The Jewels of the Kroměříž Archives

P. J. Vejvanovský, H. I. F. Biber, J. H. Schmelzer, A. Bertali

Currende – vocal ensemble (Belgium)
In Stil Moderno (Netherlands)
Erik Van Nevel – artistic director

Saturday 31 July 2004, 7.30 pm
St Simon and Juda Church, Dušní ul., Praha 1

The programme of this concert carried us over to the Moravian town of Kroměříž at the times of Bishop Karel Liechtenstein-Castelcorno (1664 – 1695). Karel Liechtenstein kept at his court an orchestra whose skills and repertoire surpassed the qualities of any other musical ensemble active in the Czech Lands during the 17^th century. Among its members, the episcopal capella boasted such renowned musicians as the trumpeter Pavel Josef Vejvanovský or the violinist Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber. The collection of works on the ensemble’s repertoire has been preserved and is a unique representative source of works of mostly Italian and Viennese authors, including Schmelzer and Bertali. One of the proofs of the high quality of the compositions stored in the Kroměříž archives is the ongoing interest on the part of Czech and foreign musicologists and musicians and their attempts at the preservation and revival of these musical treasures.