Harmonia Ecclesiastica

J. J. I. Brentner, A. Caldara, J. D. Zelenka, A. Reichenauer, A. Lotti

Sunday 29 June 2003, 7.30 pm
Mirror Chapel of Klementinum, Praha 1

Collegium Marianum (Czech Republic)
Jana Semerádová – artistic director
Marta Fadljevičová – soprano

The Prague culture life in the baroque era was marked by the absence of the ruler’s court and, accordingly, by the lack of a court orchestra or operatic ensemble, which would mostly receive opulent subventions. The musical scene in Prague of the time thus showed a number of specific features. It consisted of a dense network of smaller musical institutions, including church choirs and chamber ensembles maintained by the local aristocracy. Composers active in Prague in the Early Baroque produced mostly sacred music and were careful to make the parts not too hard on the players. Soon, however, a strong Italian influence became prominent and by the beginning of the 18^th century, a number of musicians started to look for work abroad. The programme of the opening concert of the 4^th Summer Festivities of Early Music offered the listeners a mixture of music by Czech authors (Václav Karel Holan Rovenský, Jan Josef Ignác Brenter, Antotnín Reichenauer, Jan Dismas Zelenka and others) as well as pieces by those who provided the foreign, predominantly Italian influences on the local output (Antonio Caldara, Antonio Vivaldi, Antonio Lotti).