Jan Dismas Zelenka: Missa Sanctae Caeciliae

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With this recording of Missa Sanctae Caeciliae (ZWV 1) and the motet Currite ad Aras (ZWV 166) two ‘firsts’ of Zelenka are presented: Missa Sanctae Caeciliae is his earliest mass composition, and Currite ad Aras is the first-known work written after Zelenka was sent to Vienna in 1716. It comes as no surprise that the highly devout Zelenka would name his first mass in honour of Saint Cecilia, Patron Saint of Musicians. Thanks to the reporting in the Dresden Diarium Missionis by Jesuits from the Province of Bohemia who served in the Catholic church in the Dresden palace, it is known that, apart from Zelenka’s Missa Sanctae Caeciliae being heard on 22 November 1711, the performance was given by French musicians of the court. Zelenka scored Missa Sanctae Caeciliae for SATB soloists and SATB choir (except for the 7-part ‘Qui tollis’, which requires a SAATTBB chorus), violins 1 and 2, viola, 2 oboes, and a basso section that included organ, at least one bassoon, cello, and violone. Perhaps a viola da gamba and theorbo also were part of the continuo section. The original score contains numerous alterations and amendments which bear witness to a musical composition constantly in flux. Thus, it is not possible to claim that a definitive version exists for Zelenka’s first mass: the instrumentation and vocal writing of this work altered in accordance with the abilities of the musicians available to him at particular points in time, reflecting the changing styles of performance that took place in Dresden between 1711 and 1734. The score used for this recording of Missa Sanctae Caeciliae was prepared by Libor Mašek and Adam Viktora. Zelenka set the text of Currite ad Aras in C Major over three movements for tenor soloist and SATB chorus. The accompaniment is scored for violins 1 and 2, viola, and basso continuo. The outer choruses (the final chorus is a four-part fugue) surround an aria for the tenor soloist. While Currite ad Aras was intended for performance on feast days of the Blessed Virgin, Zelenka’s title page reveals that this offertory also could be used for the feasts of other saints. Today, the autograph manuscript is kept in Dresden where, in former times, twenty-nine parts accompanied the score —an indication that the offertory Currite ad Aras had become part of the repertoire of Dresden’s Catholic court church.