Sub olea pacis et palma virtutis conspicua orbi regia Bohemiae Corona: Melodrama de Sancto Wenceslao (Under the Olive Tree of Peace and the Palm Tree of Virtue the Crown of Bohemia Splendidly Splendidly Shines Before the Whole World: Melodrama to Saint Wenceslaus

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....

), ZWV 175, is an extensive composition, written in 1723 by Czech 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 Jan Dismas Zelenka

Jan Dismas Zelenka

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.- Life :Zelenka was born in Louňovice pod Blaníkem, a small...

.

History

The opus was 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...

 in 1723. The work was commissioned in 1722 by Prague Jesuits who were involved in the grand preparation for the coronation act. The composer came to Prague in 1723 to complete, rehearse and perform his work. It was performed in the presence of the imperial couple at the Jesuit 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 in the afternoon of 12 September 1723, with Zelenka himself as conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

. Besides the eight soloists and musicians of the orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

, a further 142 persons, including dancers and walk-on actors, were involved in that grandiose performance. Vocal soloists were selected from among native Czechs who attended Jesuit schools. This event was probably the social culmination of Zelenka's career, something he had not been able to achieve during is time in Dresden.

Description

The composition is a monumental allegorical

Allegory

Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...

 opus, its character between melodrama

Melodrama

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...

, oratorio

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...

, stage play

Play (theatre)

A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...

 and contemporary 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...

, celebrating the memory of the greatest Czech saint and patron of 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...

, Saint Wenceslas, one of founders of Czech state, who lived from c. 907 to 935.

The libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 was written by Matouš Zill, a member of the Jesuit order in Prague. The drama begins with a dispute between Prince Václav (Wenceslaus) and the Prince of Kouřim

Kourim

Kouřim is a small town in the Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It is located 45 km east of Prague and has a population of 1,769 ....

 in which Wenceslaus wins not by sword but the mind. The principal characters, who are allocated the majority of the musical numbers are allegorical figures that appear throughout all three acts of the drama. There is not any apparent plot in the play, this is rather a work in praise of religious devoutness and fortitude.

The work opens with an orchestral Sinfonia scored for 3 instrumental groups comprising two trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

s with timpani

Timpani

Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...

, a pair of 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...

s with bassoon

Bassoon

The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...

 and string ensemble

String instrument

A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...

 with continuo

Figured bass

Figured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer musical notation used to indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones, in relation to a bass note...

. The Baroque concertante

Sinfonia concertante

Sinfonia concertante is a musical form that emerged during the Classical period of Western music. It is essentially a mixture of the symphony and the concerto genres: a concerto in that one or more soloists are on prominent display, and a symphony in that the soloists are nonetheless discernibly a...

 principle is utilised in several numbers in the score, polyphonic

Polyphony

In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....

 writing is featured in two pieces. In many parts, we can find innovative elements, e.g. the use of cello

Cello

The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

 as a solo instrument (in part no. 28), combination of two concertino recorder

Recorder

The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...

s with a couple of flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

s (in part no. 24), solo part of flute (which was still a very young component in the range of Baroque instruments) in 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...

 no. 33 and chorus

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

 no. 36, that combines strict fugal

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....

 with richly scored orchestral music. The ceremonial character of the composition is emphasized by the use of trumptes and timpani in many parts of the work.

Orchestration

All parts of the orchestra were original Baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 instruments. There were used: 17 violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

s, 7 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...

s, 5 cello

Cello

The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

s, 3 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...

es, 4 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...

s, 3 flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

s, 2 bassoon

Bassoon

The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...

s, 2 recorder

Recorder

The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...

s, 2 trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

s, 1 chalumeau

Chalumeau

This article is about the historical musical instrument. For the register on the clarinet that is named for this instrument, see Clarinet#Range....

 and theorbo

Theorbo

A theorbo is a plucked string instrument. As a name, theorbo signifies a number of long-necked lutes with second pegboxes, such as the liuto attiorbato, the French théorbe des pièces, the English theorbo, the archlute, the German baroque lute, the angélique or angelica. The etymology of the name...

, timpani

Timpani

Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...

, harpsichord

Harpsichord

A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...

 and positive organ

Positive organ

A positive organ is a small, usually one-manual, pipe organ that is built to be more or less mobile. It was common in sacred and secular music between the 10th and the 18th centuries, in chapels and small churches, as a chamber organ and for the basso continuo in ensemble works...

. Vocal casting included 2 soprano

Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...

s, 2 tenor

Tenor

The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...

s, countertenor

Countertenor

A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...

, bass

Bass (voice type)

A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...

 and boy's choir

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

. The tradition of Jesuits did not allow to use female figures in the play, and soprano and alto

Alto

Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...

 parts were taken by students from the lower grades of Jesuits' music school.

