Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745) was a wonderfully inventive Czech composer who worked for more than 30 years at the Dresden court. That musical establishment was in the first half of the 18th c. regarded as one of the glories of the age. During his long tenure there, Zelenka wrote - besides a number of purely instrumental works - 21 masses (he also was the official church composer in Dresden). We'll listen to the last one: the monumental "Missa Omnium Sanctorum" (All Saints Mass), over one hour in length. Zelenka finished this mass, an expansive, dynamic multi-movement work scored for soloists, chorus and orchestra in 1741; by this time the composer was in his sixties and the mass stands as one of the summations of his creative endeavors.
Zelenka's music is characterized by a daring compositional structure with a highly spirited harmonic invention and complex counterpoint. His works are often virtuosic and difficult to perform, but always fresh and surprising, with sudden turns of harmony. As one can hear in this mass, his music is glorious, graceful, deliciously nimble, bright, and it just dances along.
In an ideal world, the works of Jan Dismas Zelenka would be as familiar as those of Johann Sebastian Bach, or Georg Philipp Telemann. Both were friends and colleagues of Zelenka, and both admired his work. Zelenka, like Bach, uses the text to guide the direction of the melodies. And Zelenka is a master of counterpoint. One could place his fugal choruses somewhere between Bach’s and Handel’s, as they have the complexity of the former and the tunefulness of the latter. In fact, "tunefulness" could describe this entire work. Zelenka’s arias are quite appealing, seemingly simple in structure.
The Missa Omnium Sanctorum contains three extended arias (one each for soprano, alto and tenor), concertante choruses and unusually expressive choral fugues. Especially powerful in effect is the through-composed Credo in this mass, with a ritornello that is one of Zelenka’s most beautiful inspirations. The Mass is absolutely packed full of everything that typifies Zelenka – cleverly constructed fugal choruses, arias that both tax the soloists by give them hugely expansive lines to relish the beauty of their own voices, dramatic harmonies that accentuate key moments in the texts and an unfailing feel for overall architecture.
Listen to a performance by Collegium 1704 conducted by Václav Luks in the Domkerk Utrecht in The Netherlands:
Choral Masterworks