Zelenka: Missa Nativitatis Domini in D major, ZWV8

Lesser-known works of Jan Dismas Zelenka – music (not only) for Advent and Christmas.

Following on from the previous two titles (Sepolcri, SU40682; Melodrama de Sancto Wenceslao, SU41132), Supraphon’s Music From Eighteenth-Century Prague series now reflects Prague-related works by Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679–1745), whose pieces were performed at the city’s churches with increasing frequency from the middle of the 1730s.

One such composition was Missa nativitatis, ZWV 8, preserved at the Saint Nicolas Church in Prague’s Lesser Town; another copy is from C. Ph. E. Bach’s personal effects, which indicates that this very piece was one of the two Zelenka masses his father Johann Sebastian had in his library.

The aria of the Christmas motet O magnum mysterium is derived from the mentioned melodrama; Zelenka furnished it with a different text and added two flutes. The motet Chvalte Boha silného (Praise God Almighty), a setting of Psalm 150, is most likely the one and only Zelenka piece to a Czech text and has only been preserved in Prague copies.

The Advent spirit is supplemented by with the Marian hymn Magnificat. Zelenka’s lesser-known works are once again presented within the acclaimed Supraphon series by Musica Florea, a renowned Baroque orchestra who stood at the beginning of the modern discovery of this exceptional composer.

Continuing the current renaissance of Zelenka’s works, this disc of festive choral works (Missa Navitatis Domini) is a superb combination of highly expressive music. The warm sound of the chorus and nuanced orchestral accompaniment, together with the noble singing of the soloists will enthral the listener.