VA - Dvorak: Complete Sacred Choral Music (2018)

Unrivalled in the catalogue, this box brings together all the works in a genre for which Dvořák has been undervalued. The composer was himself a lifelong Catholic, a man of uncomplicated faith and not prey to spiritual torments in the manner of his contemporary Bruckner.

Dvořák wrote religious music throughout his career, though his first substantial contribution was the Stabat mater of 1876-7. This large-scale setting burns with a restrained pathos likely intensified during the period of composition by the deaths of his children. One of the most personal of all his major works, the Stabat mater sets the tone for the equally large-scale St Ludmila oratorio of 1886 and the Requiem of 1890: not for Dvořák the hellfire and damnation so vividly evoked by Berlioz and Verdi in their settings of the text: sorrow andconsolation are the Requiem’s key-signatures, just as devout belief infuses the Czech legend of St Ludmila.

The Mass in D was originally composed in 1887 with organ accompaniment, but the carefully integrated nature of his setting is in the spirit of the late Masses by Haydn and Schubert, as he recognised by orchestrating it a few years later. His final sacred work is the elementally exuberant Te Deum of 1892, which looks back in spirit to his robust and festive setting of Psalm 149.

The recordings in this box are all modern, made during the last 20 years by ensembles in Cologne, Navarra, Warsaw and Washington, and masterminded by noted choral conductors including Gerd Albrecht (St Ludmila), Robert Shafer (Stabat mater, Psalm 149) and Antoni Wit (Requiem, Mass in D, Te Deum).

The complete Sacred Choral music by the most popular Czech composer, Antonin Dvořák, counting among the greatest Romantic Sacred music of the 19th century.

Contains the Requiem, Stabat Mater, the Mass, Te Deum and the seldom heard oratorio Svata Ludmila (Saint Ludmilla).

Performers include the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra with Antoni Wit, and the WDR Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marc Albrecht.

Tracklist:
Disk 1
1 Requiem in B-Flat Minor, Op. 89, Pt. 1: I. Introitus. Requiem aeternam –Kyrie
2 Requiem in B-Flat Minor, Op. 89, Pt. 1: II. Graduale. Requiem aeternam
3 Requiem in B-Flat Minor, Op. 89, Pt. 1: III. Dies irae
4 Requiem in B-Flat Minor, Op. 89, Pt. 1: IV. Tuba mirum
5 Requiem in B-Flat Minor, Op. 89, Pt. 1: V. Quid sum miser
6 Requiem in B-Flat Minor, Op. 89, Pt. 1: VI. Recordare, Jesu pie
7 Requiem in B-Flat Minor, Op. 89, Pt. 1: VII. Confutatis maledictis
8 Requiem in B-Flat Minor, Op. 89, Pt. 1: VIII. Lacrimosa

Disk 2
1 Requiem in B-Flat Minor, Op. 89, Pt. 2: I. Domine Jesu Christe
2 Requiem in B-Flat Minor, Op. 89, Pt. 2: II. Hostias
3 Requiem in B-Flat Minor, Op. 89, Pt. 2: III. Sanctus
4 Requiem in B-Flat Minor, Op. 89, Pt. 2: IV. Pie Jesu
5 Requiem in B-Flat Minor, Op. 89, Pt. 2: V. Agnus dei

Disk 3
1 Stabat mater, Op. 58: I. Stabat mater dolorosa
2 Stabat mater, Op. 58: II. Quis est homo?
3 Stabat mater, Op. 58: III. Eia, mater
4 Stabat mater, Op. 58: IV. Fac ut ardeat cor meum
5 Stabat mater, Op. 58: V. Tui nati vulnerate
6 Stabat mater, Op. 58: VI. Fac me tecum flere
7 Stabat mater, Op. 58: VII. Virgo virginum praeclara

Disk 4
1 Stabat mater, Op. 58: VIII. Fa cut portem Christi mortem
2 Stabat mater, Op. 58: IX. Inflammatus et accensus
3 Stabat mater, Op. 58: X. Quando corpus morietur
4 Psalm 149 in C Major, Op.79

