Collegium 1704 - NOSPR

In Jewish tradition, circumcision was to be performed on the eighth day after a child’s birth, at which point the child was also given a name. From this derives the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ, celebrated on 1 January, which in Christian practice became known as the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. It is an exceptionally solemn occasion, marking the child’s initiation into the religious community and the renewal of the covenant between God and Abraham. This rich symbolism is perfectly embodied in Missa Circumcisionis (Mass for the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord) by Jan Dismas Zelenka. Born in a tiny town to the south-east of Prague, the composer achieved his greatest success in the musical circles of Dresden. It was there that Missa Circumcisionis was composed as part of the liturgical celebrations of the New Year at the royal chapel. The work is distinguished by its exalted and jubilant character – Zelenka’s characteristic mastery of counterpoint – and the richness of its orchestration.

The programme of the Czech ensemble Collegium 1704, conducted by Václav Luks, is complemented by George Frideric Handel’s sacred cantata Dixit Dominus (The Lord said unto my Lord, where the ‘Lord’ refers to God and ‘my Lord’ refers to Jesus Christ). The work was composed during the young composer’s stay in Rome in his early twenties. Handel had departed for Italy rather unexpectedly, after his first operas written for the theatre in Hamburg had met with mixed responses. Due to the ban on operatic composition in the papal city, he turned to religious music, producing several significant works in which his dramatic streak is unmistakably present. One of them is the cantata Dixit Dominus, written for choir, soloists, and instrumental ensemble. It constitutes an impressive laboratory of musical ideas, some of which were to find full expression only a few years later in masterpieces such as Rinaldo and Agrippina. 

Szymon Maliszewski

Concert duration: approximately 80 minutes