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July 20th, 2008
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A moveable feast

Inspirational music to celebrate this year's early Easter
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By Frank Kuznik
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
March 19th, 2008 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Conductor Charles Olivieri-Munroe takes on Dvořák's difficult but emotionally captivating Stabat Mater.
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COURTESY PHOTO
Eva Urbanová will sing the soprano role in the Stabat Mater.
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Easter music

When: March 21-30
Where: National Theater, Czech Museum of Music, Emmaus Monastery, Church of St. James, Sts. Simon and Jude Church
Tickets: Available at the venues

In September 1877, Czech composer Antonín Dvořák was struck by a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. His 3-year-old son Otakar died of smallpox — the third child that Dvořák and his wife Anna lost in less than two years, leaving them childless. In early 1875, their newborn daughter Josefa had lived only two days. In August 1877, their 11-month-old daughter Růžena fell victim to an accident.
Dvořák responded to Otakar’s death by picking up a Stabat Mater he had started work on after Josefa died. Completed by Nov. 13, it was a stunning achievement, by some accounts the single greatest Stabat Mater ever written. Symphonic in structure and steeped in grief, the work uses a full orchestra, choir and four solo voices, building from an extended funereal opening to a conclusion of hope rising above despair, with the chorus singing a stirring hymn a cappella.
This monumental work is the centerpiece of the Easter musical season in Prague, with the National Theater doing it up right. Charles Olivieri-Munroe, who has been dazzling Czech audiences ever since he won the 2000 Prague Spring conducting competition, will be at the podium leading the house orchestra and chorus. Czech favorite Eva Urbanová will sing the soprano role, while Slovak singer Martin Gurbaľ handles the difficult bass part. (National Theater, March 21 at 7).
Almost any church in the city will have glorious music Easter Sunday, but there are plenty of other venues to hear music celebrating the season this week. If a full night of a sorrowful Stabat Mater is not your style, consider some of the following events, which offer a tasty range of styles, tones and venues.
The Czech Museum of Music (České muzeum hudby) is hosting Ludus Musicus, a vocal/instrumental ensemble that specializes in medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music, for two programs. Ludus Musicus uses period instruments and original manuscripts, so this will be as authentic a rendering of this music as you are ever likely to hear. On Friday, the group will recount the Passion in four liturgical “scenes,” drawing on sacred works by Czech, Spanish, Italian and other composers (March 21 at 6). On Easter Sunday, the group returns for joyous music by Dvořák, including his “Lužanská” Mass in D major (March 23 at 6).
Jazz flautist Jiří Stivín will be convening his Collegium Quadlibet ensemble for its annual gathering at Emmaus Monastery, the distinctive twin-spired complex just south of Palackého náměstí. Stivín and his crew christened the reopening of Emmaus’ St. Mary and St. Jerome chapels with an Easter concert in 2003, and it’s been a tradition ever since. Other featured players this year include Robert Hugo on harpsichord and Petr Hejný on cello, in a mostly Baroque program of Bach, Telemann and Vivaldi (March 24 at 4).
For more traditional liturgical music, nothing beats the sound and feel of a massive organ in a medieval church — like the Church of St. James (Malá Štupartská 6) in Old Town, where Irena Chřibková, the master of the big keyboard, is giving an Easter concert with an assist from two trumpet players. Her program features Bach, Telemann, Vivaldi and Handel (May 23 at 5). The Sunday after Easter, St. James hosts Musica Bohemica, Jaroslav Krček’s costumed ensemble that specializes in seasonal Czech music. If you’ve never heard this group, you are in for a special treat (March 30 at 5).
Another excellent church concert takes place the Tuesday after Easter at Sts. Simon and Jude Church, where the Prague Baroque Ensemble will be joined by the Prague Chamber Choir for an all-Bach program featuring excerpts from his Easter Oratorio (March 25 at 7:30). This concert is part of the larger schedule of the Prague Symphony Orchestra (FOK), which has put on very good chamber music concerts at Sts. Simon and Jude and other venues this season.
By any measure, this is a first-rate collection of music for the Easter season, with much of it performed by stars and specialists in spectacular religious settings. The folks back home only wish they had a chance to experience concerts like this. Don’t miss your golden opportunity.

Frank Kuznik can be reached at fkuznik@praguepost.com


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