RICHTER F.X. (1709-1789) REQUIEM, SINFONIA CON FUGA, DE PROFUNDIS / Czech Ensemble Baroque

Franz (František) Xaver Richter (1709-1789) - Sinfonia con fuga in G minor (Boer 29) 19:12

1. I. Adagio 12:51

2. II. Andante 4:13

3. III. Presto 2:04

Franz (Frantisek) Xaver Richter - De profundis clamavi a 12 voci * 10:51

4. I. De profundis clamavi. Lento assai 1:50

5. II. Si iniquitates observaveris Domine. Andantino 2:57

6. III. A custodia matutina. Moderato 2:35

7. IV. Quia apud Dominum misericordia. Grave 0:54

8. V. Et ipse redimet Israel. Moderato 1:32

9. VI. Requiem aeternam. Largo 0:56

Franz (Frantisek) Xaver Richter - Messa de Requiem a 16 voci in E flat major * 33:45

10. I. Requiem aeternam. Poco lento 2:16

11. II. Te decet hymnus. Andantino 1:59

12. III. Kyrie. Moderato 3:26

13. IV. Dies irae. Tempo giusto 3:11

14. V. Quid sum miser. Andantino 3:14

15. VI. Confutatis maledictis. Allegro 1:17

16. VII. Huic ergo parce Deus. Andantino 1:37

17. VIII. Offertorium Domine Jesu Christe. Andante 1:18

18. IX. Quam olim Abrahae promisisti 1:10

19. X. Hostias et preces. Andantino 5:18

20. XI. Sanctus. Lento 0:50

21. XII. Benedictus. Andantino 2:29

22. XIII. Osanna 1:37

23. XIV. Agnus Dei. Andantino 0:52

24. XV. Dona eis requiem. Poco lento 0:33

25. XVI. Cum sanctis tuis in aeternum 2:17

* WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING ON PERIOD INSTRUMENTS

Lenka Cafourková Duricová soprano, Markéta Cukrová alto, Romain Champion tenor, Jiří Miroslav Procházka bass

Czech Ensemble Baroque Orchestra and Choir (on period instruments)

Tereza Válková choirmaster, Roman Válek conductor

Recorded at St. Michael's Church, Znojmo, October 10-12, 2014

".. .he sat down in an armchair, pored over for the last time the score of the mourning music he himself had composed for his funeral, and - when lightly touched by the angel of death - bowed his head and passed away." C. F. Schubart's description of the death in 1789 of the eighty-year-old F. X. Richter, Kapellmeister of the Cathedrale Notre-Dame in Strasbourg, may be rather romantic (two years later an almost identical story related to the last moments of W. A. Mozart), yet when looking at the clean copy of the autograph score we cannot resist the idea that the Requiem encapsulates the quintessence of his legacy. A truly extraordinary figure, standing out among the plethora of Czech composers based abroad, Richter's singular musical phraseology reflects the places where he studied and worked: contrapuntal mastery (a pupil of J. J. Fux in Vienna), elements of Neapolitan opera, the Mannheim schoolř He had a reputation as a guardian of the traditions of the "genuine church style" at the time when the pre-Classicist galant style was taking hold. How striking a similarity with the "Dresden" Zelenka! Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Richter's music, his grand vocal works in particular, is still awaiting discovery. The two mourning pieces were written in Strasbourg, where Richter lived from 1769, the sacred Sinfonia con fuga came to light in Mannheim. The distinguished Czech Ensemble Baroque are among those who are today undertaking to mediate Richter's remarkable oeuvre.

The Requiem composed by Richter for his own journey to eternity - premiere recording.

(Supraphon 2015)