Artist: František Vajnar, Jiří Stárek
Title: Musica Antiqua Citolibensis
Year Of Release: 2007
Label: Supraphon
Genre: Classical
Quality: FLAC (image+.cue,log,scans)
Total Time: 04:58:40
Total Size: 1.5 Gb
Tracklist:CD 1Jan Adama Gallina (1724-1773): Sinfonia ex A
Karel Blažej Kopřiva (1756-1785): Missa solemnis in Dis
Fuga supra cognomen DEBEFE in D minor for organ
Aria in D "quod pia voce cano" for bass, orchestra and organ
Jan Vent (1745-1881): Quartetto concertante for oboe, oboe d'amore, English horn and bassoon
Karel Blažej Kopřiva (1756-1785): Motetto in D "Dictamina mea" for soprano, contralto, tenor, bass, chorus, ochestra and organ
"Qui tollis" (part Gloria from Missa solemnis in B) for chorus, orchestra and organ
Václav Jan Kopřiva (1788-1789): Offertorium ex D "Te Trinitas beata"
Karel Blažej Kopřiva (1756-1785): Aria in D et chorus "Amoentitate vocum"
CD 2Karel Blažej Kopřiva (1756-1785): Fuga pastorella for organ
Václav Jan Kopřiva (1788-1789): Missa pastoralis in D
Jan Jáchym Kopřiva (1754-1792): Benedictus for soprano, orchestra and organ
Václav Jan Kopřiva (1788-1789): Rorate coeli for contralto, tenor, chorus, orchestra and organ
Jakub Lokaj (1752-?): Motetto pastorale in D "Gloria in excelsis Deo"
CD 3Karel Blažej Kopřiva (1756-1785): Fuga in A minor for organ
Requiem in C minor
Salve Regina ex E for children's chorus, orchestra and organ
Fuga in A flat major for organ
Václav Jan Kopřiva (1788-1789): Litaniae Lauretanae
Karel Blažej Kopřiva (1756-1785): Aria in B "Siste ultricem dexteram"
Václav Jan Kopřiva (1788-1789): Offertorium ex D "Vox clamantis in deserto"
Karel Blažej Kopřiva (1756-1785): Concerto in Dis for organ and orchestra
CD 4Jan Adama Gallina (1724-1773): Sinfonia ex C
Václav Jan Kopřiva (1788-1789): "Sacrum pastorale integrum" for soprano, contralto, tenor, bass, chorus, orchestra and organ
Karel Blažej Kopřiva (1756-1785): Fuga in C major for organ
Aria in Dis "Ah, cordi trito"
Offertorium in C "O magna coeli Domina"
Fuga in F minor for organ
(anonymus Citolibensis): Aria in C "Bella quando aurora" for soprano, orchestra and organ
Karel Blažej Kopřiva (1756-1785): Motetto in D "Veni sponsa Christi"
Václav Jan Kopřiva (1788-1789): "Alma Redemptoris Mater" for female chorus, orchestra and organ
Jakub Lokaj (1752-?): Aris in Dis "Haec aurora gratiosa" for soprano, orchestra and organ
Karel Blažej Kopřiva (1756-1785): Motetto in D "Gloria Deo"
Performers:Prague Radio Chorus
Prague Chamber Orchestra
Prague Symphony Orchestra
František Vajnar - conductor
Jiří Stárek - conductor
Despite its arcane Latin title, Supraphon's four-CD set Musica Antiqua Citolibensis delivers on a part of the literature that coheres: the music created by local kapellmeisters in the Czech city of Citoliby. Although located outside of the loop of Bohemia's main cultural centers such as Prague and Brno, Citoliby enjoyed a period of primacy in music in the late eighteenth century owing to the refined tastes of its rulers, the Pachtas; the city's coat of arms bears the image of an organ. There is a Citoliby School of composers whose work is comparable to those of the contemporary Mannheim School, though quite different in style. The Citoliby School is dominated by a dynasty led by composer Václav Jan Kopriva, and one of his sons, Karel Blazej Kopriva, was its greatest exponent, and like Wolfgang Mozart, died young. Other composers featured on this set, such as Jan Adam Gallina, Jan Vent, and Jakub Lokaj, were quite satisfied to spend their whole careers living and working in Citoliby.
What makes this literature distinctive, apart from its easily recognizable Bohemian accent, is that it is like eighteenth century country music; even the sacred masses in Latin come off with a flavor that is rural and local. There is frequent use of drones, simple pentatonic melodies, and fiddle-like string writing, reminiscent to some extant of early American Moravian anthems, but minus the Dutch-German aspect. While individual composers -- particularly Karel Blazej Kopriva, whose Fuga sopra cognomen DEBEFE is as thorny and alien sounding as any organ music produced in the late classical period -- sound off within their own voices, the pastoral, countrified sound of this music is a distinguishing characteristic across the four discs.
The orchestral recordings, mainly made in the mid-'80s, aren't really up to Supraphon's best standards, being weak in the low range, rather tinny in the high, and delivering a stereo perspective strangely old fashioned for this era. The performances too are sub-par, although it's not too distracting given the nature of the music -- the lack of polish tends to underscore the folksy quality of several of these pieces. Nevertheless, all of the keyboard music included is both well recorded and played. Listeners with a special interest in music of the eighteenth century will not want to miss this, as the material is extraordinary in every way.
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