Parts

Symphonia

• I. Symphonia – Allegro assai

Prolusio

• II. Chorus. Allegro (Fortitudo mea)
• III. Aria. Allegro (Haec coeli)
• IV. Recitativo (Hem! Quoe ista?)
• V. Aria. Andante (En! Pietatis adamas)
• VI. Recitativo (Dura certamina)
• VII. Aria. Allegro (Huc palmas deferte)
• VIII. Recitativo (Haec summa gloriae)
• IX. Aria. Allegro

Actus I

• X. Aria. Allegro (I. Phoebe, umbras pelle)
• XI. Recitativo (En, en fidei aemula)
• XII. Aria. Andante (Huc virtutes festinate)
• XIII. Chorus. Allegro (Eja de sigmentis)
• XIV. Recitativo (Eja pietati)
• XV. Aria (Jam calle secundo)
• XVI. Ritornello. Piu andante
• XVII. Recitativo (Nunquid non messis tritici est?)
• XVIII. Aria (Meto culmos, lego spicas)

Actus II

• XIX. Recitativo (Quicinque glorificaverit me)
• XX. Aria. Allegro (Angelicae mentes)
• XXI. Chorus Angelorum (En prompti ad mandata)
• XXII. Aria. Adagio (Ave Deus, ave redite)
• XXIII. Recitativo (Proh! quae aeris inclementia)
• XXIV. Aria. Andante (Veni, lux perennis)
• XXV. Recitativo (Per me reges regnant)
• XXVI. Aria. Allegro assai (Exurge providentia)
• XXVII. Recitativo (Corona gloriae in manu Domini)
• XXVIII. Aria. Andante (Huc coeli principes)

Actus III

• XXIX. Aria. Allegro (Reviresce, effloresce, pacisolea)
• XXX. Recitativo (Aptate tympana)
• XXXI. Aria and Chorus (Vive, regna)
• XXXII. Aria. Allegro (Nova gaudia, nova jubila)
• XXXIII. Aria. Allegro (En duplo sole Czechia)

Epilogus

• XXXIV. Recitativo (Eja! Eja votivi omnia)
• XXXV. Aria. Allegro (Exsurge martis gloria)
• XXXVI. Chorus. Vivace (Vos oriens adoret)

Recordings

• Jan Dismas Zelenka: Sub olea pacis et palma virtutis, 2 CD set, Supraphon
  Supraphon
  Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, it is oriented mainly towards publishing classical music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers.- History :...
  
   2001; Cat. No. SU 3520-2 232; won 2003 Cannes Classical Awards
  Cannes Classical Awards
  The Cannes Classical Awards were music awards awarded at MIDEM international music convention in Cannes, France in January from 1994-2010.The original chairman of the awards was the New York music critic David Hurwitz...
  
  

The composition was performed using authentic instruments

Historically informed performance

Historically informed performance is an approach in the performance of music and theater. Within this approach, the performance adheres to state-of-the-art knowledge of the aesthetic criteria of the period in which the music or theatre work was conceived...

 of the Baroque era, tuned

Musical tuning

In music, there are two common meanings for tuning:* Tuning practice, the act of tuning an instrument or voice.* Tuning systems, the various systems of pitches used to tune an instrument, and their theoretical bases.-Tuning practice:...

 on A=415 Hz

Hertz

The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....

 (Kirnberger III). The album was recorded in the Rothmayer Hall of Prague Castle

Prague Castle

Prague Castle is a castle in Prague where the Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices. The Czech Crown Jewels are kept here...

 on July 15–19, 2000. The total time of the recording is 95 minutes 11 seconds.

Soloists: Noémi Kiss (soprano), Anna Hlavenková (soprano), Jaroslav Březina ([tenor), Adam Zdunikowsi (tenor), Aleš Procházka (bass), Markus Foerster (countertenor)

Ensembles: 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...

, Boni Pueri, Musica Aeterna, Ensemble Philidor

Conductors: Marek Štryncl

Marek Štryncl

Marek 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 :...

 (principal conductor, Musica Florea), Peter Zajíček (Musica Aeterna), Eric Baude-Delhommais (Ensemble Philidor), Pavel Horák

Pavel Horák

Pavel Horák is a Czech choirmaster. He directed Boni Pueri Czech boy's choir alongside Jiří Skopal from 1991, becoming their sole choirmaster in 1996...

(Boni Pueri choirmaster)

Orchestra members

• Baroque violin I – Peter Zajíček (principal), Zuzana Hrubšová, Petra Csaplárová, Ivana Sovová, Lenka Zelbová, Stanislav Palúch, Eleonora Machová, Veronika Jíchová, Jan Hádek, Jan Marek
• Baroque violin II – Dagmar Valentová (principal), Jiřina Doubravská, Markéta Knittlová, Vladimír Grenerová, Lubica Habartová, Miroslava Kobzová, Jindra Ouředníková, Eduardo García Salas, Vojtěch Fielder
• Baroque viola – Lydie Ladová, František Kuncl, Karol Němčík, Ján Grener, Donate Schack, Kateřina Trnavská, Peter Šesták
• Baroque cello – Olaf Reimers (principal), Peter Királ, Peter Krivda, Pavel Řezáč, Ondřej Michal
• Baroque double bass – Ondřej Štajnochr, Ján Krigovský, Jan Doskočil
• Bbaroque oboe – Marcel Plavec, Claire Michèle Bez, Marta Neumannová, Guillaume Cuiller
• Baroque bassoon – Juraj Korec, Kryštof Lada
• Baroque recorders – Marek Špelina, Marta Neumannová
• Baroque flutes – Marek Špelina, Martina Bernášková, Václav Kapsa
• Chalumeau – Christian Leitherer
• Baroque trumpet – Jean-François Madeuf, Jerome Prince
• Positive organ / harpsichord – Václav Luks, Iva Štrynclová
• Theorbo – Přemysl Vacek, Juraj Struhárik
• Baroque timpani – Pavel Rehberger