The final concert of the 14th season of the Bacha na Mozarta (Watch Out for Mozart) series drew audiences to the Minorite Church of St John on Monday, 8 June, for a programme drawing on the collections of the Kroměříž Music Archive. The evening’s programme brought together specific liturgical forms with the representational demands of the courtly culture of the time. Performed by the SILENTIUM! ensemble under the direction of Tomáš Netopil and with choral preparation by Tereza Válková, the concert featured works by Pavel Josef Vejvanovský, Giovanni Felice Sances, Franz Ignaz Biber, and Philipp Jacob Rittler, some in their modern-day premieres.
The Kroměříž Music Archive ranks among the most extensive and significant music collections in Central Europe. Perhaps the greatest contribution to the formation of this collection was made by Olomouc Bishop Karl II von Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn, who is known today primarily as a music collector and an important patron of the culture of his time. His name is inseparably linked to the establishment of the episcopal (later archiepiscopal) ensemble. For many years, the central figure was Pavel Josef Vejvanovský, who not only stood at its head but also composed prolifically for the ensemble. All the works performed on Monday were thus connected with Vejvanovský to a greater or lesser degree.
The opening was devoted to Giovanni Felice Sances (1600–1679) and his cycle Salmi brevi a 8 voci in doi chori. Although Sances is far from being among the most frequently performed composers today, during his lifetime he was a sought-after composer and singing teacher. From 1636 onwards, he sang at the Viennese Imperial Court before later becoming its Kapellmeister. In Salmi brevi, Sances makes striking use of alternating choirs, drawing on the rich tradition of Venetian polychoral music. Vejvanovský also plays an important role in connection with Sances’ composition: the work was preserved in the Kroměříž archive in a copy made by him. In contrast to the original programme, ‘Magnificat’ was omitted and only four movements of the cycle were performed. The performance of the work was free of any intonation problems among both instrumentalists and singers. The very opening felt slightly hesitant, but within the first few bars everything was corrected.
The evening’s second work, Missa Orientalis, is traditionally attributed to Pavel Josef Vejvanovský (c. 1633–1693). Yet although the manuscript held in the Kroměříž archive is unmistakably in his hand, it is possible – perhaps even likely – that the music was actually composed by someone else and simply copied by Vejvanovský. Clean vocal lines and instrumental intonation were maintained by the ensemble here as well, and the only more notable issue at times was the slightly drowned out sound of the low male voice parts. It should be noted, however, that these vocal lines were written genuinely very low and lay to a considerable degree outside the singers’ comfortable range.
The second half opened with the evening’s only instrumental work of the evening, in the form of Sonata IX in G Major by Franz Ignaz Biber (1644–1704), with whom Vejvanovský had most likely become acquainted during his studies at the Jesuit grammar school in Opava. After Biber’s departure from the bishop’s service to Austria, it was Vejvanovský who succeeded him in his functions. In Biber’s Sonata, Tomáš Netopil momentarily traded his baton for a violin and presented himself to the audience as an instrumentalist as well. Two compositions by Philipp Jacob Rittler (c. 1639–1690) followed: Offertorium de Confessore and Salve Regina. Rittler shared with Biber and Vejvanovský a background in study at a Jesuit college, and the majority of his works have survived precisely in the Kroměříž archive. The quality of both the accompaniment and the singing remained at a high level throughout the choral and solo passages.
At the close of the evening the programme returned once again to Pavel Josef Vejvanovský, this time to the composition Vesperae de Confessore, which, unlike the Missa Orientalis, is demonstrably his own work. In its interpretation, the orchestra played with a pleasant energy, supported by good ensemble cohesion and very fine vocal performances. One further shortcoming was apparent throughout the concert: the intelligibility of the text was consistently poor. On the whole, the church acoustics were not particularly favourable to the concert. Although it was evident that the musicians and singers under Tomáš Netopil’s direction strove to bring sufficient energy and drive, the more forceful energy and momentum seemed to dissipate within the space of the church. Nevertheless, Netopil deserves praise for his work with both the orchestra and the singers. Individual phrases were carefully shaped and the performers were not afraid of more pronounced dynamic contrasts. The placement of the intermission was somewhat unusual. An intermission at a church concert is at the very least debatable in itself, and moreover it lasted more than twice as long as the announced ten minutes, thereby unnecessarily prolonging the programme.
Giovanni Felice Sances: Salmi brevi a 8 voci in doi chori
I. Lauda Jerusalem
II. Beatus vir
III. Laudate Pueri
IV. Laudate Dominum
Pavel Josef Vejvanovský: Missa Orientalis
Franz Ignaz Biber: Sonata IX in G Major
Philipp Jacob Rittler: Offertorium de Confessore
Philipp Jacob Rittler: Salve Regina
Pavel Josef Vejvanovský: Vesperae de Confessore
SILENTIUM! ensemble
Tomáš Netopil – conductor
Tereza Válková – chorus master
Monday, 8 June, 19:00, Church of St John
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