Te Deum Laudamus (Eben P., Lukáš Z.) / Charles University Choir Prague / J.Zicha

1. Petr Eben (1929-2007) - Pražské Te Deum 1989 / Prague Te Deum 1989 / Prager Te Deum 1989 9:10

2. Petr Eben - Ubi caritas et amor (1964) 5:26

Petr Eben - Missa Adventus et Quadragesimae (1952) 13:56

3. Kyrie 1:53

4. Credo 4:38

5. Offertorium 1:09

6. Sanctus 2:00

7. Benedictus 1:49

8. Agnus Dei 2:23

Zdeněk Lukáš (1928-2007) - Requiem per coro misto op. 262 (1992) 22:18

9. Requiem aeternam 4:15

10. Dies irae 1:55

11. Lacrimosa 3:02

12. Offertorium - Domine Jesu 3:00

13. Hostias 3:53

14. Sanctus 1:16

15. Agnus Dei 4:54

16. Zdeněk Lukáš - Modlitba ghanských křesťanů / Prayer of the Christians from Ghana / Gebet der Christen von Ghana op. 59 (1968) 8:26

17. Zdeněk Lukáš - Te Deum laudamus op. 311 (2001) 4:53

18. Zdeněk Lukáš - Hodie - Dona nobis pacem op. 350 (2007) 1:48

Jan Kalfus varhany / organ / Orgel (3—8, 16)

Marek Vajo trubka / trumpet / Trompete (1)

Svatopluk Zaal trubka / trumpet / Trompete (1)

Stanislav Penk pozoun / trombone / Posaune (1)

Karel Kučera pozoun / trombone / Posaune (1)

Jiří Svoboda tympány / timpani / Pauken (1)

Šimon Veselý bicí / percussion / Schlagwerk (1)

Jan Linhart bicí / percussion / Schlagwerk (16)

Vysokoškolský umělecký soubor Univerzity Karlovy Praha / Charles University Choir Prague / Chor der Karlsuniversität Prag

řídí / conducted by / Leitung Jakub Zicha

The large oeuvre of Petr Eben (more than 200 compositions) has its centre of gravity

in vocal and organ compositions, including large-scale cantatas and little songs for nursery schools, sacred music as well as liturgical music. Their texts were often taken from historical eras, from Czech and foreign poets of the 20th century, as well as from folk poetry, but the focus was gradually shifting towards biblical Christian texts. The opening composition of our CD is Eben’s Prague Te Deum 1989, a work that sprung from the composer’s soul at a joyful moment of revolution. Strongly inspired by Gregorian melody while keeping to choral part writing, he produced two versions of the instrumental accompaniment, one for the organ, the other for an effective group of brass and percussion instruments used here on our CD. The antiphon Ubi caritas et amor, intended for the feet-washing ceremony of Maundy Thursday at the very peak of the period of fasting, dates from 1964. The music grows from an austere-sounding choral melody, but little islands or rays of hope make their occasional appearance and so do consonant stretches of music that, however, never dominate. We never find any signs of pathos and even the end of the composition, which could tempt to such a treatment, remains rigorously true to the spirit of Lent. As regards the Missa Adventus et Quadragesimae, dating from 1952, Eben wrote many years later: “It is a bitter Mass for Advent and a time of fasting, expressing very well our feelings at the time: feelings of people fighting for their freedom and their faith, feelings of the Church fighting for its existence.”

The atmosphere is underscored by the largely minor-key harmonies, as well as the unusual melodies and rhythms of the individual sections of the work. The traditionally dignified and hymn-like Credo is replaced here by strict, striding writing for the choir that keeps bursting into the organ ostinato. Miroslav Košler, who often performed the work with his Prague Male Choir, used to say that in these passages he always felt the struggle that Eben had written about, that it was his very “And yet I believe!”. The Sanctus, usually a joyful, festive part, is felt by Eben in a rather Old-Testament way as an image of a mysterious unapproachable God. The choral writing is here part of a mysterious chordal image created by the organ.

Works by Zdeněk Lukáš comprise some 350 compositions of all kinds, including

original works or some of the hundreds of masterly folk song arrangements mentioned

earlier. Some of Lukáš’s works have won plaudits at home as well as abroad. For instance his eight-voice mixed-voice chorus Podej mi ruku (Reach out a hand to me, 1980) was rewarded by the Czech Music Fund, his cyclus Parabolae Salomonis received an honorary mention in the Ernest Bloch Composers’ Competition in the USA and was included in the repertoire of the famous Gächinger Kantorei chorus and its conductor Helmuth Rilling. The last reward Lukáš received was the annual prize of the Society of Authors for his Pater noster which became the 2006 most performed piece of classical music. Our CD includes at its centre his masterly Requiem per coro misto, Op. 252, which consists of seven sections scored for four- to six-part mixed choir and was written in 1992 to a commission by Miroslav Košler and the ČKD Mixed Choir (now the Prague Mixed Choir) which also gave the work’s first performance. The Prayer of Ghanaian Christians for choir, organ and percussion hides more than one secret. Its idea, scoring and structure mark it as unique, but curiously enough the completion of its manuscript is dated 21st August 1968 (the day of the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the armies of the Warsaw Pact and the composer’s 40th birthday). Te Deum laudamus, on of Lukáš’s last compositions, was written in 2001 and is marked as Op. 311. It is scored for a large choir divided from the start into the composer’s favourite six parts (dividing the sopranos and the basses). This richness enables him to work with great tonal colouring. The CD ends with a very last small choral composition by Lukáš, his Hodie—Dona nobis pacem which has a special meaning for us. In 2007 with the looming 60th anniversary of our choir I asked Zdeněk Lukáš for a new work to mark the occasion. It came by post after a short delay with this lovely dedication: “to the outstanding Charles University Choir and its choirmaster Jakub Zicha together with salutations to everyone individually from grateful Zdeněk Lukáš”. Even though it is somehow clear today that Lukáš had not written the work directly for us, the dedication is a commitment.

(ArcoDiva 2018)