Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi Kammerchor Stuttgart, Barockorchester Stuttgart & Frieder Bernius

• Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679 - 1745): Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13:
• 1 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: I. Kyrie 03:24
• 2 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: IIa. Gloria in excelsis Deo 01:24
• 3 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: IIb. Laudamus te 03:47
• 4 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: IIc. Qui tollis peccata mundi 01:17
• 5 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: IId. Quoniam tu solus Sanctus 01:34
• 6 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: IIe. Cum Sancto Spiritu 00:19
• 7 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: IIf. Amen 01:11
• 8 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: IIIa. Credo in unum Deum 01:16
• 9 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: IIIb. Et incarnatus est 00:55
• 10 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: IIIc. Crucifixus 01:51
• 11 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: IIId. Et resurrexit 02:15
• 12 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: IVa. Sanctus 01:06
• 13 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: IVb. Benedictus 02:36
• 14 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: IVc. Osanna 00:45
• 15 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: Va. Agnus Dei I 00:39
• 16 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: Vb. Agnus Dei II 03:06
• 17 Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi, ZWV 13: Vc. Agnus Dei III et Dona nobis pacem 01:19
• Magnificat in D Major, ZWV 108:
• 18 Zelenka: Magnificat in D Major, ZWV 108: I. Magnificat anima mea Dominum 04:36
• 19 Zelenka: Magnificat in D Major, ZWV 108: II. Suscepit Israel 02:25
• 20 Zelenka: Magnificat in D Major, ZWV 108: III. Amen 02:25
• Laudate pueri Dominum in F Major, ZWV 82:
• 21 Zelenka: Laudate pueri Dominum in F Major, ZWV 82 06:02
• Beatus vir in C Major, ZWV 76:
• 22 Zelenka: Beatus vir in C Major, ZWV 76: I. Beatus vir 04:15
• 23 Zelenka: Beatus vir in C Major, ZWV 76: II. Gloria Patri 01:23
• 24 Zelenka: Beatus vir in C Major, ZWV 76: III. Amen 01:30
• Total Runtime 51:20

Info for Zelenka: Missa Gratias agimus tibi

Balance of splendour and measure: It is the story of a renaissance. Sorely neglected for many years, the music of Jan Dismas Zelenka has in recent decades regained its place on the concert stage thanks to newly edited scores and enthusiastic performers. Born in Bohemia, trained in Prague and later reaching his full maturity in Dresden, Zelenka placed his own unique stamp on the music of his age, already enjoying great admiration during his lifetime.

Having discovered Zelenka early in his career, Frieder Bernius has been a regular interpreter of his music. This recording features the festive Missa gratias agimus tibi of 1730, scored for trumpets and timpani. The 17 short movements of this Mass illustrate Zelenka’s ingenuity and technical mastery.

The Kammerchor Stuttgart, the Stuttgart Baroque Orchestra and soloists Hannah Morrison, Franziska Bobe, David Allsopp, Thomas Hobbs and Jonathan Sells are conducted by Frieder Bernius.

What is striking about the most recent recording is that the ‘Missa Gratias agimus tibi’, flanked on the album by Zelenka's magnificent D major Magnificat, among others, lives, like Bernius' previous Zelenka recordings, from the conductor's astonishing ability to keep splendour and moderation in balance. But despite all the control, Zelenka sounds more relaxed, softer and milder here than before; this becomes particularly clear in comparison to the ‘Missa Dei Patris’ recorded back in 1998. One hardly dares to use the cliché of old-age style with a conductor who despises few things as much as clichés. But it comes to mind again and again when listening, and with a thoroughly positive meaning.

The mostly short movements of the ‘Missa Gratias agimus tibi’, composed in 1730, are small, lively character pieces. They meander between extremes of instrumentation, tone colour and expression, they cultivate contrasts in a confined space, they are full of chromaticism, sensual secondary rhythms and delightful melodic inventions. Frieder Bernius performs all this with precision. Finished. He doesn't need the over-expressive. Even where the music holds its breath in ‘Et resurrexit’ with the words ‘Vivos et mortuos’ and ‘mortuorum’, Bernius refuses to overdo it - and achieves a strong effect precisely because of this.

