Musica Florea continues its quest for unusual composers and historical styles to present to the Czech audience. The March lineup of the Musica Florea Bohemia 2026 series will be dominated by the Stabat Mater concert, a selection of works by Spanish Baroque masters. Soprano Beatriz Lafont Murcia will sing with the orchestra. The Brno performance will take place in the Hall of the Merciful Brothers (formerly the Convent).
Musica Florea has prepared the Stabat Mater programme to literally and figuratively fit in with the Lenten season before Easter. The audience can look forward to virtuosic sacred arias and compositions: cantatas by Francisco Hernández Illana, the impressive Stabat Mater by composer Emanuele d'Astorga and, last of all, Salve Regina by the eminent composer José de Nebra. The main star of the new programme will be the Spanish soprano Beatriz Lafont Murcia, who has already performed with Musica Florea. Although Stabat Mater is imbued with spiritual depth, it also leaves room for virtuosic singing and the authentic experience Musica Florea’s listeners have come to expect – one that transports them into the atmosphere of another age. Also performing will be the Czech soloists Aneta Petrasová (alto), Čeněk Svoboda (tenor) and Jaromír Nosek (bass). The concert is announced for 19 March at 7 p.m. in the Hall of the Merciful Brothers (formerly the Convent).
The project builds on Musica Florea's successful collaboration with Spanish artists in previous years, which has gradually grown into an entire line of dramaturgy. Musica Florea has been successfully introducing Spanish musical culture to the Czech audience for several years. Thanks to the collaboration with partners such as the Cervantes Institute in Prague, a number of projects have already taken place: for example, in 2024, the premiere of the Spanish zarzuela by Sebastián Durón, The War of the Giants, in collaboration with musicologist Eduardo García Salas, the extremely successful programme introducing French and Spanish composers of the 17th and 18th centuries, accompanied by the excellent performance of Beatriz Lafont Murcia, or the Spiritual Music of Spain event in November last year, featuring soloists from the famous La Grande Chapelle ensemble. Spanish music has a permanent place in the repertoire of the Musica Florea orchestra.
Spanish Baroque music reflects the unique history of the Iberian Peninsula as a crossroads of European, Arab and American influences. Especially during the 18th century, it was strongly influenced by Italian elements. Thanks to its specific rhythms, distinctive melodies and dramatic expression, it offers listeners an exceptional experience, where even the spiritual compositions maintain a touch of exoticism. "I have always wanted to play one of the compositions of Emanuele d'Astorga, who was a very inventive composer in his time. His Stabat Mater works with the principles of polyphony, but it is also harmonically experimental, involving prolonged dissonances, which may seem unusual to listeners, but it is the composer's intention. Spiritual content does not exclude innovations in compositional procedures," says Marek Štryncl, artistic director and conductor of the Musica Florea orchestra. This will be a Czech premiere for Emanuele d'Astorga's work.
The Stabat Mater concert presents a cross-section of the work of several generations of very different composers. Emanuele d'Astorga was born in Sicily, then subject to the King of Spain, and came from a noble family. His father, however, faced charges of complicity in a political conspiracy and attempted murder. His son spent most of his life travelling to Italian music centres but also to Barcelona, Lisbon, London and Vienna, where he drew a lot of inspiration. He did not make a living from music, he composed for his own pleasure, but he achieved professional level and success. Of his chamber cantatas, which are based on the southern Italian musical tradition, Stabat Mater is one of the most frequently performed. The work shows his sense of melody and baroque expression. The chamber ensemble is distinguished by the clear lines of the vocals, capturing the depth of sadness and the comfort and faith in redemption.
Programme:
Francisco Hernández Illana: Cantadas al Santísimo – [Fenómeno asambroso]
Emanuele d'Astorga: Stabat Mater in C minor
Francisco Hernández Illana: Cantadas al Santísimo – [No en esas once esferas]
José de Nebra: Salve Regina à 8
Performers:
Beatriz Lafont Murcia – soprano
Aneta Petrasová – alto
Čeněk Svoboda – tenor
Jaromír Nosek – bass
Musica Florea Orchestra
Conductor: Marek Štryncl
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