieb)
Complete list of compositions
Zelenka's compositions are listed in Wolfgang Reich's thematic catalogue Jan Dismas Zelenka: Thematisch-systematisches Verzeichnis der musikalischen Werke (ZWV) and in Janice Stockigt's excellent monograph, Jan Dismas Zelenka: A Bohemian Musician at the Court of Dresden.External links
- Jan Dismas Zelenka Detailed Biography of classical.net
- Wolfgang Reich's catalog of Zelenka's works
- Janice Stockigt: Jan Dismas Zelenka: A Bohemian Musician at the Court of Dresden
- Jan Dismas Zelenka (www.bach-cantatas.com)
- Discography
- Music on Net
- The "Discover Zelenka" website, which includes a database of works and recordings
- The Zelenka Forum