ČERNOHORSKÝ B.M., SEGER J.F.N., MUFFAT G., PACHELBEL J., BACH J.S. / A.Bárta organ, Mělnik

1. Bohuslav Matěj Černohorský - Toccata in C major

2. Josef Ferdinand Norbert Seger - Fugue in A minor

3. Georg Muffat - Toccata Duodecima (Aparatus musico-organisticus 1690)

4. Johann Pachelbel - Chancone in F major

5. Dietrich Buxtehude - Chancone in E minor (buxWV 160)

6. Johann Sebastian Bach - Choral "Jesus bleibet meine Freude" BWV 147

7. Johann Sebastian Bach - Praludium und Fuge G dur BWV 541

8. Johann Sebastian Bach - Pastorale D dur BWV 590

9. Johann Sebastian Bach - Fuga sopra il Magnificat BWV 733

10. Johann Sebastian Bach - Choral "Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein" BWV 734

11. Johann Sebastian Bach - Toccata und Fuge d moll BWV 565

Aleš Bárta - organ St.Peter and Paul, Mělník (2014), by the organ builders Jaromír Kánský – Josef Brachtl, Krásné Loučky near Krnov

ALEŠ BÁRTA is one of the most successful of Czech organists. He began his studies at the Brno Conservatoire under Prof. Josef Pukl and continued in the class of Doc. Václav Rabas at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts. He became a successful participant in competitions, both at home and abroad, already during his studies. He won the Anton Bruckner Organ Competition in Linz in 1982, was a laureate of the 1983 Franz Liszt Competition in Budapest and a year later the absolute winner of the Prague Spring International Organ Competition. His concert repertoire includes the supreme works of both the international and Czech repertoire, ranging from the baroque to the present day. As a soloist he has been working with leading symphony orchestras (Czech Philharmonic, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra etc.) and chamber orchestras (Virtuosi di Praga, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Talich Chamber Orchestra etc.) and has been appearing with leading soloists (Gabriela Beňačková, Sergej Kopčák, Radek Baborák, Joseph Alessi...) and conductors (Eliahu Inbal, Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi, Zdeněk Mácal, Miroslav Válek, Ondrej Lenárd...). He has given concerts in Austria, Hungary, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Finland, Italy, Belgium, Russia, Turkey, USA, Brazil, Japan and China, and has made appearances at international festivals in Tokyo, London, Zurich, Berlin, Leipzig, Avignon, Madrid, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Budapest and Bratislava. During his tour of Japan in 1998 his two recitals inaugurated the new concert hall in Yokohama. He is a regular guest of festivals, including The Prague Spring, Smetana’s Litomyšl, Janáček’s May, and the Brno International Music Festival. He regularly works with the Czech Radio and from 1995 has been soloist of the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has given first performances of contemporary organ music (by composers including Jiří Teml, Otomar Kvěch, Juraj Filas, Otmar Mácha, Ilja Hurník) and has been making recordings for, among others, labels ArcoDiva, Supraphon, the Japanese company Pony Canyon, and for Octavia Records. He has made 30 solo compact discs which have earned him many fine appraisals (Supraphon Golden Disc, Harmonie Prize, Czech Music Fund Prize).

(ArcoDiva 2014)