The quality and intensity are created through focussing. The strings of the Stuttgart Baroque Orchestra often seem light as a feather in their fine phrasing, oboes and flutes provide strong concertante moments, timpani and trumpets radiate splendour. The vocal soloists are not only each first-class in their own right, but also come together in the finest coordination, including in the ‘Et incarnatus est’ of the Credo movement and in the second, soloistic ‘Agnus Dei’ movement, which gives us an idea of the splendid castrati Zelenka had at his disposal at the Dresden court. The chamber choir itself is once again a vocal phenomenon, whose voices interact seamlessly over, alongside and with each other. The Bernius trademark, a completely flicker-free, luminous soprano, contrasted here with the agile bass figures typical of Zelenka, extends right into the orchestral sound. Great music, great interpretation. This album is the ultimate Christmas tree recommendation.

Hannah Morrison, soprano
Franziska Bobe, soprano (Tracks 16, 21)
David Allsopp, countertenor
Philipp Cieslewicz, countertenor (Track 16)
Thomas Hobbs, tenor
Jonathan Sells, bass
Stuttgart Chamber Choir
Stuttgart Baroque Orchestra
Frieder Bernius, conductor

Frieder Bernius
work has earned great worldwide recognition. He is in demand internationally as a conductor and as a teacher. His principal artistic collaborators are the ensembles he founded himself, the Kammerchor Stuttgart, the Barockorchester Stuttgart, the Hofkapelle Stuttgart and the Klassische Philharmonie Stuttgart. As a guest conductor, he has collaborated repeatedly with, for example, the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester and the Streicherakademie Bozen. Great stylistic versatility is Frieder Bernius’s hallmark. Whether he conducts vocal works by Monteverdi, Bach, Händel, Mozart, Beethoven, Fauré and Ligeti, stage music by Mendelssohn or symphonies by Haydn, Burgmüller and Schubert, his work always aims for a sound that is at once unmistakably personal and at the same time oriented towards the original period sound ideal. He devotes himself equally to the rediscovery of 18th century operas and to first performances of contemporary compositions. He is particularly interested in the musical history of southwestern Germany. Carus-Verlag has awarded Frieder Bernius a Golden CD for his complete recording of the sacred music of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. The award was presented to him during the German Choir Festival in Stuttgart 2016. The sale of over 250,000 recordings, which has been acclaimed with a number of awards, has made a not insignificant contribution to what today is the obvious presence of Mendelssohn's complete œuvre in the concert repertoire.

Barockorchester Stuttgart
The Barockorchester Stuttgart, which was founded by Bernius in 1985, specializes in 18th century music. The musicians are among the leading representatives of historical performance practice and perform exclusively on original instruments. The ensemble dedicates itself to a large extent to the revival of 18th century operas. It has performed at numerous international festivals, among others in Rome, Dresden and Göttingen.

Kammerchor Stuttgart
The Kammerchor Stuttgart is regarded as one of the best ensembles of its kind. Over its fifty-year existence, Frieder Bernius has developed the choir into an exceptional ensemble acclaimed by audiences and press alike. This has led to invitations for the choir to perform at all the important European festivals. In Germany the chamber choir performs at festivals and in concert halls in repertoire ranging from the 17th to the 21st century. Frieder Bernius and his ensemble have received numerous accolades for their contribution to new music. The Kammerchor Stuttgart has made over 80 CDs and LPs, numerous of which have been awarded international recording prizes (including the Edison award, Diapason d’or, Gramophone Choice, Classical Internet Award, International Classical Music Award, and German Record Critics’ Award prizes). The International Federation for Choral Music has invited the ensemble to sing at the 1st, 4th and 10th World Symposia on Choral Music in Vienna, Sydney and Seoul. Regular tours of North America and Asia since 1988 and a South America tour reflect the Kammerchor Stuttgart’s international reputation. Since 1984 the top ensemble has also been invited to Israel biennially.

This album contains no booklet.