Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Kristina Fialová Viola
Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno (choir director: Petr Fiala)
Kateřina Kněžíková Soprano
Pavel Černoch Tenor
Elisabeth Kulman Alto
Jan Šťáva Bass
Christian Schmitt Organ
Bamberger Symphoniker

Programme
Petr Fiala Stabat Mater
Leoš Janáček Glagolitische Messe (“Glagolská mse”)

This concert revolves around Brno, the home of our chief conductor, the featured composers, and the invited performers – featuring works that deserve to be heard with open and curious ears. Petr Fiala, born in 1943, is the founder and music director of the famous Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno. He studied in Brno, later worked there as a professor himself, and is now an honorary citizen of the city. The award-winning artist has composed more than 180 works that, thanks to his sensitive combination of traditional and contemporary elements, have received great acclaim. It was his heartfelt wish that Jakub Hrůša would one day conduct his »Stabat Mater« – a setting of the medieval poem full of rich musical colour. Fiala’s daughter also features as one of the evening’s soloists. Our programme also includes Janáček’s »Glagolitic Mass«, first performed in Brno in 1927, which differs significantly from other Mass settings and is quite unique within the repertoire of sacred music. When the 72-year-old composer wrote this work, shortly before his death, he consciously wanted to stand out from the Western tradition and spoke confidently of a »joyful mass« inspired by the natural spectacle of a thunderstorm. Although the Mass follows the traditional ordinary from Kyrie to Agnus Dei, the language is not Latin, but 9th-century Church Slavonic. The work is unusual in musical terms, too, for its tone is quite secular. Agitated sections contrast with tender passages. Just before the end, Janáček includes a brilliant organ solo, bringing the Mass to an end by elatedly celebrating the entry into the full-blown, sensuous life of nature.