Festival Glasperlenspiel
Mon, July 13th at 7 pm
MISSA VOTIVA
Chamber choir Moran Singers (Israel), Hortus Musicus Orchestra, conductor Andres Mustonen
Jan Dismis Zelenka, Tomas Louis de Victoria
Jan Dismas Zelenka, a Czech (or rather Bohemian) composer from Bach’s time, is widely considered one of the most underrated and prominent composers of the Baroque era. He was a prolific composer, composing hundreds of works, including some 20 great masses, oratorios, requiems and other church works, as well as instrumental music including concertos, symphonies and chamber music. Zelenka is known for his innovative and original writing, with an emphasis on complex polyphony, exciting and surprising harmony, virtuosic demands on the instruments, and the use of a variety of musical styles, including influences from Czech folk music.
Missa votiva is one of Zelenka’s later works, from his peak as a composer. The story behind the Missa votiva is related to the composer’s serious health problems in the 1730s, when he was about 55–60 years old. In some of the manuscripts of the works, Zelenka notes that the works were written in great haste and in poor health. There is no doubt that Zelenka was frustrated by the heavy workload, which eventually overwhelmed him and brought him to a state of health that did not allow him to continue writing. However, in 1739 Zelenka managed to recover. Zelenka’s recovery and return to musical activity were considered by him to be nothing less than a divine miracle, and Zelenka wrote the mass as the fulfillment of a vow of thanksgiving to God for his recovery. On the cover of the manuscript of the work, the composer added a verse from Psalm 117 – „Vota mea Domino reddam coram omni populo ejus“ (’I will pay my vows to the Lord, I will pay them before all his people’), and at the end of the score Zelenka adds the sentence – „Zelenka offers this vowed mass for the glory of God after having recovered with the help of God.“
This work is one of the largest in Zelenka’s oeuvre. It is about an hour long (or even more). It is written for four soloists, a choir and a string orchestra enriched with trumpets and bassoon. In the best tradition of giant masses, Zelenka did not content himself with writing 6 musical movements (corresponding to the 6 movements of the mass – Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei), but divided the main text sections internally and created different musical movements of different natures. And so he composed a mass that actually includes 20 movements, including large choral sections, arias, chorales, dramatic episodes, and fugues.
– Yizhar Karshon
Established in 1998, The Moran Singers Ensemble was developed as a professional singing group, dedicated to the encouragement of musical excellence and solo singing among young singers. The ensemble consists of Moran Choir graduates, outstanding musicians, IDF soldiers, as well as students and graduates from various Music Academies. The ensemble’s repertoire includes choral classical music as well as Israeli choral music composed by leading composers such as Gil Shohat, Menachem Weisenberg, Haim Fremont, Yehezkel Braun, Ella Milch-Sheriff and Eyal Batt. In 1998, The Moran Singers Ensemble won a first prize at The Shirat Hayamim International Choral Competition held in Israel, followed by a first prize at an international competition held in Japan in the summer of 2002. The ensemble has performed at the Bach Festival in Eugene (USA), at a festival of liturgical music in Germany, and at the Expo 2000 World Exhibition in Hannover. They have participated in an international choral competition in Argentina, sung at the Toronto Bach Festival under the direction of Helmuth Rilling, represented Israel at the Vox Pacis Festival in Stockholm, and performed as part of a concert tour on the west coast of the United States.
Organizers:
Peeter Vähi – artistic director
Tiina Jokinen – executive director
Kadri Kiis – producer, accountant
Meeta Vardja – musicologist, editor of festival booklet
Mart Kivisild – design
Olavi Sööt – co-producer, video, logistics
Reno Hekkonens – marketing director, PR
Johannes Vähi – co-producer, webmaster, sound engineering, logistics
Rebeca Birk – social media
Special thanks: Tartu City Government, Urmas Klaas, Triin Käpp, Jana Raud, Ministry of Culture of Estonia, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Canon and Overall, St John’s church, Kaupo Kiis, Kristel Leppik, volunteers
Next Glasperlenspiel: July 8th – 13th, 2027
