SUPRAPHON RELEASED A COLLEGIUM MARIANUM CD

The emotive Old Testament Book of Lamentations, ascribed to the Prophet Jeremiah, has been the subject of a number of settings since the Middle Ages, with that of Jan Dismas Zelenka occupying a significant position among them. One of his first mature works, composed during his time at the Dresden court, the Lamentationes, alongside the Sepolcri, written for Prague (Supraphon SU 4068–2), and Responsories, are intended for Holy Week.

In his Lamentationes, performed as part of the liturgy of Tenebrae, the Service of Shadows, Zelenka succeeded in combining the contemplative aspect with a powerful dramatic charge. His penchant for unusual instrumentation is evident in, for instance, the final Lamentation (solo violin, bassoon and chalumeau, an instrument akin to today’s clarinet). Zelenka only set to music two lessons of the first Nocturn for each day; on the present recording, every third reading takes the form of Gregorian chant, as it was most likely heard at the Dresden court. The renowned Collegium Marianum ensemble has materialised the very first complete recording of Zelenka’s Lamen­tationes (SU 4173–2) in the second millennium, one characterised by rigorous instrumentation, profound performance and remarkably conceived by three stellar soloists – Damien Guillon (counter tenor), Daniel Johannsen (tenor) and Tomáš Král (bass). Collegium Marianum is headed by its artistic director Jana Semerádová. The recording was made within the Year of Czech Music with support from the Ministry of Culture.

Four questions for Collegium Marianum’s artistic director Jana Semerádová:

How did the recording sessions go?

Recording Zelenka’s Lamen­tations was extremely charged, the superlative soloists so enraptured the orchestra that the players breathed and spoke with them as one, and for a few days Latin became our “official language, with the message of Jeremiah’s text speaking through Zelenka’s music urgently, yet not grievously. Perhaps the opposite was true; one of the most accomplished Zelenka’s opuses inspired us to bitter-sweet interpretation, and the closer we got to the last Lamentation the more open was the gate to a joyful resurrection! But the recording itself was preceded by thorough preparation, critical exploration of the texts and musical variants, similarly to the situation with our previous recordings (Zelenka’s Sepolcri in particular). Even though Zelenka’s Lamen­tationes have been published many a time, the versions differ in numerous passages. Well, I occasionally “lamented” above the score. Yet this is precisely what makes performing and recording Zelenka’s music so exciting…

What made you decide to collaborate with the three internationally renowned musicians?

I decided to address the soloists for several reasons: we had played a few of the Lamentations in the past, yet never all six at once, and that was a great challenge! These pieces are more characterised by fine nuances than sharp contrasts.

So I invited along the counter tenor Damien Guillon, since I had always wanted to do Zelenka’s Lamen­tations with him. We’d previously had the opportunity to work with him in Prague, a few years ago, and I was totally enthralled by his delivery of Zelenka’s Marian antiphon. The young baritone Tomáš Král is a Baroque music singer esteemed both in the Czech Republic and abroad. I myself deem his interpretation of Zelenka ideal, and my “Czech heart” is always pleased by the certainty and effortlessness with which his beautiful voice mediates to us Jan Dismas Zelenka’s mys­terious world. Just as outstanding a partner was the tenor Daniel Johannsen, who has gained great recognition for his performance of Bach and German sacred music.

Zelenka only set two lessons of the first Nocturn for each day; on the present recording, every third reading takes the form of Gregorian chant. Could you say something more specific about it?

The Lamentations were first performed in Dresden in 1722 at the first ceremony of Matins on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, together with responsories, chants and lessons. The fact that Zelenka did not write a complete set of nine Lamentations but instead of three only two for the intended day raises the question of who composed the music for the third Lamentations, of whether polyphonic lamentations by some older composer were sung or whether they were performed otherwise. This led us to the idea of supplementing Zelenka’s Lamen­tations, adding to the recording the remaining three, and since Damien Guillon and Tomáš Král are also seasoned plainchant singers we selected plainchant Lamentations.

What do you feel when sending new recordings out to listeners?

I sincerely hope that the recording reflects the great engagement and joy with which we approached each note, each word. The recording also features three musicians from Dresden who are permanent members of the ensemble and thus represent a sort of connecting link with Dresden, Zelenka and all the other Czech musicians who worked there at the time.

TEASER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?…