As a preface to the Czech Christmas Mass, Magdalena Kožená sings three free-standing pastorellas, by Jakub Jan Ryba, each blessed with the same wide-eyed wonder that suffuses the longer work. Recorded 1998, this is the first time it has been released in the UK.
‘One of the things I enjoy about working with period instrument groups like Capella Regia Musicalis is rediscovering that same joy in simply making music.’ Kozena.
Ryba: Rozmily Slavicku
Ryba: Libou Pisnicku
Ryba: Jak Mile Rozkosne
Ryba: Ceska Mse Vanocni - Kyrie
Ryba: Ceska Mse Vanocni - Gloria
Ryba: Ceska Mse Vanocni - Graduale
Ryba: Ceska Mse Vanocni - Credo
Ryba: Ceska Mse Vanocni - Offertorium
Ryba: Ceska Mse Vanocni - Sanctus
Ryba: Ceska Mse Vanocni - Benedictus
Ryba: Ceska Mse Vanocni - Agnus Dei
Ryba: Ceska Mse Vanocni - Communio
11th December 2009
****
“Boasting a directness and harmonic simplicity in which can be glimpsed echoes of Haydn and Mozart, it is delivered here by Magdalena Kozená and her three fellow singers with a folksy approach. Accompanied by the early-music ensemble Capella Regia Musicalis, the result is an engaging Mass of considerable charm.”
January 2010
*****
“Magdalena Kozená is part of a nicely balanced vocal ensemble and Robert Hugo conducts with vigorous involvement. The tenor and bass soloists, Jaroslav Brezina and Michal Pospíšil, bring a credible sense of dramatic involvement to their near-operatic roles. Brightly recorded, this performance is undoubtedly the best available of this much-loved work.”
Michael Quinn
22nd December 2009
“Ryba’s Czech Christmas Mass sings out with a sweet celebratory innocence and simplicity of expression that deserves a wider audience...Kožená approaches Ryba’s vernacular idioms with sure-footed piquancy, eschewing vibrato and ornamentation throughout to treat the vocal line as the de facto folksong it is”
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
Ryba: Rozmily Slavicku