Disk 5
1 Mass in D Major, Op. 86: I. Kyrie. Andante con moto
2 Mass in D Major, Op. 86: II. Gloria. Allegro vivo
3 Mass in D Major, Op. 86: III. Credo. Allegro moderato
4 Mass in D Major, Op. 86: IV. Sanctus. Allegro maestoso
5 Mass in D Major, Op. 86: V. Benedictus. Lento
6 Mass in D Major, Op. 86: VI. Agnus dei. Andante
7 Te deum, Op. 103: I. Te deum laudamus. Allegro moderato, maestoso
8 Te deum, Op. 103: II. Tu rex gloriae, Christe. Lento maestosoq
9 Te deum, Op. 103: III. Aeterna fac cum sanctis. Vivace
10 Te deum, Op. 103: IV. Benedicamus patrem. Lento

Disk 6
1 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: I. Introduction and Chorus Tmy vrátily se v skrýše skal a lesů
2 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: II. Recitativo vesno smavá, Vesno snivá
3 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: III. Chorus Květy, jimiž Vesna vábí
4 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: IV. Chorus svaté jitro jest
5 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: V. Chorus tříhlav, který patří trojí tváří
6 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: VI. Recitativo mé srdce chví se tlukem bouřným dnes
7 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1:VII. Chorus Slyš naše písně horoucí a vroucí
8 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: VIII. Aria Od dětství ku oltáři mne vodil svatý cit
9 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: IX. Chorus vždy bozi s námi jsou, kam bludný krok se šine
10 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: X. Aria sem rychle vesny květ, at’ sochu ověnčíme
11 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: XI. Chorus ký v pozadí to hluk?
12 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: XII. Aria and chorus do prach s vámi! Jeden jest bůh!
13 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: XIII. Chorus kdo onen muž, jejž nestih’s nebe blesk?
14 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: IX. Recitativo and Aria ó dovol, abych zlíbat směla tvých nohou prach
15 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: X. Recitativo vstup v nitro své, mým bytem není země
16 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: XI. Chorus co bude nyní?
17 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 1: XII. Chorus vše lame se a bortí v chaos tmavý
18 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: I. Introduction, Recitativo and Aria Ó, v jaké šeré lesní stíny

Disk 7
1 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: II. Duet ted’ ptám se tě. co najít chceš?
2 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: III. Aria já neklamal se, bud’ vítána, dcero!
3 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: IV. Recitativo dík, otče, já se neklamala
4 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: V. Aria nuž tedy věz a pojmi v srdce svoje
5 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: VI. Recitativo ó dopřej, at’ se pokoře dál cvičím
6 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: VII. Terzetto tam Kristův kříž!
7 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: VIII. Terzetto and Chorus vesele hvozdem, vesele polem
8 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: IX. Tenor and Chorus ó, jaký obraz oku mému se v stínu lesním otvírá!
9 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: X. Recitativo já, bludné duše světlu vracím
10 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: XI. Chorus ó, neklamu se, chápu juž
11 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: XII. Recitativo ach, ona, po níž srdce moje prahne
12 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: XIII. Aria ó, cestu ukaž mi, jak jí mám dobýt
13 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: XIV. Chorus ó vizte, kníže náš vrhá se na kolena
14 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: XV. Recitativo ó, kterak mohu zvednout k tobě zraku
15 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: XVI. Chorus ó běda, nechce slyšet jeho lkání!
16 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: XVII. Recitativo jak z krázného snu náhle procitlý
17 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 2: XVIII. Quartet and Chorus já hledala jsem záři toho jitra
18 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 3: I. Introduction and Chorus hospodine, pomiluj ny!
19 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 3: II. Recitativo and Chorus nuž přistupte, mnou víře vyučení
20 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 3: III. Duet ó, nech juž skanout nad našimi čely
21 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 3: IV. Recitativo u cóile stojím snahy své a tužby
22 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 3: V. Chorus nuž poklekněte před biskupem oba
23 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 3: VI. Bass and Chorus duchu svatý, sestup v nachum
24 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 3: VII. Chorus ó zněte, písně, zněte k nebes báni
25 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 3: VIII. Alto and Chorus panno, matko stvořitele
26 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 3: IX. Alto, Bass and Chorus ó zněte, písne, zněte k nebes báni
27 Saint Ludmilla, Op. 71, Pt. 3: X. Soloists and Chorus hospodine, pomiluj ny!